support.cultureamp.com Open in urlscan Pro
108.138.106.7  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

/en/

<form action="/en/" autocomplete="off">
  <div class="flex w-full flex-col items-start">
    <div class="relative flex w-full sm:w-search-bar"><input type="text" autocomplete="off"
        class="peer w-full rounded-search-bar border border-black-alpha-8 bg-white-alpha-20 p-4 ps-12 font-secondary text-lg text-header-color shadow-search-bar outline-none transition ease-linear placeholder:text-header-color hover:bg-white-alpha-27 hover:shadow-search-bar-hover focus:border-transparent focus:bg-white focus:text-black-10 focus:shadow-search-bar-focused placeholder:focus:text-black-45"
        placeholder="Search for articles..." name="q" value="">
      <div class="pointer-events-none absolute inset-y-0 start-0 flex items-center fill-header-color ps-5 peer-focus-visible:fill-black-45"><svg width="22" height="21" viewBox="0 0 22 21" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="fill-inherit"
          aria-hidden="true">
          <path fill-rule="evenodd" clip-rule="evenodd"
            d="M3.27485 8.7001C3.27485 5.42781 5.92757 2.7751 9.19985 2.7751C12.4721 2.7751 15.1249 5.42781 15.1249 8.7001C15.1249 11.9724 12.4721 14.6251 9.19985 14.6251C5.92757 14.6251 3.27485 11.9724 3.27485 8.7001ZM9.19985 0.225098C4.51924 0.225098 0.724854 4.01948 0.724854 8.7001C0.724854 13.3807 4.51924 17.1751 9.19985 17.1751C11.0802 17.1751 12.8176 16.5627 14.2234 15.5265L19.0981 20.4013C19.5961 20.8992 20.4033 20.8992 20.9013 20.4013C21.3992 19.9033 21.3992 19.0961 20.9013 18.5981L16.0264 13.7233C17.0625 12.3176 17.6749 10.5804 17.6749 8.7001C17.6749 4.01948 13.8805 0.225098 9.19985 0.225098Z">
          </path>
        </svg></div>
    </div>
  </div>
</form>

Text Content

Skip to main content
Culture Amp TrainingProduct Status
English;
English
Culture Amp TrainingProduct Status
English;
English

Table of contents

Purpose: Why You Should (and Shouldn't) Run the Inclusion Survey
Questions: How We Identified the Survey's DEI Constructs
Applied Experience
Modern Research
Scientific Analysis
Demographics: How We Created the Survey's Demographics and the Messages They
Send
More Inclusive Options
Confidentiality & Reporting
More Than Visible Attributes
Format: Why the Survey Is Set Up as an Unattributed Survey
2021 Changes to the Survey
New Outcome Index
Items Removed
Items Added
Factors Changed
Demographics Changed
FAQs
All Collections

Survey Admin Hub

Other Surveys

Inclusion Survey

The Science Behind the Inclusion Survey
The Science Behind the Inclusion Survey

Build effective DEI surveys with Culture Amp's Inclusion Survey template,
fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

Written by Jared Ellis
Updated over a week ago
Table of contents

Purpose: Why You Should (and Shouldn't) Run the Inclusion Survey
Questions: How We Identified the Survey's DEI Constructs
Applied Experience
Modern Research
Scientific Analysis
Demographics: How We Created the Survey's Demographics and the Messages They
Send
More Inclusive Options
Confidentiality & Reporting
More Than Visible Attributes
Format: Why the Survey Is Set Up as an Unattributed Survey
2021 Changes to the Survey
New Outcome Index
Items Removed
Items Added
Factors Changed
Demographics Changed
FAQs

What can I learn from this page?

Guidance on our Inclusion survey and the science behind it

Who is this guide for?

Account Admins, Survey Admins, Survey Creators



Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are each meaty topics on their own - building a
survey to measure these constructs and help organizations move forward was quite
the task!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PURPOSE: WHY YOU SHOULD (AND SHOULDN'T) RUN THE INCLUSION SURVEY

Running a single engagement survey won’t solve all of your organization’s
issues. It will, however, start conversations and get you on the path forward.
Similarly, an Inclusion Survey brings data to the table; highlighting if, where,
and how different groups of employees experience your company culture
differently.



This template combines the measurement of evidence-based and research-driven
constructs, inclusive demographics, global benchmarking, text analytics, and an
action framework driven by collective intelligence. By collecting,
understanding, and acting on feedback related to diversity, equity, and
inclusion, you can expect to learn how employees with intersectional identities
experience your organization's culture.



