Culture Is Not a Feeling: Turning Engagement Data into Management Action

By Dr. Angela J. Pruitt

Culture is one of the most talked-about—and least understood—concepts in organizations. Leaders say culture matters. Employees live it every day. Yet when asked to define it, measure it, or improve it, many organizations struggle to move beyond anecdotes and intuition. Culture stays as something leaders “sense” rather than something they manage. Without measurement, culture is reduced to opinion. Without action, even the best data becomes wasted effort.

During my years as a Chief Human Resources Officer in education and government, I learned quickly that culture could not be improved through passion alone. It required discipline, clarity, and data. In our case, a main source of data was surveys and one of the most powerful questions we used came from Gallup research: “Would you recommend a friend or relative work here?” That single question captured trust, pride, and advocacy in a way that traditional satisfaction measures never could. More importantly, it gave leaders a starting point for meaningful conversations about their workplace climate.

What made the difference, however, was not the survey itself—it was what came next. We moved beyond reporting scores to identifying recurring themes that guided leadership coaching, supervisor training, and targeted interventions. We paired engagement data with additional metrics to create a fuller picture of culture, and we taught leaders how to use that information. The lesson was simple but powerful: culture is not a feeling—it is a set of behaviors that can be measured, influenced, and improved when leaders know how to act on the data.

Why Measurement Matters: What the Research Tells Us

Decades of research confirm what most leaders already suspect: culture and engagement are closely tied to performance, retention, and organizational success. Gallup’s engagement research has consistently shown that engaged employees are more productive, more loyal, and more likely to advocate for their organization. The “recommend a friend or relative” question is particularly effective because it combines emotional commitment with reputational risk—employees are unlikely to recommend a workplace they do not trust.

Yet many organizations stop at measurement. They administer surveys, distribute reports, and hold brief discussions before moving on to the next initiative. Leaders are left with data but little guidance on how to translate results into action. Over time, employees become skeptical that surveys will lead to change, and response rates decline. Measurement without follow-through can actually erode trust.

Effective culture measurement requires two commitments: selecting the right indicators and ensuring leaders are equipped to respond. Engagement data should not be treated as an HR exercise; it must be positioned as a core management responsibility.

From Survey Results to Strategy: Lessons from Education and Public Sector

In both education and local government environments, we conducted annual climate surveys designed to capture employee experience across work locations. Early on, we realized that presenting leaders with raw data and expecting improvement was unrealistic. Leaders needed help interpreting results and understanding what was within their control.

Instead of focusing on individual questions or overall scores, we analyzed themes that emerged consistently across survey results. These themes—such as communication, trust in leadership, workload, and recognition—became the foundation for targeted leadership development and coaching. Training sessions were designed around the issues employees identified, not around generic leadership topics.

Just as important, we expanded our analysis beyond engagement scores. Turnover data provided useful context, but it was inherently backward-looking. By the time an employee resigned, the organization had already lost talent, knowledge, and momentum.

To address this gap, we began tracking what we called “flight risk.” Flight risk was defined as employees applying for similar positions at other locations within the organization or system. We intentionally excluded resignations, terminations, and promotions. The goal was not to punish leaders, but to identify early warning signs of cultural strain before employees left.

This approach allowed us to intervene earlier, offering leadership support, coaching, or structural adjustments where needed. It also reframed engagement data as a preventive tool rather than a post-mortem analysis.

Creating Culture Profiles: Making Data Usable for Leaders

One of the most impactful changes we made was the creation of location-level culture profiles. Rather than presenting organization-wide averages, each leader received a profile that reflected their specific work environment. These profiles combined engagement themes, flight risk indicators, turnover trends, and relevant contextual factors such as leadership transitions or staffing challenges.

The profiles served several purposes. First, they made the data personal and actionable. Leaders could see patterns within their own teams rather than dismissing results as organizational noise. Second, they encouraged ownership. Culture was no longer something “HR managed”; it was something leaders were expected to understand and address.

HR’s role shifted from enforcer to coach. Conversations focused on questions such as:

• What behaviors might be driving these results?
• What is within your control to change?
• What support do you need to address these gaps?

When leaders are given clear data, practical tools, and support, they are far more likely to engage meaningfully with culture improvement efforts.

Extending the Concept: From Employee Experience to Customer Experience

The same principles that apply to employee engagement also apply to customer and client experience. In my current work with a franchise organization preparing to implement Net Promoter Score (NPS), the parallels are striking.

NPS, originally developed to measure customer loyalty, is based on a simple question: How likely are you to recommend our organization to others? Like engagement surveys, NPS captures trust, satisfaction, and advocacy in a single metric. And like engagement data, its value lies not in the score itself but in how leaders use the information.

Organizations often make the mistake of chasing higher NPS numbers without addressing the underlying behaviors that influence customer experience. Leaders may react defensively to negative feedback or focus narrowly on improving scores rather than understanding patterns.

Drawing on lessons from employee engagement work, our approach emphasizes education and interpretation. Leaders are taught how to analyze feedback, identify themes, and connect results to daily operational and leadership behaviors. The focus shifts from “What is our score?” to “What experience are we creating, and how can we improve it?”

The consistency across contexts is clear: whether the audience is employees or customers, data becomes actionable only when leaders understand what it is telling them and how to respond.

Why Culture Initiatives Fail—and How to Prevent It

Despite good intentions, many culture initiatives fail to produce meaningful change. Common failure points include:

• Conducting surveys without a clear plan for follow-up
• Sharing data without context or interpretation
• Holding leaders accountable for results they do not understand
• Treating culture as an HR responsibility rather than a leadership one

These failures are not the result of poor data, but of poor integration into management practice.

Successful culture initiatives share multiple characteristics:

• A limited number of meaningful measures aligned with organizational priorities
• Clear definitions and guardrails to prevent misuse of data
• Leader education and coaching focused on interpretation and action
• Ongoing follow-up to assess progress and adjust strategies

When culture data is embedded into regular leadership conversations and decision-making processes, it becomes a living tool rather than a static report.

Culture Is Built in the Follow-Through

Culture is not defined by mission statements or slogans. It is built—or eroded—by what leaders consistently say and do. Measurement does not replace leadership judgment; it sharpens it. Engagement surveys, flight risk indicators, and customer experience metrics provide leaders with insight, but insight alone is not enough.

Organizations that succeed in improving culture are those that treat data as a catalyst for action. They listen carefully, respond thoughtfully, and follow through consistently. In doing so, they move culture out of the realm of feelings and into the realm of management practice.

Culture, when measured and managed well, is no longer abstract. It becomes actionable, accountable, and ultimately transformative.