Coaching progress that is visible, measurable, and provable.
Walnut uses the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Evaluation Model to measure coaching outcomes at every stage — from initial engagement through to measurable business impact.
Most coaching programmes measure success with satisfaction surveys. The coachee says it was helpful. The coach says it went well. HR reports high NPS. But none of this tells you whether anything actually changed.
Blume et al. (2010) found that 90% of training fails to transfer to on-the-job behaviour. Satisfaction is not the same as skill acquisition, and skill acquisition is not the same as behaviour change. Walnut is built to measure all three — and to make that measurement visible to HR from the first session.
The game, a first skill and a baseline check
Every participant starts with the 7-minute game, which reads their working style (DISC and Big Five) and suggests three starter skills and coaches who fit. They pick one skill, and a short baseline check records where they start on it.
Sessions on one skill, and a 2-minute check after each
Each session works on the skill in hand. Afterwards a 2-minute check, three short work moments, tests what was just practised. The coach reads it before the next session, and HR sees who was active this week.
Mid-skill and Mastery checks, and monthly checks for companies
Each skill has four steps: Baseline, Mid-skill, Mastery and Sign-off. On company programmes, a monthly check keeps the scores current, so HR can see each skill move from the first check to the latest.
The coach signs off, and HR gets the report
A skill is only done when the coach signs it off after seeing the change. HR gets a monthly report to download and share, with every average shown alongside how many people it covers (n).
Walnut measures at all four Kirkpatrick levels.
Donald Kirkpatrick’s Four-Level Training Evaluation Model is the gold standard for measuring the effectiveness of learning and development programmes. Most coaching reaches Level 1 at best. Walnut is designed to measure at all four.
Did they engage?
Measures whether participants found the coaching valuable, relevant, and engaging. Most coaching programmes stop here — collecting satisfaction surveys after sessions.
Walnut shows who was active this week, sessions held, and checks taken, not just a satisfaction score. Coachees can also rate their coach after a session.
Did they actually learn?
Measures whether participants acquired new knowledge, skills, or attitudes as a result of coaching. This requires structured pre- and post-assessment.
The baseline check and the checks after each step give a scored before-and-after for every person, on the specific skill they worked on.
Did they change on the job?
Measures whether participants are applying what they learned in their day-to-day work. This is the level where most L&D programmes fail — knowledge that never transfers.
The checks are scenarios from a working week, and the coach only signs a skill off after seeing the change across sessions, not because a box was ticked.
Did it move the business?
Measures whether the coaching programme produced tangible business outcomes — retention, promotion rates, team performance, revenue impact.
HR gets scores per skill from first check to latest and a monthly report, which they can set against their own business measures.
Aggregate visibility. Individual confidentiality.
The Walnut HR dashboard gives people leaders cohort-level data on programme effectiveness, skill growth, and engagement — without ever exposing individual coaching content. Confidentiality is non-negotiable.
Who was active this week
The team garden on HR's home: everyone in the programme, and who was active in the last 7 days.
This week's one thing
One action for HR each week (for example, nudging someone who has not started), with the message ready to send.
Scores per skill, first check to latest
Each skill's scores from the first check to the latest, for the group and for each person, always with n.
Every HR look at one person is recorded in an audit log
A monthly report
The month's story in plain words: the biggest jump, who needs a nudge, and the scores, ready to download and share.
See what the dashboard looks like for your organisation.
Book a 20-minute demo and we will walk you through the HR dashboard, measurement timeline, and reporting with your team size and goals.