We do not recommend using the survey for other intended purposes - for example,
we do not recommend using this survey to solicit feedback on sexual harassment.
If you intend to use the Inclusion Survey for a non-obvious purpose (or find
yourself using lots of unique survey questions that are different from what is
in the template), please reach out to your coach or reply with "Ask a Person" in
a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist. They will
connect you with a coach who may be able to assist you.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


QUESTIONS: HOW WE IDENTIFIED THE SURVEY'S DEI CONSTRUCTS

For a full list of the Inclusion Survey template questions, please see the
Template Library inside your account. The questions were based on our original
template developed in partnership with Paradigm but have been revised based on
scientific analysis and incorporation of current research.



We identified 7 constructs where we know negative stereotypes impugn minority
groups and can prevent all employees from achieving their full potential; but
also where optimism in these areas can lead to new pathways for innovation and
business success. These constructs are Inclusion, Equity, Growth, Decision
Making, Diversity, Voice, and Contribution to a Broader Purpose. The questions
in each of these constructs originate from applied experience, modern research,
and scientific analysis.










APPLIED EXPERIENCE

Some questions come directly (or very closely) from our engagement template.
They might not even seem like they are a “diversity, equity, and inclusion”
question. For example:



"At ACME there is open and honest two-way communication"

 * In 2020, Culture Amp surveyed over 1.6 million people, and found that men
   score around 6 points higher than women employees on this question.

 * We know from applied experience that minority groups may be overlooked in
   communications and face barriers in receiving and providing honest feedback.

 * We also see a 10 point gap between the youngest and oldest employees when it
   comes to communications.

Taken together, this shows that the experience of communication differs for
employees based on their demographics.




MODERN RESEARCH

Some questions were adapted from modern research topics, such as Lynn Shore’s
work on diversity and inclusion, or Amy Edmonson’s research on psychological
safety. This question is an example of measuring psychological safety as an
outcome of inclusion:



“I feel safe to take risks at ACME”

 * Minority group members are often the subject of negative stereotypes. This is
   the basis for stereotype threat, where minority group members see risk in
   conforming to these negative stereotypes.

 * While there is risk in conforming to negative stereotypes, there is also risk
   associated with challenging them. Role congruity theory states that when
   employees fail to fit stereotypes, they will be evaluated more negatively
   than employees who fit into stereotypes. As a result, minority group members
   may face more negative consequences when engaging in the same behaviors as
   majority group members.

Taken together, these concepts align with research around psychological safety.
Minority group members are often reluctant to express their ideas, questions,
and concerns, or be their authentic selves for fear of reprisal or negative
repercussions.




SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS

In 2021, we conducted statistical analyses on our Inclusion Template questions
to assess usage and validity. While most questions performed well against
scientific standards, we did identify several questions that did not meet our
criteria. As a result, we considered updating the question text, moving the
question into a different factor, or eliminating the question entirely. One
question that was updated is:



“I know where to find information to do my job well”

 * This question was one of the least likely to be used by customers from our
   Inclusion Template, and analysis revealed that its previous factor,
   Opportunities & Resources, suffered from inconsistent measurement, meaning
   the questions didn’t ‘hang’ together.

 * We adjusted the wording to align stronger with the literature on
   organizational justice and informational power.

To see what else what updated, check out the section summarizing the 2021
changes.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


DEMOGRAPHICS: HOW WE CREATED THE SURVEY'S DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE MESSAGES THEY
SEND

Keep in mind that, similar to all employee surveys, the questions you ask in a
survey are bi-directional; while you are collecting feedback from employees, you
are also communicating to employees with the questions and demographics you
include (and those you leave out). We put a lot of time into our demographics
because they send a strong signal to your employees about your diversity
ideology. With this thinking in mind, many practical and pragmatic
considerations factor into how we iterate on our template demographics.




MORE INCLUSIVE OPTIONS

If you decide to list “Man” and “Woman” as the only options for gender identity,
you are communicating to your employees that you believe that gender is binary.
The Inclusion Survey template provides 3 gender identities to choose from, 4
sexual orientations, and many race/ethnicity options. When choosing the
demographics for your own Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Survey, we suggest
administrators consult with Employee Resource Groups, your legal team, or any
other resources you have available to you if you want to make any changes to our
template's demographics.






CONFIDENTIALITY & REPORTING

Ultimately, our unique identities can be complex and checking a box doesn’t
always feel inclusive to everyone. We could have provided even more granular
options in some areas, however, we had to consider the impact for reporting. We
provide demographics at the level where we believe most organizations will have
enough responses to identify organizational patterns, protect confidentiality,
and provide meaningful feedback for analyzing results and taking action.



Consider your own employee base and where you may need to condense options or
expand them. For example, our template lists “Black/African-American” as a
single choice; if you have a large population and want to understand the nuance
behind how this population is feeling, consider splitting out Afro-Caribbean or
other identities from the African Diaspora.




