How to prove the value of your culture to your CFO

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Navigating organisational challenges

Many organisations know culture matters, but struggle to prove its ROI. In fact, fewer than 10% of HR leaders can currently demonstrate a clear link between culture and commercial performance. The problem isn’t intent. It’s access to the right systems, data, and frameworks to connect the dots.

That’s where our performance-culture consultancy supports customers: we help you quantify culture, identify the levers that influence performance, and turn human insight into measurable business impact.

The culture–performance connection

High-performing cultures don’t happen by chance — they need deliberate thought and effort to achieve, but the result is stronger performance, innovation, and commercial growth.

A culture that prioritises people’s experience doesn’t just make work more enjoyable; it drives measurable business outcomes.

Backed by research

• Happiness and productivity: The University of Warwick found that happier employees are 12% more productive, driven by higher motivation and cognitive flexibility — both outcomes of a healthy, performance-focused culture.
• BT call centre study: Research by Oxford, MIT, and Rotterdam showed that happier employees at BT achieved higher sales, particularly in complex interactions. It demonstrates how positive culture and supportive environments enable better decision-making and performance under pressure.
• Our own data: A one-point increase in happiness scores can reduce turnover by up to 18 people in a 1,000-person organisation — a cost saving of £25,800–£57,000. Happier employees are also 16% less likely to leave, preserving knowledge, maintaining consistency, and improving operational resilience.

Turning insights into action

Start by gathering the right data. Measure employee sentiment, track performance outcomes, and look for patterns that reveal how culture impacts results. The insights can help you predict turnover, improve engagement, and identify high-performing teams.

Our consultancy helps organisations build these frameworks from the ground up – from designing the right listening strategy to aligning your happiness data with key performance indicators.

Real-world application

Whether it’s a restaurant group linking team happiness to customer spend or a software company connecting engagement to sales performance, the principle is the same: when people thrive, business thrives.

We help clients apply these insights where they’ll have the biggest commercial impact, translating culture from an abstract concept into a strategic advantage.

Proving the ROI of culture isn’t just about collecting data. It’s about connecting human insight with business strategy. When you understand the measurable impact of happiness on performance, you can make culture your most powerful growth driver.

Our performance–culture consultancy empowers organisations to do exactly that – link happiness to outcomes, and data to decisions.