Meet the founding father of The Happiness Index

When investing, your capital is in danger.

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Matt Phelan is the co-founder and co-CEO of The Happiness Index (THI). A seasoned entrepreneur, Matt launched a advertising and marketing company in 2008 which turned integral to constructing THI. The workforce has been capable of develop to over £1 million in annual recurring income, with a 95% buyer retention fee*. Now with plans to develop internationally and have extra staff completely satisfied and engaged, they’re fundraising on Seedrs to a goal of £475,007. We felt this was the fitting time to get to know Matt and his mission. 

You’re a second time entrepreneur and writer. Inform us about your profession earlier than launching The Happiness Index?

I began my first enterprise, a advertising and marketing company, in 2008 proper earlier than the final huge monetary disaster. Though I can’t advocate beginning a enterprise when the world is in melt-down, we actually needed to study loads of classes in a short time on the time! 

My first enterprise was truly integral to constructing The Happiness Index. Not solely did the thought come from certainly one of our prospects (who’s now our Chief Advertising Officer), however our CTO on the time constructed V1 of our product. It was initially an in-house answer we used! Shortly our prospects began asking to make use of it too, and now we offer a platform that’s utilized by 1000’s of individuals throughout over 100 international locations. 

What’s The Happiness Index and what downside does it resolve?

In a nutshell, we offer a SaaS platform that helps HR and Individuals professionals measure their workforce’s happiness and engagement. Historically, feelings are omitted of the office, however neuroscience reveals us that we have to unite each the pinnacle and the center. By understanding how staff are considering and feeling, companies will thrive. 

How does your enterprise mannequin work and what are your income streams? 

As a SaaS firm, we cost to be used of our platform. Sometimes, prospects join a three 12 months contract which we discover is the very best timeframe to implement large-scale cultural modifications. We cost on a sliding scale by firm measurement. 

We additionally provide a management coaching academy, which permits formidable professionals to familiarize yourself with our neuroscience mannequin to allow them to assist construct thriving cultures.

What does your aggressive panorama appear to be and the way does The Happiness Index differentiate itself? 

In contrast to different measurement firms, we take a look at each happiness and engagement. Inside these broad strokes, we now have a proprietary neuroscience mannequin which makes use of eight key themes. Collectively they assist create a cheerful and engaged workforce, a thriving tradition, and, in flip, a productive organisation.

Now we have over 20 pre-built surveys which concentrate on all points of the worker and organisation lifecycle. In addition to an always-on listening instrument which permits our prospects to gather worker suggestions because it occurs. 

Our know-how is designed to indicate organisations which key neuroscience themes your enterprise is at the moment performing nicely in and areas to enhance. This may permit firms to take finest follow and apply to totally different areas of the organisation, for instance between groups or places.

May you inform us about a few of your largest achievements to this point? 

Final July we launched our Neuroscience improve. This revolutionised how we at the moment are capable of benchmark and analyse information inside our platform. We additionally launched our closing the suggestions loop operate. A instrument which permits managers to enter into conversations about suggestions whereas sustaining full anonymity on behalf of the worker.

Nevertheless, our largest achievement is that we’ve managed to construct our firm with out sacrificing our principals alongside the best way. For us, all the things is about #FreedomtobeHuman. We don’t need to do something if it’s not proper for our folks.  

How do you propose to create a scalable and worthwhile enterprise?

I need to begin by telling you about my favorite happiness research. 

In 2012 Michael West and Jeremy Dawson revealed a paper with The Kings Fund that also shocks me  a decade later! Their research aimed to look right into a hyperlink between worker engagement and job efficiency. They checked out a variety of metrics to measure efficiency. These included issues which are fairly particular to the healthcare trade, resembling mortality, but additionally some which are related to different industries, resembling security measures and affected person (or buyer) satisfaction. They even checked out some which are arguably related to each worker – absenteeism and turnover. 

West and Dawson proved that there have been many clear associations between happiness and office efficiency. Strikingly, the info confirmed that an enchancment in worker engagement of 1 customary deviation led to a lower in affected person mortality of two.4%. This implies if there have been two hospitals, and all the things else was precisely the identical, however one had completely satisfied workers and the opposite had sad workers, extra folks would die within the second hospital!

We run a enterprise, not a hospital. However by listening to our folks, and measuring the happiness AND engagement of a whole bunch of 1000’s of staff throughout 90 international locations, we will see that the identical is true in enterprise.  

I’ve seen numerous information factors that spotlight how specializing in tradition and happiness has modified companies and adjusted lives. You may learn extra about it in my ebook right here. However secure to say, what I realized was that caring about how your staff assume, really feel and behave is vital to operating a thriving enterprise. 

Past this, certainly one of our huge objectives for the approaching 12 months is to turn into B-Corp licensed. We imagine that scalability is all all the way down to sustainability. Should you’re not sustainable, you’re not scalable. 

What do you propose to do with the cash you elevate? 

It’s crucial to us as founders that we create a enterprise with a sustainable progress plan. For that purpose we’ll proceed to steadiness our funding throughout:

• Rising and growing our workforce
• The event roadmap of our platform 
• Increasing our international progress gross sales and partnership functionality

What do you like to do in your free time? 

Spending time open air with my children, I really like taking part in in nature with my son and daughter at any time when I can.

I additionally run each day for my psychological well being, and have been identified to kick a ball about with my mates. Different issues I really like embrace taking my son to the park or my daughter to look at Spurs girls play within the WSL.

Should you weren’t constructing The Happiness Index, what do you assume you’d be doing? 

I grew up on a working farm and I used to assist my mother and father out while rising up. So if I wasn’t operating The Happiness Index, I’d be engaged on a farm attempting to determine the right way to sustainably feed the world.

What’s the largest lesson you’ve learnt to this point constructing The Happiness Index?

After we alpha examined The Happiness Index method again in 2011, we made happiness a goal. However making happiness a goal is like telling somebody who seems to be sad to cheer up. As a substitute we realized to view happiness and emotional information extra like a climate report. For instance, if it’s going to rain, pack an umbrella. If it’s going to snow, be sure to have packed the snow chains.

Right now’s feelings are tomorrow’s efficiency. Emotional information is intelligence firm board and management groups can use to make higher choices.

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To affix Matt and The Happiness Index workforce on their quest to enhance worker wellbeing, take a look at their marketing campaign right here. 

*Primarily based on unaudited administration accounts.