Frank Giampietro
Americas Chief Wellbeing Officer
EY
Episode 109
Beyond Perks: Why Employee Well-being Is A Measurable Business Imperative For Growth
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJuly 14, 2025 · 13:53
Thesis
“Well-being must be treated as a business imperative, not just a perk, as it directly correlates with key business outcomes like talent retention and revenue growth, and its impact can be mathematically proven through data.”
Show notes
When EY asked Frank Giampietro to become the Americas Chief Wellbeing Officer, he said no. He didn't think he was the right person — not a model of well-being himself, not a wellness expert. His team convinced him to take it. What happened next turned out to be more interesting than any wellness program announcement: he helped EY mathematically prove that employees reporting higher wellbeing drove measurably higher revenue growth and retention. Wellbeing stopped being a benefit and became a business variable.
The instrument he built to track it is the Vitality Index — a 12-measure dashboard organized across three categories: sentiment data (how people feel), operational data (hours worked, workload signals), and program utilization (what employees are actually using and engaging with). The evolution of the Index is itself instructive. They started with what the team thought was important. Then they tested it — and shifted to what they could mathematically prove correlated with outcomes. The distinction between "what we think matters" and "what we can prove matters" is the gap most wellness programs never close.
He also covers extending mental health support to household members (wellbeing has a social component that can't be cordoned off at the workplace door), and gives the most honest answer to the inevitable stakeholder skepticism question: show them the financial data first, then put a face on it. The data gets you in the room; the story gets you the budget.
- How EY mathematically proved that employee wellbeing correlates with revenue growth and retention
- The Vitality Index: what it measures, how it's structured, and how leaders use it to take action
- Why the shift from "what we think is important" to "what we can prove out" changed the entire program
- Why EY extended mental health support to all household members — and the data behind that decision
- How to make the business case for wellbeing to skeptical stakeholders: the data + story combination
This episode is brought to you by Previ — an employer network that saves employees thousands on the necessities they already pay for, at no cost to the company.
What you'll take away
- 1Treat employee well-being as a core business imperative, demonstrating its direct impact on retention and revenue through quantitative and qualitative data.
- 2Develop a data-driven 'Vitality Index' by focusing on measures proven to correlate with business outcomes, enabling leaders to make proactive, targeted decisions.
- 3When convincing skeptical stakeholders, combine financial data with compelling personal stories to appeal to both logic and empathy.
- 4Extend mental health support beyond employees to include all household members, recognizing the social component of individual well-being and its impact on performance.
- 5Understand that building a culture of well-being is a long-term journey requiring sustained investment, patience, and visible progress, rather than expecting quick fixes.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Giampietro initially declined the role of Chief Wellbeing Officer, feeling unqualified and not a role model, which challenges the conventional narrative of leaders eagerly taking on new, high-profile positions.
- •He asserts that 'working more hours and working harder can't necessarily relate to better,' pushing back against the ingrained belief in many professional services that sheer effort always equates to quality.
In Frank's words
“We've never treated it as if it was a business imperative, like it was going to really be fundamental to how we ran the firm.”
This quote highlights the pivotal shift in EY's approach to well-being, elevating it from a benefit to a core business strategy.
“working more hours and working harder can't necessarily relate to better.”
This is a foundational insight for Giampietro, challenging the traditional view of productivity and underscoring the importance of sustainable work practices.
“So we went from what do we think is important to what can we prove out.”
This quote encapsulates the data-driven evolution of their Vitality Index, moving from assumptions to empirically validated measures.
“a lot of this stuff isn't really complicated. It's just shining a light to know who needs help and what do they need help with.”
This simplifies the essence of effective well-being interventions, emphasizing awareness and targeted support.
“I often say we're just at the beginning of that journey. So I think a lot of organizations, if they don't see results in 6 months or 9 months or a year, they go like, are we on the right track?”
This addresses a common challenge in long-term change initiatives, advising patience and persistent investment in well-being efforts.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Organizations struggle to mathematically prove the business impact of well-being initiatives, facing skepticism from financial and executive leadership.
- •Leaders lack clear, actionable data to proactively identify and address specific well-being challenges within their teams (e.g., lack of connection, poor healthy habits).
- •Companies often fail to provide holistic mental health support that extends to employees' household members, overlooking the broader social determinants of individual well-being and performance.
- •HR initiatives, especially around culture and well-being, are often abandoned prematurely if they don't yield quick results within 6-12 months.
- •Developing effective well-being programs requires moving beyond assumptions ('what we think is important') to empirically proven measures ('what we can prove out') through data science.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Ernest Young is leading its people consulting business in East region
The Well-Being Officer at Ernst & Young
Frank says employee well-being directly impacts business performance
How Well-being Affects Business Performance
Vitality Index helps leaders make proactive decisions about their team's well-being
How the Vitality Index Dashboard affects team well-being
Frank says convincing skeptical stakeholders that investing in employee wellbeing is a business imperative
How to Convince Skeptical stakeholders of Employee Wellbeing
Frank says his organization extends mental health support beyond workplace to include families
Employers' Mental Health Support
Frank, what parting advice would you share with our community? I think some of the work we do is really hard work
A Few Words of Advice for Our Community
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
Expand transcript (0 words)
Transcript is not available yet.