October Advisory brings aggregate team pulse, people data and leadership input together into one baseline. Sector comparisons put the gaps in perspective, so you choose where to act on evidence rather than on the loudest number.
Is workload rising because of open roles, unclear priorities or the way the team is managed?
Who it’s for
A diagnostic is useful when leaders can see a pattern but not what is driving it. These are illustrative situations of the kind we are asked to look into.
The latest pulse shows workload and support slipping in one part of the business.
“We can see the score. We can’t see the reason.”
Team signals are read alongside people context and conversations with the leaders involved, to find where pressure concentrates and what may be driving it.
Directors want to know whether a result is normal for the sector.
“Is this a problem, or is it just our industry?”
A benchmark brief compares equivalent measures, populations and periods with a sector reference, then explains which gaps deserve a closer look.
A leadership programme is on the table, and the budget is real.
“Before we buy a programme, is that even the problem?”
The diagnostic tests the explanation first. The intervention is chosen once the question for leadership is clear and a baseline is agreed.
Survey results, HR data and leadership opinion each tell a different story.
“Everyone has a number, and they all point somewhere different.”
The sources are brought into one picture and one agreed baseline, which the leadership team returns to at every review.
Why it’s different
TodaySurvey results are presented as a ranked list of low scores.
With OctoberSignals are read across teams and sources to find where pressure is building and what may be driving it.
TodayA sector benchmark is treated as a verdict.
With OctoberA comparison starts a question. Equivalent measures, populations and periods are checked before any gap is acted on.
TodayAn intervention is chosen before anyone understands the cause.
With OctoberCompeting explanations are tested against the evidence, and leaders agree the question worth answering first.
TodayEach team reads its own data, and the findings never meet.
With OctoberTeam pulse, people data and leadership input form one baseline the whole leadership team agrees and returns to.
What you receive
A diagnostic is expert work, not a report generator. These are the things it produces, shown as illustrative examples.
Bring the sources together
Aggregate team pulse shows where pressure is building. People data adds context such as open roles, turnover and team changes. Conversations with leaders add what the numbers cannot show. Read together, they point to where to look first.
Test the interpretation
Rising workload can come from vacancies, unclear priorities or the way a team is managed. Our analysts and psychologists test each explanation against more than one source and keep the limits of the evidence visible.
Two vacancies in Operations for over a quarter. Workload is higher in the affected teams.
Role clarity is one to watch. Leaders describe competing requests from head office.
Support trails other teams. Leaders say one-to-ones are the first thing to slip.
Vacancies add pressure, but they do not explain it alone. Unclear priorities leave managers little room to support their teams.
Benchmark brief
Sector comparisons show where to look more closely. The benchmark brief checks that measures, populations and periods are equivalent, then brings team context into the interpretation before anyone decides which differences deserve action.
Explore why manager support trails the reference before choosing an intervention.
Agreed baseline
The diagnostic ends with the concern, the population, the evidence and the intended outcome written down. Those measures become the baseline that later reviews return to, whether the next step is coaching, a workshop or a wider engagement.
The same measures are used at every review, so progress is read against this starting point.
A diagnostic in practice
An illustrative diagnostic for a business where leaders disagreed about what was driving rising workload.
Brings the concern: workload is up in Operations. The COO thinks it is vacancies; the heads of function think it is head-office requests.
Read aggregate team pulse alongside people context. Operations stands out on workload and support; role clarity is one to watch.
Hold conversations with the COO and heads of function, and frame three explanations to test.
Prepare a benchmark brief. Manager support trails the sector reference once measures and periods are aligned.
Review the readout together. They agree the question, the baseline and the first priority: manager capacity in Operations.
Turn the priority into an intervention brief with an accountable owner, measured against the same baseline.
Investigate manager capacity in Operations first. Sales workload stays on watch for the next review.
Look past the score. Find the pressure behind it.
Getting started
Bring the concern, the leaders involved and the data you already have, such as pulse results, HR context or earlier reports.
We bring the sources together, hold leadership conversations and test the competing explanations, with sector comparisons where they help.
Leaders agree the question to answer, the measures to revisit and where to act first.
Evidence you can trust
The diagnostic works from group-level team pulse and people context. October Insights reports wellbeing in aggregate, with minimum group sizes.
What employees discuss in October Health support remains separate from engagement reporting.
A benchmark gap is only acted on when the measure, population, period and reference group are aligned.
The interpretation shows what the evidence supports and where it is thin, so leaders know how much weight to give it.
Connected work
Take the priority from the diagnostic through an intervention brief, delivery and a monthly review.
ExploreBring the findings into the room, so a team can agree the trade-offs and own the actions.
ExploreAggregated wellbeing trends, employee voice and industry benchmarks across your organisation.
ExploreRun pulse, engagement, onboarding and exit surveys, and explore the patterns and themes in the responses.
ExploreTell us what your team needs. We’ll walk you through the relevant features, support options and how to get started.