culture-auditor

name	culture-auditor
description	Runs culture health assessment, measures eNPS and engagement, identifies belonging gaps, flags flight risks. Outputs culture-audit-{date}.md with recommendations.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, WebSearch
effort	high

When to activate

Quarterly (or semi-annually for smaller companies). Assesses employee engagement, belonging, psychological safety, and cultural health.

When NOT to use

Not for performance reviews or individual feedback. Not for disciplinary action. Not as substitute for 1:1 conversations; this is population-level data.

Culture Audit Framework

What is Culture Health?

Culture health encompasses:

• Belonging: Do people feel included, respected, and valued?
• Psychological safety: Can people take risks, admit mistakes, speak up?
• Alignment: Do people understand company mission and how their work connects?
• Growth: Do people see career development and learning opportunities?
• Engagement: Are people energized and motivated to do their best work?
• Retention: Do people want to stay and build with us?

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eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score)

Question: "How likely are you to recommend this company as a great place to work to a friend? (0–10)"

Calculation:

• Promoters (9–10): Enthusiastic; likely to stay and recruit friends
• Passives (7–8): Satisfied but not enthusiastic; flight risk if better opportunity
• Detractors (0–6): Unhappy; flight risk; risk of negative word-of-mouth

Formula: eNPS = (% Promoters) − (% Detractors)

Example: 50 employees surveyed

• Promoters: 20 (40%)
• Passives: 20 (40%)
• Detractors: 10 (20%)
• eNPS = 40% − 20% = +20

Benchmark:

• eNPS +40+: Excellent (Google, top tech companies)
• eNPS +20 to +40: Good (healthy, engaged company)
• eNPS 0 to +20: Fair (some engagement gaps)
• eNPS <0: Concerning (more detractors than promoters)

Follow-up question: "What's the primary reason for your score?" (This gives qualitative context: comp, growth, management, culture, flexibility, etc.)

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Culture Dimensions Assessment

Measure on 1–5 scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree):

1. Belonging & Inclusion

Questions:

• "I feel included and valued by my team and manager" (1–5)
• "I feel psychologically safe speaking up with ideas or concerns" (1–5)
• "People here respect different perspectives and backgrounds" (1–5)

Target: Average 4.0+ (majority agree/strongly agree)

Red flags: <3.5 average = belonging problem; investigate by demographic if possible.

2. Alignment & Mission

Questions:

• "I understand our company mission and how my work contributes" (1–5)
• "Our company values guide decisions and actions" (1–5)
• "I believe in what we're building" (1–5)

Target: 4.0+

Red flags: <3.5 = misalignment on mission or values aren't lived.

3. Growth & Development

Questions:

• "I have opportunities to grow and develop my skills" (1–5)
• "My manager provides clear feedback and coaching" (1–5)
• "There's a clear path to the next level in my role" (1–5)

Target: 4.0+

Red flags: <3.5 = growth ceiling or weak management feedback.

4. Work-Life Balance & Flexibility

Questions:

• "I'm able to maintain a healthy work-life balance" (1–5)
• "My work schedule is flexible to meet my needs" (1–5)
• "I'm not regularly burnt out or overworked" (1–5)

Target: 3.8+

Red flags: <3.0 = burnout risk; assess workload, on-call, flexibility policy.

5. Team & Management Quality

Questions:

• "My direct manager is effective and supportive" (1–5)
• "My team collaborates well and supports each other" (1–5)
• "I trust leadership to make good decisions" (1–5)

Target: 4.0+

Red flags: <3.5 = management or team dynamic issue.

6. Compensation & Benefits

Questions:

• "My compensation is fair for my role and market" (1–5)
• "Company benefits (health, retirement, etc.) are competitive" (1–5)
• "Equity/bonus program is transparent and achievable" (1–5)

Target: 3.5+

Red flags: <3.0 = market misalignment; flight risk.

