Why your score changed from one day to the next
Yesterday you looked at the dashboard and the score of a pillar was higher. Today it dropped. Nobody left the company and nothing happened in the team.
After reading this article, you will understand why a score can change from one day to the next, when this is expected and when it is worth investigating.
In this article:
- The calculation is redone every day
- Practical example: a new response coming in
- Practical example: an old response leaving
- Why this is stronger in small groups
- This is expected, but keep one point in mind
- Frequently asked questions
The calculation is redone every day
The engagement score uses the responses from the last 90 days.
It is recalculated once a day. There is no "month-end closing" and no reporting cycle.
With each new day, this 90-day period moves one day forward. In this article, it is called the window: only the responses inside it count toward the score.
That is why two silent events can change your score even when nothing new has happened in the team:
Event | What happens |
|---|---|
A new response came in | Because it is the most recent of all, it weighs more than the older ones. |
An old response left | It reached 90 days and stopped counting. |
Since the most recent responses weigh more than the older ones, either of these two events moves the score.
Practical example: a new response coming in
The Operations group has 3 people. In one of the pillars, there are few responses in the window.
One person answers a question from this pillar with a low score. Because it is the most recent response, it weighs more than the older ones.
As a result, the pillar score drops with a single response. This happens because, in a group of 3 people, one response is a large share of the result.
Practical example: an old response leaving
Now, the same group in another pillar.
In this pillar's window, there is a low response given almost 90 days ago. When it reaches 90 days, it leaves the window and stops counting.
As a result, the pillar score goes up without anyone having answered anything. What changed was that a low response left.
Why this is stronger in small groups
The size of the change depends on how many responses there are in the window. The fewer the responses, the more each one weighs.
The rule is the same for any group. The only thing that changes is how many responses go into the calculation.
Pillars with few questions make this effect even stronger, because they accumulate fewer responses. The smart pillar Diversity, for example, has 4 questions, compared with 13 to 16 in several base pillars.
This is expected, but keep one point in mind
This change from one day to the next is expected.
It comes from two choices in the methodology: recalculating the score every day and giving more weight to what is recent. This is what allows an action plan to show up in the score within weeks, not months.
What you need to do is adjust how you read it:
- Do not treat a one-day variation as a fact. In a small group, look at the trend over weeks, not yesterday's number against today's.
- Go up one level in the group hierarchy. A change that dominates the result of a 4-person team usually becomes a slight fluctuation at the department or leadership level. If you want to assess the climate, assess it at the level with more people.
- Check the favorability. If the score dropped but the bars are still green, the drop came from specific recent responses, and that is exactly what you need to investigate.
Frequently asked questions
Can the score change without anyone answering anything?
Yes. All it takes is for a response to reach 90 days and leave the window.
Does this have to do with the 14-day window that appears in participation?
They are different things. The participation rate uses a 14-day window. The score uses the 90-day window. Both are recalculated every day, but they do not measure the same thing.
If I change the Variation selector, does the score change?
No. The Variation selector only changes the comparison point used to calculate the variation. The current score stays the same.
When should I open a ticket?
When the score changes and you do not find either a new response or a response leaving the window that explains the movement. For example: a large change in a group with hundreds of respondents.
In these cases, write down the group, the pillar, the date and the two scores.
Updated on: 06/11/2026
Thank you!