All of our risk indicators are designed to highlight teams that might need more support in order to reach their full potential.

We've found that there are some key factors that can signal a risk of underperformance. By improving these areas, teams can create an environment where employees feel supported, engaged, and able to perform at their best.

Why underperformance is a risk

Underperformance is more than just missing targets; it can lead to deeper organizational problems. The resulting lack of productivity can put additional strain on other teams, creating a negative cycle. Addressing a risk of underperformance is not only about looking to improve business outcomes thought - it is also about safeguarding employee wellbeing and retaining valuable team members.

Understanding underperformance: Our evidence based approach

Friday Pulse’s research has shown that teams with low scores in Happiness, Team cooperation, Accomplishment and Feedback are at a higher risk of also reporting that the team is underperforming.

Low happiness scores suggest broader dissatisfaction that can manifest in decreased motivation and focus, while poor cooperation between teams disrupts the flow of work, leading to delays and confusion. Feedback issues can further compound this, as employees may not feel they have the guidance or support they need to improve. Alongside this, a feeling they are not achieving as much as they would like can also mean employees don’t feel the impact their work has, and may become demotivated. Identifying and addressing issues that are behind these scores early can prevent underperformance from becoming a chronic issue.

In our estimate of risk levels, all four scores - Happiness, Team cooperation, Feedback and Accomplishment - have equal weighting. Tracking these factors allows organizations to identify teams that may be struggling to meet their goals, enabling targeted support to help teams reach their full potential.

Improving a team’s Happiness score

• Make sure the team is discussing their happiness in the same rhythm they are answering the Friday Pulse questions (e.g., weekly or monthly).
• Teams should use the Presentation from the Dashboard to guide these conversations effectively.
• Encourage teams to reflect on the Celebrations and Frustrations they have shared, and leave space for others to be shared during the meeting too. This helps them to celebrate day-to-day accomplishments and act on feedback shared through Celebrations, Thank-yous and Frustrations.
• Learn more about improving team happiness here

Improving a team’s Team cooperation score

• A team may feel that only other teams can resolve the issues behind their interactions with other teams. However, it’s useful to recognise that this is unlikely to help the team come up with positive and viable solutions to their own score.
• Encourage the team to discuss what they can control and influence, such as improving their own ways of working with other teams, and sharing the responsibility for building up the relationship between teams.
• Discussions could cover what feedback it would be useful to get from other teams, how to get this, and how to improve ways of working with other teams to accomplish the team’s goals.
• Take a look at some other ideas in Things for teams to try: Improving Team cooperation

Improving a team’s Feedback score

• Helpful feedback helps everyone work better together, makes us feel valued and helps us to grow. Ask the team to discuss what good feedback looks like and what’s missing.
• Explore the ways feedback is currently given and received, what team members perceive as helpful feedback and what feedback they might not be seeing as such.
• Encourage the team to find ways to enhance how they give and get both formal and informal feedback, so that team members feel supported and appropriately challenged.
• You can find more ideas in Things for teams to try: Improving Feedback

Improving a team’s Accomplishment score

• Ask the team to discuss barriers to achieving goals and brainstorm ways to reduce or remove these blockers.
• A sense of accomplishment isn’t just about big wins—small achievements matter too. Encourage the team to share and recognize both big and small successes they’ve had recently using the Celebrations in Friday Pulse each week or month.
• See more ideas in Things for teams to try: Improving Accomplishment