Maria Paviour's Optimism Consulting

Where science meets real life.

Thirty years of applying science to human performance means we've built up a body of evidence that shows what happens when organisations commit to doing things differently - investing in their people with rigour and intention, and measuring what changes.

From NHS trusts to financial regulators, local authorities to law firms, the pattern is consistent. When people are well, engaged and operating at cognitive capacity, performance follows.

The following case studies demonstrate the measurable impact of our work across public and private sector organisations. Full case study documents are available to download below. For further information or sector-specific examples, please contact hello@mariapaviour.com.

Healthcare · Cari® and NeuChem® Coaching

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

BSUH — an acute teaching hospital operating across two sites and employing over 8,000 staff — was placed into special measures following a CQC inspection in 2016. Staff from BME backgrounds and other protected characteristic groups reported significant issues with bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Maria Paviour's team deployed Cari® to support an ambitious programme of operational and cultural change, providing confidential wellbeing consultations to all 8,000 staff and delivering targeted NeuChem® coaching and resilience workshops. Support was provided to over 4,800 employees. The Trust's internal L and D team subsequently trained in NeuChem® techniques to sustain the programme independently.

£2.9m

Forecast annual saving

7.8x

Minimum ROI

8.6%

Reduction in stress and psychiatric absence

"What I love about Cari is that it gives something back to every employee and helps us drive more ROI, because it's proactive and preventative."

Lorissa Page, Deputy Director of HR, BSUH

Download full case study (PDF) →

Watch the story

Interview · Deputy HR Director

Launch · BBC coverage

Reflections on the programme five years on

Reflections · 5 years on

Our approach

Any culture change project must start by getting to know the underlying problems the organisation is trying to solve. One of the challenges of gathering this kind of information is that employees are often unwilling to openly discuss when they are struggling, for fear of reprisals.

Cari® is an award-winning, purpose-built tool designed to evaluate and measure wellbeing and happiness. Unlike conventional surveys, it measures both the cognitive and emotional responses of individuals, giving a clearer picture of the cultural challenges beneath the data.

The results at BSUH suggested that working conditions presented a serious challenge, with 70% of staff coming into work at a level below effective functioning — with decision-making, teamwork and problem-solving negatively impacted. Initial feedback on the anonymised personal reports was extremely positive: 4 in 5 staff said their contents and recommended interventions were "spot on".

The outcomes

As news spread of the Trust's innovative approach, the programme was featured on regional BBC news. Analysing the responses enabled the team to deliver confidential, targeted interventions for every employee — triaging every issue by urgency through a mix of counselling, NeuChem® coaching and resilience workshops.

Sickness absence rates fell for eight consecutive months following implementation, driven in significant part by an 8.6% reduction in absence due to stress, depression and other psychiatric complaints — with knock-on benefits to general health, musculoskeletal complaints and presenteeism. Overall, the Trust saw a forecast saving of £2.9 million per annum, equivalent to a minimum 7.8x ROI.

"The results are personal to each individual and highlight areas where we can take better care of ourselves or need to ask for help… All 8,000 staff across the Trust have access to the Cari survey, enabling them to develop their own personal wellbeing profile and access support to improve individual wellbeing."

Marianne Griffiths, Chief Executive, BSUH

This case study was independently written by the University of Sussex Innovation Centre.

Financial Services · NeuChem® Coaching and Cari®

UK Financial Regulator — six-year engagement

Over a six-year period, Maria Paviour's team partnered with a UK financial regulator to quantify and address their risk exposure associated with poor mental health and wellbeing. Using Cari® to identify who was at risk and measure the impact of interventions, NeuChem® coaching was deployed to provide the right support to the right people at the right time. The engagement produced measurable, sustained cultural change — reducing risk exposure across the organisation while driving significant cost savings.

45%

Reduction in overall risk exposure

60%

Reduction in associated costs

6 yrs

Sustained partnership

Download full case study (PDF) →

Local Government · Cari®

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council deployed Cari® to provide confidential wellbeing support across their workforce, equipping staff with personalised insight and enabling the organisation to take a proactive, data-informed approach to employee mental health and performance.

Download full case study (PDF) →

Public Sector · Cari® Research Study

Cari 2020 Vision — UK Public Sector Wellbeing Study

Working with multiple councils and a UK-wide Government organisation, Maria Paviour's team ran the largest study of mental health and wellbeing among UK public sector workers. Over 14,000 employees were given access to a confidential AI wellbeing consultation through Cari®, generating unprecedented data on workforce brain states, performance levels and financial risk exposure. The results revealed that 70% of public sector employees were operating below effective functioning, with 46% at a low reactive level of wellbeing and only 32% presenting as healthy — with significant implications for decision-making, collaboration and organisational performance.

14,373

Employees in the study

8.2%

Wellbeing & performance boost

£1.9m

Predicted annual ROI

"We implemented Cari because we recognised that it was better to have useful insights, rather than remaining ignorant when it comes to mental health and wellbeing in our organisation. It’s so important to have data about your workforce so you can act upon it to improve performance and reduce the risk of litigious issues. Cari enables us to offer genuine holistic and personalised support to everyone. But also gives the additional, powerful benefit of encouraging our staff to take their wellbeing seriously. They now feel more responsible for looking after their own mental health."

Director: Transformation, HR and Organisational Development, South East-based Unitary Local Authority

Download Brain States report (PDF) →

Aims of the study

Conducted during 2019, the Cari 2020 Vision project set out to measure levels of mental wellbeing and resilience across the public sector workplace, to test the accuracy of Cari® wellbeing consultations, and to understand the performance outcomes and return on investment of neuroscience-based wellbeing interventions.

Key results

More than 4,100 people took part in a confidential wellbeing consultation with Cari®. The data painted a concerning picture: nearly half of public sector employees were operating at a low, reactive level of wellbeing, around one in five were damaged or ill, and only a third presented as healthy. On average, employees' brains were functioning at just 57% of capacity — seriously compromising problem-solving, decision-making and co-operative behaviour.

Outcomes and return on investment

The organisations taking part achieved a wellbeing and performance boost of 8.2% — equating to a predicted saving on the costs of poor mental health of £1.7–£1.8 million per year, or around £130 per person per month, with results expected to strengthen further through continued use.

Drawing on Deloitte's January 2020 finding that best-practice wellbeing interventions can return more than ten times their cost, the study predicted an annual return of £1.9 million on an investment of around £215,000. Because Cari® also proactively guides people towards existing wellbeing provisions, it drives additional ROI from investments organisations have already made.