Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Engagement and Effectiveness (Attributed (Snapshot) and Attributed (Continuous) surveys only)
Overview
External Comparisons let you import historical survey scores from another platform so you can compare them against a survey in Culture Amp. This is typically used when you want historical context without completing a full survey import.
Key Information: Read Before You Begin
Your Responsibilities and Timeline
Processing Time: External Comparisons typically take 2–3 business days to process. This timeline will increase if you submit multiple comparison files.
Data Preparation: Culture Amp Support provides the template and guidance, but you need to prepare and populate the historical data in the required format.
Recreation Requirement: Before requesting a template, ensure your survey has already been fully recreated in Culture Amp with the exact same questions and factor setup as your external file.
Tip: Even small changes in wording can influence how people respond. To track trends accurately, keep your question wording and response scale consistent.
Feature Limitations and Incompatibilities
Supported Surveys: Attributed (Snapshot) and Onboarding and Exit (Attributed (Continuous) surveys only. 360 Effectiveness Surveys are not supported.
eNPS Scores: eNPS data cannot be imported. The system only supports favorable and unfavorable percentage scores.
Leader-Based Reports:
What is compatible: External comparisons are only compatible if overall (company-wide) only scores are uploaded as a static Benchmark. These will display consistently at both the overall and demographic levels, exactly like standard Culture Amp benchmarks.
What is not compatible: Dynamic external comparisons (overall (company-wide) only or overall & demographic level) are entirely incompatible with Leader-Based Reports and will not be displayed.
The Admin Report Behavior: If an admin uses the Select Leader dropdown in the Admin report, the report can show the overall imported comparison score rather than true leader-level comparison data.
Demographics: You can only compare one demographic level at a time (e.g., by Department OR Location). Stacked/multi-level demographics (e.g., Marketing in New York) are not supported.
PowerPoint Exports: External comparisons will render normally on unfiltered, company-wide PowerPoint slides but are blocked from PowerPoint exports on any filtered reports (including leader-based).
CSV/XLS Exports: If a direct demographic match isn’t found for a specific filter in your survey data, the CSV or XLS export will automatically default back to showing the company-level comparison score.
Template Reusability: The external comparison template cannot be reused for future surveys. Each unique survey has distinct backend question and demographic codes. You must request a fresh template for every survey.
Before You Begin
Ensure that the survey you are loading your external survey comparison against has been recreated in the Culture Amp platform with the same questions and factor setup as your external file This step is key for a successful import.
Step 1: Choose Comparison Type
Import External File: This option imports basic scores for each question only. It does not include factor (overall group) scores.
Import External Comparison from File: This option imports both question-level scores and factor (overall group) scores. It provides a more detailed comparison, including overall results and the option to include demographic breakdowns.
Tip: Not all historical data is suitable for comparison. Before importing, review our guidance.
Step 2: Request the External Comparison Template
Once your survey setup is finalized, and the questions and structure in Culture Amp match your external survey, you’re ready to request the comparison template:
Type "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
Request the external comparison file, and provide the exact survey name to ensure the correct template.
Step 3: Prepare Your External Comparison Data
Once you receive the template, fill it in with your historical survey data. Follow the format carefully to ensure an accurate import.
Company Overall Only
For company-wide comparisons (not broken down by demographics), you'll need to populate the following columns in the template:
type:Indicates whether you're adding the comparison to a question or a factor (use lowercase).demographic: Leave blank for company overall comparisons, but ensure the column is present in the file.demographic question code:Leave blank for company overall comparisons, but ensure the column is present in the file.score:Enter the historical favourability score as a decimal (not a percentage). For example, if 93% of respondents gave a favorable response, enter 0.93.entity code:This will be populated automatically in the template upon download. Do not edit this column.reference text:This will also be pre-populated in the template, helping to identify the specific question and factor titles.
