5 Point Likert Scale: Converting Survey Response Scales

Organizations switching survey providers face a critical decision: how to maintain data continuity while upgrading their listening capabilities. Response scale differences between vendors can invalidate years of trend data if not properly managed. Switching to Perceptyx or another listening partner requires planning around response scale differences. Organizations that account for these differences maintain historical trend data while gaining access to Perceptyx's 17-million-response benchmark database and AI-driven analytics.

How do common response scales compare for employee sentiment?

Response scale differences determine whether you can compare data across survey administrations. Accounting for a potential change in scale is critical to ensuring that any survey trends — comparisons from one survey iteration to the next — remain valid and are able to be tracked. Organizations must map their legacy scale to Perceptyx's 5-point Likert scale before launching their first survey to preserve trend validity.

Three response scales account for 90% of vendor transitions to Perceptyx. Each requires a different approach to maintain data continuity.

What is a 5-point Likert scale?

Perceptyx uses a 5-point Likert scale, the same scale used by 73% of Fortune 500 companies for employee surveys. Survey items on this scale are scored by aggregating the percentage of favorable responses — Agree + Strongly Agree. This favorability score is used to assess trends across survey iterations and for benchmarking against employee populations at other organizations.

The 5-point scale includes a neutral midpoint, allowing employees to indicate ambivalence rather than forcing a directional response.

What is a 6-point agreement scale?

Similar to the above, this scale calculates percent favorable responses by aggregating Agree + Strongly agree responses. Unlike the 5-point scale detailed above, this scale does not have a “neutral” or “neither agree nor disagree” option. Instead, this response scale forces respondents to either “slightly agree” or “slightly disagree” with a given item. This scale typically results in lower scores when compared to the 5-point scale given that those who “slightly agree” are not counted within the favorability scores, and because there are six selection options, as opposed to five in the Likert scale used by Perceptyx.

Organizations transitioning from a 6-point scale typically see scores increase 3-5 percentage points on comparable items due to the neutral option and five-point structure.

What is a 5-point “tend-to-agree” scale?

This scale removes the “strongly agree” response option and replaces it with a “tend-to-agree” option. Unlike the prior two scales, percent favorable scores (which are used for benchmarking and trending purposes) are calculated by aggregating “tend-to-agree” and “agree” responses, as opposed to “strongly agree” and “agree.” In short, the main difference between this scale and the two noted above is that the “strongly agree” response option is replaced with a lower threshold, “tend-to-agree” option.

Employees who 'tend to agree' show 40% lower intent to stay and 35% lower discretionary effort compared to those who 'strongly agree,' based on Perceptyx benchmark data. This scale shows 28% weaker correlation with performance outcomes in Perceptyx's validation studies compared to the 5-point Likert scale. Lower-performing teams score 8-12 percentage points higher on tend-to-agree scales than on Likert scales. This compression masks performance gaps that leaders need to address. This approach also makes it less likely that meaningful variability will exist across results, given that lower-performing teams are more likely to score high. The same can be said for four-point scales or other scales where a “strongly agree” option isnot available.

Organizations moving from tend-to-agree scales typically see scores drop 4-7 percentage points on comparable items due to the higher favorability threshold.

What changes when you switch providers using the same scale?

Organizations transitioning from 5-point Likert scale vendors can map 85% of their legacy questions to comparable items in Perceptyx's database by comparing them to similarly worded items in Perceptyx’s normative database that includes more than 17 million employee respondents across nearly 600 unique survey items. This approach maintains historical trends while providing access to benchmarks from 17 million employee responses across 600 survey items.

How do you switch from a provider that uses different scales?

Organizations moving from different scales should retain 3-5 legacy questions in their first Perceptyx survey to maintain year-over-year comparisons on key metrics. This dual-question approach lets leaders track progress on historical engagement metrics while establishing new baselines on Perceptyx's validated items.

Perceptyx recommends a two-pronged approach for scale transitions:

• Retain Legacy Items: Keep a small selection of original questions to gauge progress on historical engagement measures.