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Culture Audit Output Template

# Culture Audit — [Quarter] [Year]

**Prepared:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Survey period:** [Dates]
**Respondents:** [N] of [Total] ([X]% response rate)
**Confidentiality:** All responses anonymous; aggregated by team/level only

---

## Executive Summary

**Overall eNPS:** +25 (Good; target 20–40)
**Engagement:** 7.2/10 (Good; target 7.0+)
**Belonging:** 4.0/5 (Good; target 4.0+)
**Attrition risk:** 15% of workforce flagged as detractors (flight risk)

**Key findings:**
1. Engineering satisfaction above average; strong team cohesion
2. New hire cohort (Q1 2025) showing signs of disconnection; onboarding issue
3. Workload concerns in Operations team; on-call rotation unsustainable
4. Compensation perceived as below-market by mid-level ICs

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## eNPS Results

| Category | Count | Percentage |
|----------|-------|-----------|
| Promoters (9–10) | 20 | 40% |
| Passives (7–8) | 20 | 40% |
| Detractors (0–6) | 10 | 20% |
| **eNPS** | | **+20** |

**Benchmark:** SaaS industry average = +15 to +25; we're in good range.

### eNPS by Team

| Team | eNPS | Count | Insight |
|------|------|-------|---------|
| Engineering | +35 | 20 | Excellent; team bonding strong |
| Product | +20 | 8 | Good; some growth concerns |
| Sales | +15 | 10 | Fair; comp/quota concerns |
| Operations | −5 | 6 | Concerning; workload/burnout signals |
| Marketing | +25 | 6 | Good |

**Action items:**
- Operations team: Review workload, prioritize, or add headcount
- Sales team: Compensation review and quota alignment discussion

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## Dimension Results

| Dimension | Average Score | Target | Status | Insight |
|-----------|--------|---------|--------|---------|
| **Belonging & Inclusion** | 3.9 | 4.0 | Yellow | Slightly below target; check onboarding cohort |
| **Alignment & Mission** | 4.1 | 4.0 | Green | Strong; mission resonates |
| **Growth & Development** | 3.7 | 4.0 | Yellow | Growth path concerns; manager feedback gaps |
|  | 3.4 | 3.8 | Yellow | Burnout signals; particularly Operations |
|  | 4.0 | 4.0 | Green | Strong manager quality overall |
|  | 3.2 | 3.5 | Yellow | Below-market perception; mid-level IC concern |

---




 "I feel included and valued": 4.1/5 ✓ Good
 "I feel safe speaking up": 3.8/5 ⚠️ Below target; some inhibition
 "People respect different perspectives": 4.0/5 ✓ Good


 "Feels like a boys' club in engineering; hard to speak up in certain meetings"
 "New folks take time to integrate; could improve onboarding buddy system"
 "Leadership listens when I raise concerns; appreciate that"


 Women/non-binary: 3.7/5 (vs. men 4.2/5) ← gap; investigate
 New hires (<6 months): 3.5/5 (vs. tenured 4.1/5) ← onboarding issue
 Remote employees: 3.8/5 (vs. office 4.1/5) ← remote connection gap


 Improve meeting dynamics training (psychological safety in meetings)
 Strengthen onboarding buddy system; dedicated mentor for first 90 days
 Remote connection: add team rituals (virtual coffee, async updates)

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 "Opportunities to grow": 3.6/5 ⚠️ Below target
 "Manager feedback & coaching": 3.8/5 ⚠️ Below target
 "Clear path to next level": 3.5/5 ⚠️ Below target


 "No clear promotion criteria; feels arbitrary"
 "My manager rarely gives me feedback; not sure where I stand"
 "Love learning; wish there were more internal mobility opportunities"


 L1 (junior): 3.8/5 (good; happy to grow in role)
 L2 (senior): 3.4/5 (below target; ready for next step but path unclear)
 L3+ (staff+): 4.1/5 (satisfied; leadership roles visible)


 Publish promotion rubrics and timelines (transparency)
 Manager training on giving feedback (quarterly conversations)
 Internal mobility program: identify opportunities for lateral moves

---




 "Healthy work-life balance": 3.4/5 ⚠️ Concerning
 "Flexible schedule": 3.6/5 ⚠️ Below target
 "Not burnt out": 3.2/5 ⚠️ Red flag


 "On-call rotation for Operations is unsustainable; 1 week per 6 weeks + urgent pages"
 "Engineering crunch before customer releases; no control over hours"
 "Remote flexibility helps; can't complain"


 Operations: 2.8/5 (burnout risk)
 Engineering: 3.5/5 (high workload but manageable)
 Sales: 3.3/5 (quota pressure)
 Marketing: 4.1/5 (healthy balance)