Tip: By default, company overall comparisons only appear in the Overall (unfiltered) report. If you want that same overall historical score to remain visible when filtering by demographics (includes demographic filtered shared reports), ask Product Support to load it as a static benchmark. Example:
If the imported historical overall score is 78%:
On All Results, the report compares current overall results to 78%
On Department = Sales, a static benchmark still compares Sales to 78%
A dynamic overall-only comparison would usually not appear on that Sales filter
File Format Example:
type | demographic | demographic_question_code | score | entity_code | reference_text |
factor |
|
| 0.93 | 001 | Employee Engagement Factor |
Company Overall & Demographic Level Comparisons
If you wish to add comparisons at the demographic level (e.g., by department), you will need to duplicate the entire factor and question set for each demographic group you wish to add, so that you can import the specific scores for those groups.
Additional columns to populate:
type:Indicates whether you're adding the comparison to a question or a factor (use lowercase).demographic:Specify the demographic option/value. This will be an actual demographic group rather than the overall demographic (E.g "Marketing", not "Department").demographic question code:Enter the title of the overall demographic (e.g., "Department" — the demographic itself, not the value inside).Score:As with the company overall score, enter the historical favourability comparison score as a decimal (E.g 0.82 represents 82% favorability score)entity codeandreference text:These will be automatically populated, just as in the company overall comparison. Do not edit this column.
File Format Example:
For a demographic comparison in the "Customer Success" department for the "Engagement" factor, the row on your import file would look like this:
type | demographic | demographic_question_code | Score | entity_code | reference_text |
factor | Customer Success | Department | 0.85 | 002 | Engagement |
Note: If you include demographic-level scores, you must also include the company-level scores for those same questions and factors.
Tip: If populating demographic level scores, your completed import file will need to include question and factor level scores for the company overall (blank demographic columns) as well as for each demographic you wish to compare (populated demographic columns).
Step 4: Save and Submit Your File
Once your file is ready:
Save Your Data: Ensure the file is correctly formatted and saved as either an Excel or CSV file. Double-check for any errors or extra spaces.
Contact Product Support: Reach out to Culture Amp Product Support via in-platform chat or email support@cultureamp.com.
Attach Your Data: Submit your formatted file or secure download link.
Provide Survey Information: Include the name of the survey that the data should be loaded against.
Confirm the name of the external comparison: Specify the name you'd like to use for the external comparison (e.g., Engagement Survey 2024). This is the name the external comparison will appear under in the compared to drop-down.
Note: The name of the external comparison cannot be changed once the comparison has been uploaded, so choose carefully.
Tip: If your previous provider is managing the data transfer, Culture Amp has secure processes in place. Type “Ask a Person” in a support conversation to speak with a specialist to learn more.
Viewing Your External Comparison
Once the external comparison has been uploaded, you’ll be able to view it in your survey reports.
To view the comparison:
Navigate to your Surveys page and click View reports for the survey you loaded the comparison against. This will open your Administrator reports page.
Use the Compared to drop-down to select your comparison survey (e.g., Engagement Survey 2024).
If demographic-level scores were included in the file: Click Add filter, then select the relevant demographic group from the drop-down menu.
Best Practices
✔️ Use the template we give you
Each survey has its own format. Using the right one helps avoid errors.✔️ Don’t change the column names
Leave the headers in the template exactly as they are.✔️ Enter scores as decimals
For example, write 87% as 0.87.✔️ Match your demographic names exactly
Make sure demographic names e.g., department, location, etc., match exactly with what’s in Culture Amp on your Account demographics page.✔️ Ask for Help: If you're unsure about any part of the process, don’t hesitate to type "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
Troubleshooting/FAQs
Question | Answer |
Can I edit the comparison “matches” for an external survey after it’s been imported? | Not directly in the platform. If you need to update question or demographic matching, contact Product Support so the comparison can be updated or re-imported using the survey-specific template.
Once re-imported, the updated comparison data will replace the previous version in your survey reports. |
Can I add more than one demographic level to my comparison? | No, only one demographic level can be used per comparison. This means you can compare by a single group like Department or Location, but not a combination (e.g., Department and Gender together). These are sometimes called "stacked demographics," and they aren’t supported in external comparisons. |
Can I reuse the same comparison for future surveys? | No, the same external comparison template cannot be reused for different surveys. This is because question and demographic codes change for each survey, requiring an updated file format each time. |
Why can’t I see external comparison data in a leader-based report? | External comparisons have limited compatibility with leader-based reports:
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💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.