A Tale of Trusting Data Over Gut Instincts

In the whimsical world of statistics, even the simplest lunch decisions can turn into a statistical saga filled with revelations. Check it out as Drew DeMarie, Our Managing Director and self-proclaimed “data-nerd” documents the perplexing case of lunchtime dismissal, where numbers, instincts, and a dash of humor meld.

Picture this: a room full of nearly 400 eager team building participants, hungry for both knowledge and lunch. The task at hand seems simple enough – to avoid bottleneck, dismiss the group by thirds to head to lunch. I decided to get creative and divide the group according to birth months, only to be met with unexpected results.

As the months of May through August are announced, two-thirds of the room promptly depart and hit the buffet line. Could it be that US birth rates are wildly disproportionate? Or perhaps there’s a statistical anomaly at play? In true data-nerd fashion, I consulted world wide web for answers.

By uncovering the curious distribution of birth months (31.83% of babies are born in the first 4 months, 34.36% in the months of May-August and 33.81% born in the last 4 months of the year), and revealing the amusing antics of a few rule-bending participants (my colleague overheard someone saying, as they departed, “I’m not born in those months… I’m just hungry!”), I learned the lesson that sometimes numbers simply don’t add up to our expectations.

But while statistical quirks may be amusing in the case of this midday meal mecca, they hold far greater significance in the world of training and professional development.

At Spark4, we understand the importance of measuring impact and validating the value of our initiatives through measurable outcomes. Knowing whether your employees are acquiring skills, retaining knowledge or changing their behavior has a deep impact on ROI. Whether it’s increased sales revenue, improved customer satisfaction, or enhanced employee engagement, measurable outcomes validate the value of training initiatives and justify future investments. 

For these reasons, Spark4 tracks our impact when it comes to leadership development, facilitation and team building. That’s why we’re happy to report that in 2023 100% of our participants were satisfied or very satisfied with their experience with us (91% were very satisfied). One-hundred percent of our attendees rated our facilitators as very engaging (with 77% saying that our facilitators were Extremely Engaging). And finally, when asked 100% of participants reported that at least one component of teamwork would improve as a result of their time with us. Participants shared that components such as: communication, decision making, problem solving, clarity of roles & tasks, conflict management, closeness of relationships, belonging and trust, would benefit upon returning to their workplace. 

When it comes to statistical success, we have the numbers to back it up.