Matt Phelan  Reviews 

I've known Matt for years, met him after he invited me to a Breakfast meeting to introduce me to the Happiness Index. I was attracted by the name of the company and the tagline "Freedom to be human". My mantra in HR has always been "Putting the human in HR" so of course I got very interested in Matt's work. Kindred spirits I'd say.
In 2020 during the COVID pandemic, Matt and his team curated 'HR in your PJs', basically as we were all new to the whole remote working thing, dealing with home-schooling and all the pressures of that era, it was a fun but also serious weekly get together for us HR folk to share knowledge as well as bond with one another. Matt's passion for what he does is so infectious - this is definitely a movement. Happy employees definitely make happy businesses. There is evidence from my academic research on the psychological contract and employee engagement that the two are linked. The relational psychological contract has a direct impact on employee engagement. I would highly recommend the Happiness Index. Keep up the good work Matt!

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Matt Phelan’s work through The Happiness Index, and what stands out most is the rare combination of heart, rigor, and commercial relevance he brings to the conversation around culture.

Matt has built far more than an engagement platform. He and his team have created a genuinely data-driven way to help organizations understand what really matters to their people and turn culture into measurable business performance. That clarity matters. In a world where culture is often spoken about in vague terms, The Happiness Index makes it tangible, actionable, and grounded in evidence. Their work is built around helping organizations cut through guesswork, understand how people think and feel, and move from insight to meaningful action.

I wholeheartedly recommend Matt Phelan and The Happiness Index. Their purpose-led, evidence-based approach is making an important difference.

Our organisation hired Matt to be the Keynote Speaker at our Annual Conference and Awards ceremony and we could not have been happier with our choice! He delivered a captivating address to our delegates which received overwhelmingly positive feedback across the board. We partnered with Matt before the conference and were able to collect responses from delegates which led to an even more insightful and relevant session with key takeaways for our attendees that they could go back to their organisations with. Matt and his team were an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish and highly recommend him as a potential keynote speaker for your next event!

I have been connected with Matt on LinkedIn for 7 years and we have exchanged messages / thoughts. However, it was not until I heard him speak twice in the last 12 months where I really saw him come alive with the work and passion from The Happiness Index. Most recently he spoke at a Brunch I was co-hosting and Matt was able to eloquently connect with the audience and theme for the day. He was able to recall on his proprietary data with ease and communicate it clearly and concisely. He is an expert in his field and makes data accessible by using metaphors and stories from real life situations. Combined with a gravitas that is rooted in authenticity and confidence in knowing himself, sparks inspiration in me as a leader and I know others too.

We’ve invited Matt a couple of times to run sessions for our alumni of the Help to Grow: Management course at the Sheffield Business School. The topic of employee happiness really resonates with the SMEs we’ve worked with, and the in-depth data that sits behinds Matt’s findings really packs a punch. His ability to analyse live data was impressive too! Matt’s enthusiasm for the subject really shines through; he’s incredibly engaging, relatable and humorous, the perfect combination for a guest speaker! Our businesses have always provided fantastic feedback for the sessions Matt’s delivered – which is why we invited him back for a second time. We would absolutely invite him back again and would highly recommend him to anyone looking to book him as a guest speaker.

I watched Matt speak at TedX Brighton 2022 and he was so engaging that I've watched his talk several times since then. His talk about 12 million lessons in happiness is about happiness at work, but also the flip side where people are unhappy, burnt out, struggling with emotions and struggling at work. Matt shows people a way forward, not just in his talk, but through his work at The Happiness Index. I often use his talk and work to refer to when talking about workplace culture. He's funny too!

I had the chance to listen to Matt present at the most recent CXO Summit in London and also speak to him afterwards. I have to say, Matt is one of those people whose people skills and way of putting things across really stay with you.

He shared some fantastic insights on employee happiness that I’ve already found myself quoting in some of my client meetings! As part of the Leadership Team, I found everything he shared valuable. He was engaging, friendly, funny, and genuinely kept me interested throughout the presentation.

It was fantastic to have Matt as the keynote speaker for the Helplines Partnership Annual Conference. He was great to work with—not just understanding the audience and sector but undertaking research beforehand to make the session even more relevant.

Matt was professional, engaging and genuinely passionate about what he does. I really enjoyed working with him and definitely recommend him as a keynote speaker. I also loved how he recognised invisible women, and the gender bias women face every day.

Matt is one of the most engaging speakers I've come across in recent times and he has the data to back it up! Matt is a regular speaker at the Festival of Happiness, an event organised by the Alliance of Independent Agencies to help evidence the link between happy agencies and successful agencies and I have no doubt there will be demand to have him back again as his presentations are always very highly rated by delegates. Thank you, Matt!

I was lucky enough to be in Matt's 15 min keynote at the CXO conference last week and wished it had been longer. Seriously insightful and thought provoking for businesses of all shapes and sizes, his delivery is also incredibly relatable - separating it from a lot of the typical 'stuffy/overly rehearsed' keynotes generally given.

I've seen Matt speak at multiple events now (most recently at the CXO Summit in London) - he's been exceptional every time. His unique blend of humour and data-based insight make him a compelling speaker. Thoroughly recommend.