The theme
Wellbeing surveys measure mood. Not values.
Almost every organisation measures wellbeing. Very few measure what actually gets chosen when two of their own values cannot both be honoured. Those are two different questions, and they require two different instruments.
Short answer: a wellbeing survey measures a level — how good or bad things are across a set of dimensions. A values measurement measures a hierarchy — which value wins when a choice must be made. A level can be improved with resources and structures. A hierarchy can only be changed by a decision.
Why the difference matters
An organisation can post good wellbeing numbers and still hold a culture that systematically sacrifices thoroughness for speed. It can post weak numbers because it is under strain, with its values intact. With only one instrument, the diagnosis is wrong in roughly half of cases — and the interventions therefore become expensive and ineffective.
The underlying reason is methodological. A wellbeing survey asks questions where all answers can be true at once. In the same questionnaire you can agree with both "we act fast" and "we have time to do the work properly". In everyday work there are situations where the two exclude each other. Culture is what you do in exactly those situations.
| Wellbeing survey | Values measurement |
|---|---|
| Asks: how are you doing? | Asks: what do you choose when you cannot have both? |
| Scale answers; all statements can be true at once. | Forced choices between two legitimate concerns. |
| Benchmark: last year and the industry. | Benchmark: leadership's locked guess at the same hierarchy. |
| Output: dimensions with colour codes. | Output: a hierarchy, a strength ratio and a breaking point. |
| Leads to initiatives. | Leads to one decision about priority. |
| Covers a statutory duty on the psychosocial environment. | Covers no statutory duty. Used when values fail to take hold. |
Three everyday examples
01
Deadline against quality
The delivery ships tomorrow and the quality check is unfinished. A wellbeing survey may register a stress point. A values measurement registers that speed beats thoroughness in 78 percent of cases — rising to 94 percent when the customer is large.
02
Bad news against calm
An employee knows something that will create turbulence in a shared meeting. The wellbeing survey shows a mediocre psychological safety score. The values measurement shows calm beating openness in the longest-tenured units, and the reverse among new hires.
03
A colleague's mistake against accountability
A mistake traces to someone everybody likes. The wellbeing survey does not capture the situation. The values measurement shows loyalty beating accountability — and leadership had guessed the exact opposite.
The numbers in these examples are illustrative. They show what the instrument produces — they are not results from a specific organisation.
How a hierarchy is measured
- The organisation's own values are used unchanged and translated into concrete behaviour so they can collide.
- Each value pair meets in short, realistic situations where only one of the two can be honoured.
- The same pair is repeated across pressure variants so the breaking point can be found.
- Leadership ranks the same values and the guess is locked before opening. No lock, no gap.
- No unit is reported below five responses, and the threshold is enforced in the database.
Which instrument, when?
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Annual mapping and statutory duty | Wellbeing survey |
| New values are being rolled out, or the old ones fail to take hold | Values measurement |
| Merger, fast growth or downsizing | Values measurement, before and again after |
| Sickness absence and strain are rising | Wellbeing survey first |
| Leadership and employees describe two different companies | Values measurement with a locked leadership guess |
Does KulturEKG replace our wellbeing survey?
No. The wellbeing survey covers a statutory duty and detects strain. KulturEKG answers a different question and is typically used annually or around a change.
Can we just add value questions to the existing questionnaire?
You can ask "do we live our values?" on a scale, but the answer is an attitude. A hierarchy requires forced choices between two values, and those do not belong in the middle of a statutory mapping.
How long does it take a participant?
Six to nine minutes. There is no free text and no long scale batteries.
Are the answers anonymous?
Yes, in the technical sense: dispatch and responses live in separate registers with no relation, access is a single-use token, and no result is shown below five responses.
What if we have no formulated values?
A measurement is still possible, but it must begin by describing the concerns that actually compete in everyday work. In practice that often produces the first usable value set.