Setting Up Employment Groups in Your Survey
As part of your survey setup, we ask you to organise your people data into Employment Groups. These groups are critical for structuring your survey data in a way that reflects your organisation and enables insightful reporting.
A well-structured setup helps us analyse how different parts of your organisation are performing and allows leaders to easily access results relevant to their areas of responsibility.
⚠️ Tip: Allocating enough time to map your organisational structure into the data file is essential — especially for large or complex organisations. This process may take time if your HR system doesn’t already reflect your ideal reporting structure.
Why Employment Groups Matter
Creating well-defined Employment Groups allows for:
- Granular insight into specific divisions, teams, and business areas.
- More targeted feedback and actions based on real organisational structures.
- Accurate comparisons between different groups.
- Easier access to relevant results for managers and leaders.
Steps to Create Your Employment Group Structure
Follow the steps below to create an effective Employment Group structure:
1. Identify Your Leadership Team
- Pull out the senior leadership team into a Level 1 group.
- Your CEO does not need a group, as they will not be surveyed.
2. Define Responsibility
- Create groups for each department or function based on leader or manager responsibility.
3. Break Down Business Areas Further (for Improve & Elevate clients)
- Add sub-groups or teams under the top-level business areas to gain more granular insights.
- Measure clients can create up to 12 groups total, without additional levels.
4. Separate Managers from Their Teams
- Managers should not sit in the group they are responsible for, as it may bias the results.
- Instead, create a separate Management Group for managers at each level.
5. Consider Team Sizes
- Data is only reported where 5 or more responses are received. Smaller teams may not generate usable insights.
6. Avoid Groups of One
- The system will not allow groups with only one employee to preserve anonymity.
- You will be required to merge these before proceeding.
Example Structure: Retail Organisation (Improve & Elevate Clients)
Below is an example of how a multi-level group structure might look for a retail organisation. Clients on the Measure package will only see Level 1 groupings, up to a maximum of 12.
✅ Recommendation: Share your proposed final structure with a senior leader or Director for sign-off before uploading. This helps ensure alignment and reduces the likelihood of questions later.
After Uploading Your Data
Once you upload your data file, the platform will display your Employment Group structure with headcounts at each level. You’ll be able to:
- Re-name groups
- Move employees between groups
- Merge or combine groups
All updates made here will directly update your dataset.
Why Separating Managers Matters
In the example above, you’ll notice managers are separated from their teams. This is best practice and significantly improves the clarity of your reporting.
Example: Impact on “My Manager” Scores
Managers included in their teams
Managers separated into a management group
Notice how separating managers results in a clearer understanding of how employees feel about their managers, especially in the "My Manager" (MM) question set.
⚠️ Note: Removing managers from their teams could reduce headcount below the 5-response threshold, meaning some data may not be reported.
Need Help?
We understand that Employment Group structures can vary greatly between sectors. If you'd like a tailored example for your industry, please reach out to us at support@b.co.uk — we're happy to help!