 Operations: Review on-call scheduling; consider hiring or tooling to reduce load
 Engineering: Project scoping; prevent crunch culture
 Company-wide: Normalize boundaries; manager training on workload assessment

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 "Compensation is fair": 3.1/5 ⚠️ Below target
 "Benefits competitive": 3.4/5 ⚠️ Borderline
 "Equity transparent & achievable": 3.2/5 ⚠️ Below target


 "Saw new hires getting more than tenured staff for same role"
 "Compensation hasn't moved in 2 years despite growth"
 "Don't fully understand equity vesting or value"


 L1: 3.5/5 (entry-level; acceptable)
 L2: 2.9/5 (below-market perception; flight risk)
 L3+: 3.4/5 (acceptable; less price-sensitive)


 Compensation review: benchmark L2 salaries vs. market (Levels.fyi data)
 Equity education: publish vesting schedules, equity value modeling
 Transparency: share compensation philosophy and ranges (optional)

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| Risk Level | Count | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
|  (0–4 score) | 3 | Operations team; burnout; low compensation satisfaction; likely exploring |
|  (5–6 score) | 7 | Mix of low growth satisfaction, management concerns, compensation |


 Burnout/workload: 3 (Operations)
 Growth ceiling: 2 (L2 ICs with no promotion path)
 Management: 2 (weak feedback, lack of support)
 Compensation: 2 (below-market perception)
 Culture/team: 1 (doesn't fit with team dynamic)


 [ ] Manager or HR 1:1 with high-risk employees (Operations team)
 [ ] Understand specific concerns (anonymous follow-up survey or stay interviews)
 [ ] Operations workload assessment and action plan

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 8 hired
 3.6/5 (below company avg 3.9/5)
 67% (2 left by 6-month mark; problematic)


 "Didn't feel welcomed initially; long time to meet team"
 "Unclear expectations; ramped faster than felt ready"
 "Still don't know many people outside my small team"

 Strengthen onboarding
 Assign dedicated buddy for first 90 days (not just informal pairing)
 Structured new hire orientation (first 2 weeks)
 Welcome rituals (team lunch, meet-and-greet with leadership)
 Check-in at 30 days; adjust if struggling

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 "My direct manager is effective and supportive" = 4.0/5 ✓ Good


 Manager A: 4.4/5 (excellent; strong rapport)
 Manager B: 3.9/5 (good; minor feedback gaps)
 Manager C: 3.5/5 (borderline; hands-off style not suiting team)


 "My manager is very hands-off; good for autonomy but hard to get feedback"
 "Regular 1:1s and clear expectations; feels supported"
 "Doesn't give real feedback; unclear how I'm doing"


 Manager training: feedback delivery, 1:1 structure, coaching
 360 feedback for managers (to understand others' perspectives)
 Skip-level checks (team can give feedback on manager directly)

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 "Our values guide decisions and actions" = 4.1/5 ✓ Good


 "We say we value work-life balance but expect long hours"
 "Diversity & inclusion is a value but doesn't feel lived"
 "Communication is valued; leadership doesn't always follow through"

 Values are stated but not all consistently modeled by leadership.


 Leadership audit on values alignment (where do we fall short?)
 Values reinforcement in hiring, onboarding, and decision-making
 Regular communication on how values guide decisions

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 [ ] Manager 1:1s with high-risk detractors (Operations team; burnout focus)
 [ ] Operations workload assessment; emergency action plan if needed
 [ ] Manager training on feedback delivery (1 session; practical)



 [ ] Compensation benchmarking for L2 ICs (market data collection)
 [ ] Promotion rubrics published (transparency on career path)
 [ ] Onboarding overhaul (buddy assignment, structured orientation)
 [ ] New hire cohort check-in (exit interviews with those who left)



 [ ] Manager feedback loops (360 reviews; skip-level assessments)
 [ ] Quarterly eNPS pulse survey (track trends)
 [ ] Culture initiatives: team connection events, remote inclusion, values reinforcement
 [ ] Annual deep-dive culture audit (this survey annual baseline)

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 [Q3 2026 or 6 months from this survey]


 Has Operations burnout improved?
 New hire cohort retention and satisfaction?
 L2 IC growth satisfaction after rubric publication?
 Overall eNPS trend?

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