Organizational temperature is a term used to describe the overall feeling or culture within a company. It refers to the collective mood of employees, the level of morale and the general atmosphere. As one of the most famous heads of human resources ever, Laszlo Bock, puts it, "Organizational temperature is the collective mood of the company, and it has a major impact on employee engagement and productivity. A positive temperature fosters creativity, collaboration, and commitment, while a negative temperature stifles innovation, drives employees away, and makes it hard to attract new talent."

Organizational temperature can be a powerful tool for companies to assess how employees are feeling, what they need and what they care about. By monitoring the temperature, a company can take steps to improve employee engagement and satisfaction, ultimately leading to better business outcomes.

So, how can a company measure organizational temperature? The answer is not straightforward. There is no single metric or tool that can accurately capture the temperature of an organization. Instead, companies must rely on a combination of measures and indicators, including employee engagement surveys, exit interviews, and feedback mechanisms.

Employee engagement surveys are a common tool for measuring organizational temperature. These surveys ask employees about their level of satisfaction with various aspects of their work, including their job responsibilities, their colleagues, and the company culture. By collecting and analyzing data from these surveys, companies can gain valuable insights into what employees care about, what they need, and how they feel about their work.

Exit interviews are another way to measure organizational temperature. When an employee leaves a company, they are often asked to participate in an exit interview. This interview is an opportunity for the employee to provide feedback on their experience working at the company. Exit interviews can be a valuable source of information for companies, as they allow employees to speak candidly about what they liked and didn’t like about their time at the company.

Finally, companies can also measure organizational temperature through feedback mechanisms such as pulse surveys, town hall meetings, and open-door policies. Pulse surveys are brief, regular surveys that ask employees a few simple questions about their work experience. Town hall meetings are opportunities for employees to hear from company leaders and ask questions in a public forum. Open-door policies encourage employees to speak with their managers and other leaders about their experiences and concerns.