Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions
The Culture Amp Import Wizard provides a seamless way for you to update a fraction or all of your employees.
With partial imports, you can use the import wizard to upload, review, and apply updates to a subset of your employees. Employees not included in the upload will remain active and unchanged in Culture Amp. To overwrite all user data already in the system, you can still choose a full import.
Partial import
A partial import updates employee demographic information for a subset of your organization. During the bulk import process, you can upload an employee data file that only includes information from a handful of your employees. Once processed, a partial import will only change that part of your organization.
Employees not included in the import file will remain active and unchanged in Culture Amp, which means that to deactivate a user via partial import, they must be included on the import file with an End Date assigned.
Partial imports are only available for manual CSV/XLSX file uploads and SFTP.
When to use a partial import
Partial imports are a good option when you want to update demographics for some, but not all of your employee base. Here are some common scenarios where a partial import is useful:
Prompt/driver for import | Solution |
Launch onboard surveys for a batch of new starters | Add new starters to Culture Amp in bulk with partial import |
Launch exit surveys for a batch of recent departures | Update records of recent departures with partial import (requires also setting their end date to a future date) |
Pulse survey for a single division/department | Update demographic data for a single department, then create and launch a survey |
Correct inaccurate demographics for a handful of employees | Update troublesome records with partial import |
Full import
A full import completely overwrites any user data you already have in the system. Any employees missing from the incoming employee data file will become inactive.
Full imports are available for both file uploads and HRIS integration syncs.
When to use a full import
Full imports are a good option when you want to make sure every employee record in your account is up-to-date. Here are some commons scenarios where a full import is useful:
Prompt/driver for import | Solution |
Ask for feedback from the entire company | Update all data in your account with full import |
Sync data using one of our HRIS native integrations | Native HRIS integrations always apply a full import |
Your company undergoes a restructure, and the entire company tree changes | Update reporting demographics for your entire company with a full import |
A large number of terminated users are still active on Culture Amp, and you need to remove them in bulk | Run a full import that includes all employees other than those who are no longer at the company. A full import will instantly deactivate anybody not found on the file, and mark them as former employees. |
If you’re importing your employee data manually, you can select between running a full import or a partial import.
If you’re using an automated HRIS integration, it will use a full import.
If you’re syncing your employee data via SFTP, it will use a partial import.
Important: For both partial and full imports, blank cells will wipe existing demographic data rather than ignoring it.
Partial Imports: Simply omit users from your file if they need no changes, or include them in the file with their current demographics populated.
Full Imports: You must include users on the file to avoid deactivation, but ensure their current demographics are populated to prevent data loss.
Handling inactive employees
You can deactivate employees with both full and partial imports:
Full import: This treats your file as the 'future state' of users in Culture Amp. If any active users are left off the file, they become inactive, with their
End Dateset to the day before the import date, classified as former employees. It's like saying those missing are intentionally removed. Any user with anEnd Dateset in the past also becomes inactive and classified as a former employee. We recommend explicitly providingEnd Datesfor departing employees. This ensures your data accurately reflects turnover, boosting the value of features like Retention Insights.Partial import: Users omitted from a partial import will remain active and unchanged in Culture Amp. To make a user inactive via a partial import, set their
End Dateto a date in the past. The user will become inactive and classified as a former employee.
Understanding Deactivation Timing
The timing of an employee's deactivation depends on whether you have explicitly assigned them an End Date or if they have been excluded from a Full Import.
To ensure accuracy across global offices, Culture Amp uses Timezone-aware deactivation, which looks at the local timezone configured in your Account Settings.
Deactivation Scenarios
The system handles deactivation in two distinct ways:
1. When an End Date is assigned (Scheduled)
If you manually enter an End Date on a user's profile or include an End Date column in your import file:
The Timing: The user remains active for the duration of that date and is deactivated at 11:59 PM in your account's local timezone.
The Benefit: This ensures employees in your local timezone don't lose access in the middle of their final working day.
The Exception: If a user is assigned an End Date in the past, they will be deactivated immediately.
2. When a user is excluded from a Full Import
If you perform a Full Import and a user is not included in the file:
The Timing: The system automatically assigns them an End Date of the day before the import. Because that date has already passed, the user is deactivated immediately once the import is processed.
The Benefit: This allows for the instant removal of users who should no longer have system access.
Learn about the difference between former and deactivated employees.
For specific information about how to include the end date in your employee data when using an HRIS integration, refer to the support guide article for your system.
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