How do I show a respondent how they compare to everyone else?

A benchmark shows a respondent (or a cohort) how their score compares with previous responses. The simplest benchmark is "all responses." Benchmarks are based on all previous responses for the assessment and refresh nightly. For the full reference, see Setting Up Benchmarks for Reporting.

Step 1 - Turn on benchmarking

1. Open Assessment Settings > General tab.
2. Tick the Benchmarking checkbox. This starts the automatic nightly benchmark calculation.
3. Set the Base Benchmark Label (the "all data" label), for example "All companies" or "All respondents." This label appears on the chart. Benchmarks will not display without it.
4. Save.

Step 2 - Add the benchmark to a chart

In the feedback or cohort report you can display the benchmark in either of two ways.

• Side by side with the respondent's score, on a multi chart. Multi-bar, area, bar-on-bar and spider charts plot the response and the benchmark together on the one chart, for example {BarMulti[SectionNo=ALL BM1=0]}.
• As its own chart. Single-value chart types, such as a single bar chart or a Gauge (Donut Chart), display the benchmark on a chart of its own. Place it beside the respondent's own chart to compare the two, for example {Gauge[Survey]} for the respondent and {Gauge[Survey BM1=0]} for the benchmark.

Either way, open Options on the chart, choose Benchmark 1, then select All Responses. In the merge string this is the BM1=0 parameter, where 0 means the all-responses benchmark.

Step 3 - Or show the benchmark as a score in your text

If you only want the benchmark number in a sentence or a table, you do not need a chart at all. Add the BM1=0 parameter to a score merge string and it returns the benchmark's own score:

• {RatingScore.Score[Survey BM1=0]} gives the all-responses percentage benchmark.
• {RatingScore.ActualPoints[Survey BM1=0]} gives the all-responses average (Likert) benchmark.

So a sentence such as "Your score was {RatingScore.Score[Survey]}, compared with {RatingScore.Score[Survey BM1=0]} across all respondents." merges to "Your score was 76%, compared with 72% across all respondents."

The same element parameters apply as for any score merge string, so you can report a benchmark for a section, subsection, or theme, for example {RatingScore.Score[SectionNo=2 BM1=0]}. In the Merge Manager, choose your score merge type and then select Benchmark 1 from Options.

Benchmarks are calculated for response, section, subsection, and theme scores, but not at the question level.

For full details, see Setting Up Benchmarks for Reporting, Displaying Scores in Report and Multi-Vertical Bar Charts.