Where there’s a win, there’s a way: the importance of celebrating the small wins in wellbeing

When it comes to workplace wellbeing strategies, we often focus on big picture goals such as reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and improved employee satisfaction scores.  

These are often the drivers that first compelled us to invest in worker wellbeing and leave many of us wanting to demonstrate, internally and externally, that our outlay was justified.   

Wellbeing is a journey and it’s important to celebrate both the end point and the small steps that take us there. So, how do we identify, communicate and celebrate the small wins in wellbeing?  

The power of small wins 

Think of wellbeing initiatives like building a house. The big metrics – overall employee satisfaction or reduced healthcare costs – are the equivalent of seeing the finished home. Before you get there, you celebrate the small milestones; the foundations being set, the walls going up, and the roof being completed. 

These small steps aren't just feel-good measures – they're essential indicators of a direction of travel. So, what do they look like in the context of workplace wellbeing?  

• Participation milestones: such as the number of new attendees at wellbeing events, reaching a participation target, levels of voluntary engagement and gradual increases in the use of wellbeing resources.  

• Behavioural shifts: like the adoption of meeting-free periods, employees using their full holiday allowance, and a respect for boundaries around lunch breaks and out of hours contact.   

• Environmental changes: such as the creation of quiet working spaces, outdoor spaces being utilised for meetings, and workspaces prioritising natural light.  

• Cultural indicators: such as an open dialogue around psychological health, leaders modelling vulnerability, and wellbeing featuring in colleague conversations.  

Documenting these small successes helps to both justify past investment in wellbeing and build up an evidence base for future investment.  

Small wins drive engagement 

Often, people need to see that something is working before they fully commit to it. When employees see colleagues enjoying a new initiative or hear about small positive changes, they're more likely to want to get involved and get other people involved too. This ripple effect is invaluable in building buy-in across all levels of an organisation.   

Practical ways to measure the small successes 

So, how can you effectively track small successes and how do you communicate them internally?  

• Create a "wellbeing wins" channel where employees can share positive experiences 

• Use quick pulse surveys to capture point-in-time feedback after specific initiatives 

• Track participation rates for optional wellbeing activities 

• Monitor how often wellbeing resources are accessed 

• Collect qualitative feedback through informal conversations 

The key is making these measurements lightweight and consistent, rather than overwhelming or burdensome. 

Learning from the journey 

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of tracking small successes is what they teach you about your wellbeing strategy itself. Interventions may be under-utilised because the content is wrong or because communication has missed the mark. Each small win confirms that actions meet the needs of the workforce; in a way that works for them.  

The human side of success 

Behind every metric is a human experience. When we track small wellbeing wins, we're really documenting moments where someone's workday became a little better, a little healthier, or a little less stressful. Sharing these stories, and colleagues being willing to share their own stories, contributes to a culture of collective progress.  

Connecting the dots: from small successes comes transformative change 

In the end, workplace wellbeing isn't just about implementing programmes or ticking boxes – it's about creating environments in which people can thrive – re-affirming the perennial message that people are an organisation's most valuable asset.  

The small successes aren’t just precursors to bigger achievements, they are the very substance of transformation itself. By identifying, communicating and celebrating these small wins, we validate the everyday efforts of our people, reinforce the behaviours that support wellbeing and build a compelling narrative that connects individual experiences to organisational goals. 

 

 If you’d like to talk to our Wellbeing Team about how they can support you to identify, communicate and celebrate the small successes of wellbeing, you can contact them by email here: [email protected] or by phone: 0208 600 1000