> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.culture-vibe.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Benchmarks and listening timeline

> Compare with an appropriate cohort and follow comparable signals over time.

Benchmarks provide external context. Trends provide internal context. Neither should replace the actual question definition or business situation.

## Benchmarks

Culture Vibe assigns a company benchmark cohort using company settings. Published comparisons depend on eligibility and contribution rules designed to protect the benchmark pool.

Use a benchmark to ask, “How does this result compare with an appropriate peer context?” Do not use it as a target without deciding whether the cohort is relevant.

## Timeline and trends

Use the listening timeline to review comparable survey signals over time. A valid trend requires a stable definition, question basis, scale, and enough responses.

## Changes that affect comparability

* Rewording a question
* Changing the response scale
* Changing the audience substantially
* Reorganizing departments or locations
* Mixing pulse-wide and engagement-survey-wide averages
* Falling below an anonymity threshold

<Note>
  It is better to show a break in a trend than to imply continuity that the data does not support.
</Note>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why is no benchmark displayed?">
    The company or survey may not meet eligibility rules, the cohort may not be configured, or a suitable published benchmark may not be available.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I compare a pulse average with an engagement average?">
    No. Compare an exact shared canonical question when available; do not connect the overall survey averages.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What should accompany a trend chart?">
    Note response rate, audience changes, organizational events, and actions taken between measurements.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>