While Culture Amp defaults to the standard Agreement Scale (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree) because it provides clear data anchoring and high interpretability, we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for every survey.
Using alternative scales gives you the flexibility to design questions that sound natural and conversational. To maintain data consistency across our platform, all Culture Amp rating scales use five response points, mapped from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest).
The table below outlines the specific wording for each alternative scale available in the platform:
Available 5-Point Response Scales
Scale | Left-most | Left of center | Center | Right of center | Right-most |
Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Satisfaction | Very dissatisfied | Dissatisfied | Neither satisfied / dissatisfied | Satisfied | Very satisfied |
Quality | Very poor | Poor | Fair | Good | Very good |
Frequency (default) | Never | Rarely | Occasionally | Frequently | Very frequently |
Frequency (alternative) | Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Always |
Performance | Awfully | Not well | Work in progress | Well | Superbly |
Importance | Not at all important | Slightly important | Moderately important | Very important | Extremely important |
Focus | Much less focus | Less focus | Maintain | More focus | Much more focus |
Best Practices: Keep it Consistent
Stick to a single scale type throughout your survey whenever possible. Mixing multiple scales can cause survey fatigue and cognitive friction. Respondents quickly adapt to a specific scale pattern; forcing them to re-evaluate the meaning of the options for every question slows them down and can compromise data quality.
Ready to update your scale? Check out our step-by-step guide on designing and configuring survey questions.
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