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A scope defines which group of people (or records) a metric includes by default. It answers the question: “When someone asks for this number, who should we count?” Scopes remove ambiguity. Without them, two people looking at the same metric might assume different scopes and get different answers.

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Why Scopes Matter

Most metric disagreements aren’t really about the formula — they’re about who’s included. Consider these questions:
  • Should headcount include contractors?
  • Should time-to-fill include internal roles?
  • Should offer acceptance rate count verbal offers that were later declined?
  • Should attrition include seasonal workers?
Every organization answers these differently. Scopes make those assumptions visible and consistent, so when you look at a number, you know exactly who it covers.

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How Scopes Work

A scope attaches one or more segments to a metric as its default filter. When someone views that metric — in a report, through a connector, or in any analysis — the scope automatically applies. You can always narrow or expand the scope for a specific analysis. The default scope just sets the starting point.

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Examples

Here are a few common metric-to-scope pairings:

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Guidance

Every scope can include guidance — notes from your organization explaining why a particular scope was chosen and how to interpret the metric in context. Guidance might cover:
  • Why this scope: “We exclude contractors from headcount because our board reporting has always used employee-only counts.”
  • When to override: “For workforce planning, you may want to add contractors back in. Use the Full Workforce segment instead.”
  • Caveats: “This scope excludes workers on long-term leave. If you need to include them, adjust the filter manually.”
Guidance is the bridge between the technical definition and how your team actually uses the number day to day.
Changing a scope changes what a metric means for your entire organization. Always preview the impact first — Human Intelligence will show you the before-and-after so you can see exactly how the numbers shift.
Scopes and segments work together. A scope picks which segments to apply by default; a segment defines the actual filter logic. If you need to understand the filter behind a scope, check the Segments page.