Six EMBER™ vital signs measure workforce identity. Four operational moderators measure workplace identity, the workplace's capacity to embody and reinforce that workforce identity. Together they form the WIS™ composite.
The EMBER™ Score tells leadership how strong the workforce identity is, measured through six vital signs. The WIS™ tells leadership what to do about it.
WIS is a composite score that combines all six EMBER vital signs with four additional operational moderators, signals that capture whether the workforce can actually execute on its identity. Are roles defined clearly enough? Is the workforce ready for AI? Do employees understand and embody the brand? Can the workforce see and respond to the market?
This is the difference between workforce and workplace. The six vital signs measure workforce identity, the durable signal of who your people are. The four moderators measure workplace operations, the readiness conditions that determine whether identity becomes outcome. Together they form the WIS™: ten signals, one composite score.
WIS is the measurement leadership uses when workforce strategy decisions need to account for the whole picture, not just identity. Identity shows the strength. Operational moderators show the readiness. Together: the only complete view of workforce performance available.
The four signals that combine with the six EMBER™ vital signs to produce the WIS™ composite. These moderators capture the workplace conditions that determine whether your workforce identity becomes a market outcome.
Both scores are valid measurements. The right one depends on the question being asked.
You need a fast, focused diagnostic of workforce identity strength.
You're benchmarking against industry peers on the headline measure of workforce identity.
You're tracking workforce identity stability through a transition, transformation, or disruption event.
The conversation is about who your people are and how strongly they identify with the organization.
You need the full operational view for strategic decisions about workforce architecture.
You're evaluating whether the organization can execute on a major brand, AI, or market shift.
You're identifying the gap between workforce identity and workplace readiness, where to invest to convert one into the other.
The conversation is about how ready the workplace is to translate workforce identity into measurable outcome.