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Configure the Onboard Survey Launch Plan

Set-up Onboard Survey invite and reminders. Choose between Survey Only or Survey & Interview workflows.

Jared Ellis avatar
Written by Jared Ellis
Updated over a week ago

Who can use this feature?

Available on:

  • All Culture Amp subscriptions that include Engagement.


Your Launch Plan determines how Onboard Survey invites and reminders are delivered to employees. The setup depends on whether you're using the Survey Only or Survey + Interview workflow—and whether you want to automate the process.

What Is the Launch Plan?


Your Launch Plan settings determine:

  • When survey invitations and reminders are sent

  • How long employees have to complete the survey

  • Whether the survey process is manual or automated

You’ll choose between two workflows:

  • Onboard Survey Only (Basic Workflow)

  • Onboard Survey + Interview (Full Workflow)

We’ll walk you through each option.

Survey Only Workflow (Basic)


In the Survey Only workflow, a survey is sent to the employee. Once they complete it, their responses show up in your dashboards, and the process ends there.

You can send surveys manually—or you can set it up to send automatically based on the employee’s start date.

Manual Setup for Launch Plan Settings

If you're sending surveys manually, you can set default timing for:

Item

Description

Survey Due

Default due date for the survey. This can be adjusted when starting the onboarding process.

Survey Reminder

Number of days before the due date to send a reminder if the survey hasn’t been submitted.

Send Time

Time of day you want reminder emails to be sent.

You’ll still have the option to adjust these each time you send a survey.

Automate Your Onboard Surveys

If you have a lot of new hires and want to save time, you can set up the platform to send surveys automatically for survey. This is based on each employee’s Start Date in your employee data file.

Here’s how it works:

  1. The platform checks your employee data daily

  2. If it finds someone with a recent start date, it sends the survey invite

  3. It also sends reminders if the survey hasn’t been completed

You can still send surveys manually if needed—for example, if someone joins unexpectedly.

These are the settings you’ll see on the Launch Plan page for the Survey Only workflow:

Item

Description

Baseline

How far back the system should look for eligible employees (e.g., only new hires from the past 30 days).

Invitation

Number of days after the employee’s start date to send the survey invite.

Survey Due

Number of days after the invite before the survey is due.

Reminder

Number of days before the due date to send a reminder if the survey hasn’t been submitted.

Send Time

Time of day for invitations and reminders to be sent.

Screen_Shot_2020-03-16_at_3.20.32_pm.png

Example: Let’s say the Invite is set to 6 days. If someone started on August 4, they’ll get the survey on August 10.

Want more control over who gets a survey? Use an Eligibility Flag


An Eligibility Flag lets you filter who should or shouldn’t receive an onboarding survey if you are using automatic launch. For example, you may want to exclude contractors, rehires, or people from an acquired company.

You can do this by adding a new column to your employee data—like Onboard Eligible—and using a value like Yes to mark who should get the survey.

To set up an Eligibility Flag:

1. Update your employee data file

You can update your employee file in two ways:

  • Manual upload:
    Go to Settings > Users > Export Users to download your user file.

  • HRIS integration:
    If you have an HRIS integration, update your HRIS report directly—no need to export the user file.

2. Add an eligibility column

  • Add a new column to your file or report (e.g. Onboard Eligible).
    You can name this column whatever makes sense to your team.

  • In this column, use one of the accepted values for employees who should receive the survey: Yes, Y, On, or True (not case-sensitive).

3. Save and sync your data

4. Notify Culture Amp Support

  • Reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist

  • Share the following details:

    • The name of your survey

    • The name of the new column you would like to set up as an Eligibility Flag on your survey (e.g. Onboard Eligible)

We’ll configure the survey settings on our end so the system recognizes this column and only sends surveys to employees who:

  • Have a valid Start Date

  • Have a qualifying value (Yes, Y, On, or True) in the Eligibility Flag column

Note: Only one Eligibility Flag can be used per onboarding survey.

Survey & Interview Workflow (Full)


If you want to follow up the survey with a one-on-one conversation with the onboarding employee, you can use the Survey + Interview workflow.

Here’s how it works:

  • You send a survey invite to the employee

  • After they complete it, an assigned Interviewer reviews the responses

  • The interviewer conducts a conversation with the employee and records notes

This approach is great for deeper insight, but it does require more time and planning.

Note: Automation is not available in this workflow. You’ll need to send each onboarding survey manually.

These are the settings you’ll see on the Launch Plan page for the Survey + Interview workflow:

Item

Description

Survey Due

Number of days after the invite before the survey is due.

Interview Due

Number of days after the survey due date for the interview to be completed.

Reminder

Number of days before the survey due date to remind the employee.

Interview Reminder

Number of days before the interview due date to remind the interviewer.

Send Time

Time of day for all invite and reminder communications.

Good to Know


  • You can always send a survey manually—even if automation is turned on

  • Automation only works with the Survey Only (Basic) workflow

  • The Eligibility Flag only works with the Survey Only (Basic) workflow

  • Only one Eligibility Flag can be used per onboarding survey

  • Reminder emails will only go out if the survey or interview hasn’t been completed

FAQs


Can I automate onboarding surveys for just some employees?

Yes! Just use an Eligibility Flag. Add a custom field like Onboard Eligible in your employee data and mark eligible employees with Yes or True.

Can I use more than one Eligibility Flag?

No, only one per onboarding survey.

Can I send a survey manually even if automation is set up?

Absolutely. Manual sending is always available.

Can I automate onboarding surveys in the Survey + Interview workflow?

No—automation only works for Survey Only (Basic) workflow. If you're using Survey + Interview (Full) workflow, surveys must be sent manually.


💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a Support Conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.

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