Strategic Index — Feature Overview

Ben Pemstein Ben Pemstein
· Updated

The Strategic Index is a live scorecard visible to HR Admins that shows how effectively your organization is using 15Five to drive performance, engagement, and retention outcomes. It evaluates your organization across four pillars of strategic HR execution — People Data, Engagement, Performance, and Action Planning — and places your organization into one of six Strategic Categories based on that evaluation.

Access: HR Admins only. Available in: Total Platform pricing package.

Note: The Strategic Index cannot be disabled. It is visible only to HR Admins.

The Strategic Index Badge appears in the settings bar next to your avatar and is visible across all pages in the platform. Clicking the badge opens the Strategic Index Scorecard.

Feature Structure

Strategic Index Badge

The badge displays your current Strategic Category. It appears in the top-right corner of every page in 15Five.

Strategic Index Scorecard

The Scorecard opens when you click the badge. It surfaces prioritized next steps across the four pillars. Cards are ordered by impact — the first card represents the highest-priority action for your organization.

Each card includes:

  • A status and insight describing the current state. Example: "Your last engagement measurement was 365 days ago."
  • A call to action linking to the relevant workflow. Example: "Schedule cycle."
  • Bonus workflow opportunities tied to specific cohort signals. Example: "You have 100 new hires. Schedule a 90-day engagement check-in for this cohort."

Strategic Categories

Organizations are placed into one of six categories:

  • Foundational — early-stage platform activation
  • At Risk — lacking activation in key areas
  • Needs Focus — partial engagement with 15Five
  • Building Stability — consistent platform use with gaps remaining
  • Driving Outcomes — strong execution across most pillars
  • Best in Class — high strategic execution across all pillars

See What are Strategic Index categories and how are they calculated? for details on how placement is determined.

People Data

Measures how completely your HRIS and demographic data are connected to 15Five.

Inputs evaluated:

  • Is your HRIS connected to 15Five?
  • When did your HRIS last sync?
  • Are demographic attributes (birth date, ethnicity, gender, race, salary) populated for employees?

When this data is missing, cohort-level analysis and targeted actions are limited.

Performance

Measures whether performance reviews are timely, complete, and cover your full employee population.

Inputs evaluated:

  • Are you running at least one performance review annually?
  • Are reviews reaching your full employee population?
  • Are reviews scheduled in advance?
  • Are employees assigned performance designations?

Engagement

Measures whether engagement surveys are running consistently with sufficient coverage.

Inputs evaluated:

  • Are you running engagement campaigns at least twice a year?
  • Are campaigns scheduled in advance?
  • Are employees participating in campaigns?
  • Do campaigns include surveys that collect meaningful engagement data?
  • Are lifecycle surveys configured to gather feedback at key stages of the employee journey?

Action Planning

Measures whether insights from surveys and reviews are driving follow-through.

Inputs evaluated:

  • Are you creating Action Plans?
  • Are actions assigned to individuals?
  • Are Action Plans marked complete?

Key Rules

  • The Strategic Index is visible to HR Admins only. Managers and employees do not see it.
  • The Strategic Index cannot be disabled.
  • The Scorecard updates in real time as your organization takes action.
  • The scoring model and exact calculations are not disclosed. See What are Strategic Index categories and how are they calculated? for details.
  • The Strategic Index Badge is visible on all pages in the platform.

What You Can Do

Set Up

Manage

Analyze

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