MORE THAN VISIBLE ATTRIBUTES

The Inclusion Survey template promotes the thinking that diversity goes beyond
visible traits. By including structural aspects, organizations can foster a
culture that includes a broad and encompassing definition of diversity. We
included Veteran Status, Family Status, Disability Status, and Socio-economic
Status (measured by the degree of education obtained by parents/legal
guardians).



You may decide to add more factors, such as religion/faith or political
affiliation, as we have seen this in some Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
surveys that have been run on the Culture Amp platform. While these factors are
not listed in our template, you may decide to include them in your version after
consulting with your team.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


FORMAT: WHY THE SURVEY IS SET UP AS AN UNATTRIBUTED SURVEY

Given the sensitive nature of the topic, we believe that running the Inclusion
Survey in the unattributed format may give more assurance to survey takers that
no identifiable information is tracked to survey responses or accessible to
administrators. We recommend this approach particularly for organizations who
have just begun to build their employee feedback strategy or diversity, equity,
and inclusion strategy.



However, you are also able to run the survey attributed, which is particularly
useful if you want to view personal demographics in conjunction with
demographics included in an employee's data file or to use the Inclusion Survey
to test the impact of interventions and nudges related to DEI. For example, an
organization may want to survey as a baseline, expose half of the workforce to
allyship training, and survey again (seeing if the allyship training had
positive impacts on the 50% of employees that were granted access to the
training). This sort of efficacy analysis is not possible under the
unattributed/completely anonymous format because responses are not tied to
individuals in any capacity. However, you could use a self-report demographic
and ask employees if they took part in the allyship training if you choose to
run an unattributed survey.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


2021 CHANGES TO THE SURVEY

In 2021, prompted by the results of scientific validation of our Inclusion
template, several changes were made.




NEW OUTCOME INDEX

For the last 4 years the outcome index has been Engagement to help DEI folks
make the case that this work truly is related to business outcomes that are
already tracked (like Engagement). While Engagement is a core part of the
employee experience, it is not necessarily a direct outcome of a diverse,
equitable, and inclusive work culture. In the last year many more organizations
are wanting to get a pulse on DEI in its own right and see the true drivers for
Inclusion. Inclusion is now the outcome index, which encompasses questions that
directly measure the outcomes of inclusive behaviors.



The Inclusion factor contains three questions from the previous Belonging
factor, with the addition of two new questions. Belonging is an important
outcome of inclusion, but a more robust measure of inclusion requires that we
more fully incorporate the concept of authenticity, in that employees are able
to express their unique selves and are valued for it.



“I feel valued for the unique contribution I can make to ACME”: This question
was added to the factor as it measures the perceived organizational worth of an
employee’s work that is based on their unique traits, skills, and experiences, a
core facet of authenticity.



“I feel safe to take risks at ACME”: This question measures an employee’s
perception of psychological safety within their organization, whether or not
they feel safe to learn, contribute, or challenge the status quo. The word
“risk” may foster negative connotations for some organizations, however, it
accurately describes the experience of employees from under-represented or
marginalized groups in that their actions and words are often under greater
scrutiny and compared to different standards than their majority counterparts.
For example, if a woman engages in the same assertive leadership behavior as a
man, she may be viewed more negatively than the man, and it may not yield the
same results. For her, the behavior carries more risk. Differences in risk
perception pinpoint work to be done creating a truly inclusive company culture.




ITEMS REMOVED

The question “Even when something bad happens (e.g., when I get critical
feedback from my manager, I have a negative social interaction with a peer,
etc.) I don't question whether or not I belong at ACME” was removed from the
template. The reasons for its removal are 1) its length indicated poor wording
in measuring its content area, 2) the passive nature of the question, whereas
something “bad” must have happened in order to answer the question.



The question “ACME enables me to balance work and personal life” was removed
from the template, because it statistically was unrelated to the other
questions, and there is a Work Life Blend factor on the Engagement survey
template, which makes this question duplicative.




ITEMS ADDED

A new question was added to the Diversity factor, “I am comfortable sharing my
personal background and experiences at ACME.” This question speaks to the
willingness of employees to share important and unique aspects of their identity
& experience, such as disability, SES, education, immigrant experience,
political affiliation, etc. Essentially, this is the lived experience of an
employee in a company that values diversity and has established psychological
safety.




FACTORS CHANGED

The Equity factor contains three questions from the previous Fairness factor,
along with one question from the previous Opportunities & Resources factor. The
wording for “I know where to find information to do my job well” was changed to
“I am provided the information I need to do my job well.” The original wording
put the burden of obtaining information on the employee and may have pointed to
documented information, such as job descriptions or SOPs. However, one aspect of
information sharing that is critical to an inclusive culture is the provision of
information from those who know, to those who need to know. The changing of the
wording places the responsibility of information sharing on the source.



