Methodology Handbook
How the Standard is actually measured
Two documents, two jobs. Keeping them separate is what allows the Standard to stay readable while the measurement rules stay auditable.
The Standard
The Standard defines what is required.
The Handbook
The Methodology Handbook defines how it is measured, scored and decided.
Chapters
Eight chapters, published as they are fixed
Each chapter carries its own state. A rule marked Planned is not yet applied to any assessment, and no assessment is run on a rule that has not been published first.
- 01Scoring modelIn progressHow indicator-level assessments become a pillar score, and how eight pillar scores and four sources become one Grow Score™ on a 0–100 scale.Pillar aggregationSource weightingRoundingScore publication
- 02Missing data and N/AIn progressWhen a criterion does not apply, when data is insufficient, and the fixed rule that redistributes the alumni weight rather than penalising an organization for a gap it cannot control.Not applicable criteriaInsufficient dataAlumni redistribution
- 03Survey sampling and representativityIn progressHow the certified scope is mapped before the survey opens, and what response level each population must reach for its result to count.Population mappingResponse thresholdsCritical populationsWeighting
- 04Reporting thresholdsCompletedThe minimum group sizes below which no result is ever reported back to an employer, and how free-text answers are de-identified before aggregation.Minimum group sizeSuppression rulesOpen-text de-identification
- 05Anomaly detection and integrityIn progressThe detection rules, the integrity flag levels and the materiality ladder that determines whether a flag adjusts a score, excludes a population or terminates an assessment.Straight-liningDuplicate submissionsPressure signalsEvidence tampering
- 06Statistical uncertaintyPlannedHow uncertainty is expressed, and the conditions under which two organizations may legitimately be compared.Confidence reportingScore bandsComparability limits
- 07Audit rulesIn progressWhat an auditor may accept as proof, how evidence is sampled, and the separation between the audit recommendation and the certification decision.Auditor independenceEvidence acceptanceSamplingRe-review
- 08Decision-makingIn progressWho decides, who may not vote, how a refusal is reasoned, and how an organization contests a decision.Committee compositionQuorumRecusalAppeals
Publication
The Handbook is written before the first cycle, not after it
Measurement rules written after results are known are not rules. Every chapter above must be published and versioned before it governs an assessment, and any later change applies to the next cycle - never to a cycle already open.
We publish what we know, what we do not know, and what we are still testing.
Document status
- Companion to
- Employee Growth Standard - Version 1.0
- State
- In progress - chapters published as they are fixed
- Distribution
- On this site. No PDF is offered before it exists.