What is a Cohort, and when should I use one?

A Cohort is a group of related responses that are pulled together and reported on as a unit. Where an individual report covers a single response, a cohort report aggregates results across multiple responses using a separate cohort report template designed for group-level results.

Cohorts are appropriate when one or more of the following applies:

• Multiple respondents are rating one subject. For example, a 360 assessment in which a manager is rated by their peers, direct reports, and themselves.
• Multiple respondents are rating one team or concept. For example, a group or team assessment in which a team is rated by its members.
• A single respondent takes the same assessment multiple times over time. For example, pre-training and post-training assessments to measure change.
• Responses already exist and need to be grouped for ad hoc reporting. For example, generating a one-off combined report for a specific business unit.

Cohorts can be run in two ways:

• Formal cohorts (Cohort Initiations). Used when responses must be grouped from the start, with optional automation for invitations, reminders, completion dates, and scheduled cohort reports. This is the standard approach for 360, Group/Team, and Iterative assessments.
• Informal cohorts (on-demand). Used when existing responses need to be grouped into a one-off report, without automation. Informal cohorts are generated through the Cohort Report Manager screen.

Deleting a cohort will also delete all responses linked to that cohort. To retain the responses, they must be unlinked from the cohort before deletion.

For full details, see Cohorts Overview & Setup.