The Growth factor contains two questions from the previous Opportunities &
Resources factor, as well as one question from the previous Fairness factor.
“People from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed at ACME” was
added to this factor as it is a logical outcome of a growth mindset, that all
employees can grow and succeed.




DEMOGRAPHICS CHANGED

From many organizations of different sizes using the Inclusion survey, we found
that we needed to strike a new balance between our demographic options being
inclusive, while also providing large enough groups for organizations to report
on. For that reason, two demographics have been condensed: Gender and Sexual
Orientation.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


FAQS




HOW WILL USING THE UPDATED TEMPLATE AFFECT TRENDING OVER TIME?

Most of the questions remain unchanged with the updated template, so question
trending is largely unaffected. For the one question whose wording was updated
around information sharing, it is up to your discretion as to whether or not it
should trend to the previous version. However, we recommend against it since any
changes in the score may be influenced solely due to the wording. For the
factors, since many factors were renamed and their questions changed, if you
change to the updated survey you will not be able to compare factors over time.
If this is very important to you, you can create two factors, one with the
historical factor and one for trending moving forward.






HOW DO I DECIDE WHICH OUTCOME INDEX IS RIGHT FOR ME?

We recommend using the Inclusion factor as the outcome index, which
statistically and conceptually fits together better with the driver questions in
the template. This will enable you to identify which questions drive inclusion
at your company, which makes it easier to select focus areas and take action and
improve inclusion, in the same manner as the Engagement Survey. However, if you
are trying to get buy-in for your DEI program and believe connecting it to a
well-established construct you have options. First, you could add the Inclusion
factor to your Engagement Survey to be able to realize the relationship between
these two important concepts in the Culture Amp platform. Second, you could add
the Engagement factor to your Inclusion survey and flip between outcomes to see
what is driving Engagement versus what is driving Inclusion with driver
analysis.






WHAT IF I WANT TO USE THE OLD VERSION?

As with all our survey templates, you are able to edit questions to best suit
your company. This includes retaining questions from the old version of the
Inclusion Survey template, which you can do by adding items back in or
duplicating a previous Inclusion survey. However, keep in mind the changes made
to the updated version are based on our applied experience, research, and
scientific analyses to create an improved way of measuring inclusion within your
organization.







WHAT ALTERNATIVES CAN BE USED TO ASSESS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AS PART OF THE
INCLUSION OUTCOME?

Based on the latest academic research (Shore et al., 2011; Jansen et al., 2014)
and our own comprehensive validation work we built a 5-statement Inclusion Index
that captures the different dimensions of Inclusion. These include an employees’
sense of belonging, the feeling that they can be their authentic selves at work,
their perceived organizational worth as well as their perception of
psychological safety.



Employee’s perception of psychological safety is about whether or not they feel
safe to learn, contribute, or challenge the status quo in their organization. We
measure this with the statement “I feel safe to take risks at ACME” as research
shows that the actions and words from members of marginalized groups carry more
risk. They are often under greater scrutiny and judged against different
standards compared to their majority counterparts. For example, a woman who
engages in assertive leadership behavior may be viewed more negatively compared
to a man. Her behavior may also not yield the same results.



However, while the word “risk” can accurately describe the experience of
employees of underrepresented or marginalized groups, we acknowledge that it can
trigger negative connotations, especially in environments that are characterized
by a strong health and safety culture such as the manufacturing, health or
construction industry. Therefore, we provide some alternative wording for this
question that allows you to capture psychological safety as part of your
inclusion outcome without explicitly referring to risk.

Alternative question

Benchmarkable?

I feel safe to take chances at my company

✓

I feel safe to challenge the status quo at my company

✗

I feel safe to experiment with different, potentially better ways to do my work
at my company

✗

If I have concerns I feel it is safe to speak up

✗

Remember, if you decide not to include this question as part of your Inclusion
outcome, but keep the other questions consistent, you will still be able to use
our benchmarks to compare your scores with similar organizations or regions once
these are released.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak
with a Product Support Specialist.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related Articles
Inclusion Survey Participant FAQs

Guide to Our Inclusion Survey

Guide to designing a survey

Guide to communicating about an upcoming Inclusion survey and email templates

Guide to moving forward with Inclusion survey results

Did this answer your question?
😞😐😃
support@cultureamp.com
 * Product Status
 * Culture Amp Training
 * Culture Amp Blog
 * Culture First Community

 * 
 * 
 *