Measure Culture Across Multiple Locations
To measure culture across locations, set up each site as its own team before the survey goes out, then read the results site by site, not just company-wide. One overall score can look fine while one location experiences something very different. The breakdown shows you where.
Why isn't one company score enough?
Because an average hides the spread. A company with 20 sites can post a solid overall score while two sites sit well below it. Headquarters rarely sees that gap until it shows up as turnover or a hiring problem at those sites. As Lou puts it in One Culture, Many Locations, culture either holds at every site or splits into many versions of the same company.
How do you set up the survey by site?
In the Most Loved Workplace® app, set up teams (groups) before you send the survey. Make each location, plant or region its own team. You can add demographic fields too, such as role or tenure, for a second cut. Then invite people by email or by text, so field and frontline sites are not left out.
Which report shows the difference between sites?
The LOWI company report has tabs for company, breakdown, demographics, comments, the cohort heatmap, sentiment and thematic. Open the company tab for the overall picture. Then open the breakdown tab to see each site’s results side by side.
What does the heatmap add?
The cohort heatmap lays out results by group in one view. A site that runs cooler than the rest stands out at a glance. When you survey again next year, the cross-year heatmap shows whether that site moved.
What do you do with a site that lags?
Read its comments first. The sentiment and thematic tabs group what people at that site wrote, so you see the reason, not just the number. Then compare its daily practices with your strongest site’s. The gap is usually in what managers do each week, not in the values on the wall.
What should you check before reading any of it?
Response by site. A quiet site isn’t a happy site. It’s one you haven’t heard from yet. If one location barely answered, close that gap before you trust its results.
How Vortex Doors keeps one system across 95 locations
Vortex Doors runs 95 locations, up from 32 three years ago. It keeps the same system at every one. Every employee has an annual Performance Coaching and Development discussion, and Vortex tracks each month that leaders complete them on time. No leader has more than 15 direct reports. Promotions and milestones are celebrated on one employee website that every location sees.
Can you see every location from the outside? Your free Most Loved Workplace® Opportunity Report gives you an outside read on your employer brand.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I see survey results for each location separately?
What is a cohort heatmap?
Can I compare a site with itself over time?
How do I reach sites where people don't check email?
Louis Carter is the founder and CEO of Most Loved Workplace®, an independent workplace certification and ranking built on research from Best Practice Institute, which he founded in 2001. Best Practice Institute certifies companies as a Most Loved Workplace®. Most Loved Workplace® verifies them with CertCheck and names America’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® featured in The Wall Street Journal and Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces® featured in The Economist. An organizational psychologist based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Carter advises CEOs, CHROs and employer brand leaders on proving culture is real. His books include No Brainer and In Great Company.
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