What it is
Sentiment reads the free-text comments people leave in surveys and sorts them into positive, neutral or negative — then rolls that up per cohort and over time. It answers the question a score can’t: what’s the mood, and where is it moving? The distribution gives you the big read at a glance, and the cohort view shows which group’s comments are turning.
Numbers tell you that engagement dipped; sentiment tells you why, in people’s own words. A falling score plus a rising share of negative comments about scheduling is a clear story you can act on. Watching sentiment alongside the scores turns a dashboard into a conversation you can actually have with the people involved.
When to use it
- A score moved and you want to understand the mood behind it
- You want the qualitative read, not just the numbers
- You’re checking whether a recent change landed well
- A particular cohort’s comments are worth watching closely
How it works
Step by step.
- 1
Open the sentiment view
Land on the sentiment dashboard to see the overall positive, neutral and negative split across every open comment in the window.
- 2
Read the distribution
The stacked bar is the big read — what share of comments are positive versus negative right now, with the count behind it.
- 3
Choose the window
Pick the period you care about. A shorter window shows recent mood; a longer one smooths out a one-off bad week.
- 4
Compare by cohort
Break the sentiment down by site, team or tenure to find the group whose comments differ most from the rest.
- 5
Watch the movement
Follow how the split shifts over time. A rising negative share is the early warning a single score can miss.
Worked example
Follow it through.
The scenario
eNPS dipped this month at Northwind Workforce and you want to know what’s behind it.
- 1 Open the sentiment view; the overall split reads 58% positive, 22% neutral, 20% negative.
- 2 Set the window to the last 30 days.
- 3 Break it down by site; Docklands Distribution Centre shows 34% negative against the rest.
- 4 Skim the negative comments there — most mention short-notice roster changes.
- 5 Note the theme to raise with the Docklands coordinator.
The result
You’ve traced a dip in the score to a real theme — short-notice rostering at Docklands — in workers’ own words, ready to address.
Tips & notes
Good to know.
- Sentiment is the "why" behind the score — read them together, not in isolation.
- A rising negative share is an early signal; act on it before it shows up as turnover.
- Skim the actual comments behind a cohort’s split — the words tell you what the percentage can’t.
- Window choice matters: a short window catches a fresh issue, a long one tells you if it’s a real trend.
When you’re done
A clear read on the workforce’s mood, where it’s shifting, and the themes driving it — in their own words.