Measure What Matters

“We got a high attendance, mission accomplished!”

90% attendance. Glowing feedback forms. Smiling faces in a LinkedIn post. Mental health saved! …Or is it? These metrics feel good. They suggest your well-being initiatives are a success. But are they showing real change, or just a good day at the office? Are we measuring what actually matters?

It takes me back to my research methods module. Let's be honest, the fun part is the intervention itself whether that’s bringing in the therapy dogs having an afternoon of making pizzas. The not-so-fun part? The maths. The data analysis (yawn! Unless that’s your thing.). But that “boring” bit is what should drive your decisions. It’s what separates a nice-to-have event from a strategic investment that delivers a proven return.

Too often, we start with the solution before we’ve diagnosed the problem. We focus on what will look great and get people through the door. And yes, a puppy will make everyone smile for an hour! A pizza workshop will get laughs and a carb coma! But will it change anything meaningful? Probably not.

Now, this isn’t to say that pizza workshops and puppy cuddles are without value. They can be fantastic for team morale and creating moments of connection. The danger arises when we mistake these enjoyable activities for a strategic well-being intervention. 

The shift we need to make is simple but profound: Start with the change you want to see, not the intervention you want to run.

Let’s begin at the beginning: Why are you running a mental health initiative?

• Is it because turnover is high?

• Are sickness absences constantly increasing?

• Are exit interviews citing "burnout" and "toxic culture"?

When you’ve answered this question, congratulations! You’ve just found your data point.

Let’s say you want to tackle the rise in sickness absences. 

1. First, identify your baseline: what is the current absence rate? 

2. Now, set a clear, measurable goal: Reduce it by 20% within 12 months.

Suddenly, you have a defined, clear focus point. Now you can choose an intervention based on evidence and related to your focus point. 

Let’s continue with the therapy dog example. You still want to bring in therapy dogs? Great. But this time, ask the crucial question: Will this impact my metric?

A one-off therapy dog visit that looks good for social media and give attendees a one-hour reprieve.

VS.

Ongoing, structured access to animal-assisted therapy throughout the year to manage stress.

Notice the difference? You’re selecting or changing the intervention because you know what you want to achieve. 

This is also your secret weapon for executive buy-in, especially when you want to go from a one-off therapy dog visit to access to animal-assisted therapy! 

Let’s be honest, securing budget for well-being is an uphill battle especially nowadays where budgets are razor thin. But when you lead with, 

“Our voluntary turnover is 20% above the industry average, costing us an estimated $X annually. Our data shows it’s primarily driven by managerial stress. This targeted manager training programme has a proven track record of reducing turnover by 15% in similar organisations, representing a potential saving of $Y,” 

You are no longer asking for a budget. You are presenting a business case.

This shifts the conversation from "Why should we spend money on this?" to "Can we afford not to invest in this?”. 

This is the exact work I do in the Sustainable Culture Architect Programme. I partner with HR and leadership teams to move beyond well-being anecdotes, helping them audit their current efforts, identify the right metrics, and build a lean, data-driven strategy that proves ROI and creates lasting change—finally securing that crucial executive buy-in.

This data-driven approach transforms you from a well-being advocate into a strategic partner. It gives you the credibility to secure not just a one-off budget for an event, but ongoing investment for a multi-year cultural strategy.

This is how data transforms your strategy. It tells you:

What to do: 

e.g. You want to run a storytelling initiative which is powerful for normalising mental health conversations then you should be measuring survey data on psychological safety.

What not to do: 

e.g. The same storytelling initiative is likely wasted if your core problem is poor manager relationships. By identifying the metric of turnover data and 360 feedback scores, the intervention of a storytelling initiative doesn’t match, you need targeted manager training instead.

Stop picking the intervention first. Start with the three questions that matter:

1. What: 

What problem am I trying to solve? (e.g., high turnover)

2. Why: 

Why does this problem exist? (e.g., poor manager relationships)

3. How: 

How will I measure success? (e.g., reduce turnover by 15%)

When you can answer these, you move from hosting isolated events to building a data-driven well-being strategy that delivers real ROI. This proves that caring for your workforce isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smartest business decision you can make.

Ready to Measure What Matters?

Shifting from anecdotes to a data-driven strategy is how you build a well-being culture that lasts and earns executive trust.

If you're ready to build that strategy but aren't sure where to start, I can help.

The Sustainable Culture Architect Programme is designed for HR and Well-being leaders who are ready to:

• Audit existing initiatives for true ROI.

• Identify the right metrics to track what matters.

• Build a compelling business case for executive buy-in.

• Create a sustainable annual plan that engages the entire organisation.

Change is always possible. Let's discuss how to make it happen for your organisation.

Contact me for a discovery call to explore your challenges and build a strategy that delivers for your people and your bottom line.