Compare groups with Heatmap and Hierarchy

Use Heatmap to compare groups such as departments, or Hierarchy to explore reporting lines and compare leaders’ teams.

Before you begin

You need access to the survey’s results and the view you want to use: Heatmap or Hierarchy. Available groups and controls depend on the survey and your access. The Heatmap example below uses Department → Engineering and Sales in Demo Organization.

Open the heatmap

1. In Survey Hub → Active Surveys, open your survey’s results: select Analyze or the survey’s row. Results are available after the survey closes.
2. Select Heatmap in the survey navigation. If needed, open More to find it.
3. Confirm the survey name and any active filters. In the value menu above the grid, choose Score to compare the displayed scores.

Choose the rows and comparison groups

1. Use the row selector above the grid to choose Question Groups or Questions.
2. Open the column selector beside it. Its label reflects the selected category, such as Department, or says No columns when nothing is selected.
3. To start a fresh selection, choose Clear all in the Heatmap columns picker. This clears comparison columns; it does not clear separate audience filters.
4. Open a category such as Department, then check the groups you want to compare. Use Search values… to find a group in a long list.
5. Click outside the picker and wait for the grid to finish updating. Check the column headings to confirm your selection.

Demo Organization, English interface. Open a category and check the groups you want to compare.

Read the comparison

Read across one row to compare the same question or question group for the selected groups. Check the column names, displayed counts and score values before drawing a conclusion. Demo Organization example: Engineering (1,254) and Sales (755) appear beside All (2,009). All can change when you change the comparison columns. Do not assume it represents the whole organization or an independent benchmark. In this example, selecting Engineering and Sales changes the All audience from 5,000 to 2,009. Recheck both the selected columns and any active filters each time you change the view. For help with score labels, see View scores and distributions. For audience filtering, see Filter results and check the selected audience.

Watch: compare two departments

This 25-second silent example sets the rows to Question Groups, opens the column picker, chooses Clear all, then selects Department → Engineering and Sales. It ends on the comparison, where All now covers only the selected groups. Innerlogic Sandbox example. Follow the written steps above for the same workflow.

Change or clear the comparison

• Reopen the column selector and category, then check or uncheck individual groups.
• Use the back arrow inside the picker to return to the category list. Choose Clear all there to remove all comparison columns.
• If the grid says No columns selected, choose Choose columns and select groups to display again.

Clearing columns does not restore a default comparison. Choose the groups you want to view, then wait for the updated results.

Explore a reporting hierarchy

The Hierarchy view must be available for your survey and access. Its reporting groups are different from the tag-based columns in Heatmap.

1. Select Hierarchy in the survey navigation, or look under More.
2. Check the current leader shown above the results. Under Leaders, select an available leader row to open that reporting branch.
3. Use the breadcrumb above the results to return to an earlier level.

Check the score scope before comparing results: A leader can have different results for their direct reports and their full hierarchy. Use the displayed scope and counts together; do not treat those groups as interchangeable.

Compare leaders side by side

Where Add to comparison is available:

1. In the Leaders table, select Add beside at least two leaders. You can also add the current leader using Add to comparison above the scores.
2. Check the selected names in the selection bar, then select Compare leaders.
3. Choose Full hierarchy or Direct reports above the comparison table. Wait for the displayed scores and counts to update.
4. Read across the same row to compare overall or question-group scores. Select a question-group name to expand its questions; select it again to collapse them.
5. Select Back to hierarchy to return to browsing. Use Clear in the selection bar to remove the selection and start again.

You can remove individual leaders using the remove control beside their names. At least two must remain to keep the comparison open. A disabled Add control or a Results hidden message does not mean the score is zero or that access can be expanded by changing the selection.

If a group or result is missing

Check the survey name, selected columns, active filters and the message shown on the page. An empty cell or unavailable result is not a zero score. Do not try to calculate suppressed results from other values. If the group or view you need is still unavailable, ask your administrator to confirm your access and the survey’s configuration. Include the survey name, view and selections, as described in Troubleshoot access.