How large is the gap between what your organization promises about people development and what it actually does? This assessment measures 5 dimensions of organizational behavior — not your programs, your beliefs.
Scoring Scale
The uncomfortable answers are the useful ones. Answer what you observe, not what you aspire to. The gap is only useful if it's real.
For reference: in early assessments, most organizations score between 3 and 6. Landing in that range does not make you an outlier — it makes you honest.
Help build better benchmarks. Your data is anonymous — no names, no emails, no identifying information.
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| Dimension | Score | / 10 |
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Important: These are rounded illustrative estimates based on qualitative signal analysis (public layoff decisions, budget disclosures, job postings, employer brand claims) by the author. They were NOT generated using this questionnaire and are not audited data. Direct comparison with your self-assessment score is not methodologically valid — they are provided as rough contextual reference points only.
The Development Washing Index measures the gap between what organizations claim about employee development and what they actually do. It is a structured reflection tool — not a validated psychometric instrument.
Range: −10 to +10 | Positive = overclaiming | Negative = under-promising | Zero = alignment
| SAY | What the organization publicly communicates about learning culture, values, and development commitment. |
| HIRE | Whether hiring practices reflect genuine investment in potential, growth roles, and development infrastructure. |
| CUT | How learning budgets, programs, and development roles are treated under financial pressure. |
| FEEL | Whether employees experience psychological safety, autonomy, and genuine support for growth. |
| DO | Actual implementation — time allocation, manager involvement, career mobility, and measurable development outcomes. |
| < 0 | Under-Promise, Over-Deliver — practice exceeds claims |
| 0 – 2 | Authentic Development Culture — words match actions |
| 3 – 5 | Development Gap — good intentions, inconsistent execution |
| 6 – 7 | Development Washing — systematic overclaiming |
| 8 – 10 | Structural Disconnect — claims and reality are fundamentally misaligned |
The DWI is a diagnostic framework designed to surface contradictions between stated and lived development culture. It gives organizations and individuals a structured language for a conversation that rarely happens.
It is not a validated psychometric assessment. There is no normative sample, no test-retest reliability study, and no factor analysis behind the five dimensions. The value lies in the pattern it reveals, not in the precision of the number.
As a self-assessment, responses are subject to perception bias. Two people in the same organization may score differently — and that gap itself is worth examining.
The conceptual foundation draws on research into organizational hypocrisy, psychological safety, and the gap between espoused values and values-in-use. Read the full framework →
"If you published your answers to these 20 questions on your careers page, would candidates still apply?"
— Development Washing Index v1.1, Elvid Srebric 2026