How Do I Describe My Company's Workforce Wellbeing Targets in an ESG Report?

"We don't set formal wellbeing targets" — a simple goal still counts

When SMEs reach the workforce wellbeing targets section, it's easy to assume this only applies to companies with dedicated HR systems, annual surveys, and quarterly dashboards. In reality, a wellbeing target is simply a measurable statement of where you want your workplace to improve — and even something modest, like "make sure everyone actually takes their full holiday entitlement this year," is a legitimate starting point.

If you already have an informal sense of "we should check in on how people are doing more regularly" or "we want fewer people leaving within their first year," you're most of the way there. The task is to turn that general intention into something specific and trackable.

‍

What is this question actually asking?

This section asks for measurable workforce wellbeing targets, typically covering:

• Employee satisfaction scores
• Retention rates
• Training hours
• Health and safety metrics
• Diversity goals

For each target, a strong answer includes a specific metric, a timeframe, and who is accountable for tracking it. You don't need a target in every category — only where it's genuinely relevant and realistically trackable given your company's size and resources.

‍

Good wellbeing targets are measurable

The same principle applies here as with any ESG target: a target should say what will improve, by how much, by when, and how you'll know if you've succeeded.

Compare these two statements:

"We want employees to be happier at work." (vague — not a target)

"Achieve an employee satisfaction score of 80% or above in annual surveys by 2026." (measurable — a real target)

The second version gives a clear way to check progress. Wherever possible, include percentages, baseline years, deadlines, and a named person or role responsible for tracking it.

‍

Common wellbeing target areas

Safety performance

This might include reducing workplace incidents, or ensuring all employees complete basic safety training annually. For most SMEs, especially office-based ones, a realistic version might simply be "zero serious workplace accidents" combined with a training completion target, rather than a detailed incident reduction percentage that assumes a larger baseline of past incidents.

Employee satisfaction and engagement

This covers overall satisfaction or engagement, often measured through a survey. If your company doesn't currently run formal surveys, a reasonable first target might be introducing a simple annual survey and establishing a baseline, with a specific satisfaction score target following in subsequent years.

Mental health support utilisation

This might include tracking how many employees use available mental health resources, or ensuring managers receive basic training on supporting team wellbeing. For a small company without formal wellbeing services, this could instead focus on ensuring managers know how to respond supportively if an employee raises a concern.

Work-life balance indicators

This covers things like sick leave trends or holiday usage — for example, a target that most employees take their full annual leave entitlement, which is both meaningful and realistically trackable even without sophisticated HR systems.

Professional development

This might include a minimum number of training hours per employee annually, or a retention rate reflecting satisfaction with development opportunities. A modest, trackable version for a small company could simply be "each employee receives at least one structured development opportunity per year."

Diversity and inclusion

This covers representation goals, often expressed as a target percentage or range for leadership diversity. For a very small company, precise percentage targets (like a 40-60% leadership range) may not be meaningful given the small number of people involved — a more honest approach might focus on transparent, consistent recruitment practices and informally tracking team composition over time.

Flexible working access

This covers what proportion of roles can access flexible working arrangements, acknowledging that not every role may be equally suited to full flexibility.

‍

Structure and accountability matter

For each target, briefly note:

• The specific metric or goal
• The timeframe (short-term, medium-term, or long-term)
• Who is accountable for tracking and reporting progress

You don't need a dedicated wellbeing champion or HR system to have credible accountability. For a smaller company, "our office manager tracks holiday usage and checks in informally each quarter" is a legitimate and honest structure. What matters is that someone is genuinely responsible, not that the process mirrors a large enterprise's HR function.

Grouping targets by time horizon can also help:

• Short-term — achievable within a year, like safety training completion
• Medium-term — requiring sustained effort, like satisfaction score improvements
• Long-term — bigger ambitions, like diversity representation goals

Not every company needs targets across all three horizons — set what's realistic for where your business is today.

‍

Keep targets realistic and proportionate

It's tempting to borrow specific, well-defined targets from a large company's ESG report — an 80% satisfaction score, a 40-60% leadership diversity range, 40 hours of training per employee. These numbers only mean something if your company can actually measure and track them. If you don't currently run employee surveys or track training hours, a borrowed target risks being unverifiable rather than credible.

A better approach for most SMEs: start with what you can reasonably measure today, even if modest — such as introducing a basic annual check-in survey, or committing to one professional development opportunity per employee per year. As your tracking improves, your targets can become more specific and ambitious in future reporting periods.

‍

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing vague ambitions instead of measurable targets. "Improve employee wellbeing" isn't a target; "achieve an 80% satisfaction score by 2026" is.
• Copying precise targets you can't actually track. A specific percentage target is only meaningful if you have a way to measure progress against it.
• Setting diversity percentage targets that don't make sense at small scale. For a very small leadership team, a specific percentage range may not be realistic or meaningful — focus on fair process instead where appropriate.
• Forgetting accountability. A target with no named owner, even an informal one, looks unmanaged.
• Ignoring what you can actually measure today. Set targets around metrics you can genuinely track, even if that means starting with a simpler goal like establishing a baseline.
• ‍

How Wardn helps

Wardn provides a structured template with example wording covering common wellbeing target areas — safety, satisfaction, mental health, work-life balance, development, and diversity — so you can adapt it to reflect goals your company can genuinely track and work toward. The same structure can be reused and updated year after year, making it straightforward to show progress against previous targets as your measurement and ambitions develop.

‍

Frequently asked questions

Do we need targets in every wellbeing category, like diversity and mental health utilisation?

No. Only include targets for categories genuinely relevant and trackable for your company. A small company without formal wellbeing services, for example, might reasonably skip a mental health utilisation target and focus on manager awareness instead.

What makes a wellbeing target measurable rather than just an ambition?

A measurable target states what will improve, by how much or to what rate, by when, and who is responsible for tracking it. "Improve wellbeing" is an ambition; "achieve 90% survey participation by 2025" is a target.

Should we set a specific satisfaction score target if we don't currently run employee surveys?

Not right away. A more honest first step is to set a target to introduce a survey and establish a baseline, with a specific score target following once you have real data to work from.

Do diversity targets need to use specific percentage ranges, like 40-60% in leadership?

Not necessarily, especially for very small teams where a percentage range may not be meaningful. Focus on what's realistic and honest for your company's size — this might mean emphasising fair, transparent processes rather than a specific numeric target.

What's the most common mistake companies make with wellbeing targets?

Copying specific, precise-sounding targets from larger organisations without having a way to actually measure or verify progress against them. It's better to set a smaller, trackable target than an impressive one you can't follow up on.

‍