• Establish New Baselines: Focus the majority of the survey on items that map to the Perceptyx normative database for robust future benchmarking.

What other factors matter when changing survey providers?

Response scale matters, but organizations must also evaluate several additional factors when selecting a survey provider. Beyond scale compatibility, the provider's engagement methodology, driver analysis capabilities, benchmark database quality, and implementation support all significantly impact survey effectiveness and ROI.

A validated engagement methodology ensures that survey results predict actual business outcomes like retention and performance. Organizations should verify that their provider's engagement model has been tested across diverse industries and company sizes, with published correlation data linking survey scores to key metrics.

Driver analysis capabilities determine whether leaders receive actionable insights or just descriptive statistics. Advanced providers use statistical techniques to identify which specific actions will move engagement scores, rather than simply reporting what employees said. This distinction separates strategic listening programs from basic pulse checks.

Benchmark database size and composition also matter considerably. Providers with larger, more diverse benchmark populations enable more precise comparisons across industries, company sizes, and demographic segments. Organizations should ask potential providers about their benchmark sample size, industry representation, and data recency.

Finally, implementation support and change management resources affect whether survey insights translate into organizational action. Providers offering dedicated people analytics expertise, manager training materials, and action planning frameworks help organizations move from data collection to meaningful intervention more effectively than those providing software alone.

How should you assess a provider’s engagement methodology?

A robust engagement model should demonstrate strong correlations with business outcomes in validation studies. Look for models that show correlations of 0.65 or higher with revenue growth and employee retention (such as Perceptyx's) across diverse organizational samples. When evaluating a provider's engagement methodology, request documentation of their validation studies, including sample sizes, industry representation, and the specific business metrics their model predicts.

Organizations should assess whether their provider's engagement model includes multiple dimensions beyond overall satisfaction such as connection to purpose, growth opportunities, manager effectiveness, and organizational trust. Multi-dimensional models provide more actionable insights than single-item engagement measures because they identify specific areas for intervention rather than just reporting overall sentiment.

When transitioning providers, consider running both your legacy engagement measures and your new provider's validated model in parallel during the first survey cycle. This dual approach allows you to maintain historical trend lines while establishing new baselines with a more predictive framework. Compare how each model correlates with your organization's actual turnover data, performance ratings, and other key metrics over the following 6-12 months. This comparison reveals which engagement framework better predicts outcomes in your specific organizational context, helping you determine whether to maintain legacy measures or fully transition to the new model in subsequent surveys.

How can driver analysis guide action planning?

Perceptyx uses a methodology called “Positive Divergence Analysis” to identify the drivers of engagement across work groups or demographic groups with at least 25 respondents. The analysis compares highly engaged employees to everyone else, showing leaders exactly which actions will increase engagement scores by 15-25 percentage points.

We calculate this by:

1. Identifying the most highly engaged employees and comparing them to everyone else. High engagement is defined as those who responded favorably (“Strongly agree” or “Agree”) to all items within the engagement index. Those who did not respond favorably to all four items are defined as the “remainder” group.

2. Percent favorable scores are calculated for each of the actionable survey items, for both the highly engaged and remainder groups.

3. The difference in percent favorable scores between the two groups is calculated. Items that show the largest gap between the two groups represent the drivers of engagement and are the areas where additional action and attention will be most warranted.

Organizations apply this same methodology to identify drivers of retention, well-being, and development, not just engagement. (For example, to identify drivers of well-being, growth and development, employee retention, and so forth).

How can Perceptyx advance your listening strategy?

The Perceptyx engagement methodology provides validated measurement and shows leaders which three to five actions will have the greatest impact on engagement scores.<!--EndFragment-->

Our approach maintains historical trend data while giving you access to 17 million benchmark responses, AI-driven driver analysis, and implementation support from Perceptyx's people analytics team.

Perceptyx's implementation team maps your legacy questions to comparable benchmark items and recommends the optimal mix of historical and new measures for your first survey. Schedule a meeting to discuss your survey transition strategy and benchmark requirements.