Who can use this feature?
Available on:
All Culture Amp subscriptions.
You can import employee data directly from TriNet into Culture Amp using a secure, one-way API connection. This ensures your employee list and demographics are always up-to-date.
Data Flow: Employee Data flows from TriNet into Culture Amp (one-way sync). Changes made in Culture Amp will not sync back to your HRIS.
Initial Setup Timeframe: Please note that due to the requirement for specific API credential generation and backend mapping of unique identifiers, the setup process typically takes 1–3 weeks. We recommend involving an account administrator with full system permissions and a member of your IT team to assist with credential generation.
Choosing Your Integration Method
We offer two primary ways to connect your employee data. The table below briefly outlines both and should help with the decision on which is the best approach for your organization:
Method | Type of Import | Best For | Key Difference |
Full Integration (API) | Full Employee Import | Organizations seeking real-time, daily automation of all employee data that the API supports. | Data transfer is handled automatically via a secure API connection. Users with an End Date in the HRIS become former employees instantly upon sync. If a user is simply removed from the sync report without an End Date, they will remain "Active" in Culture Amp until a manual sync is performed by our Culture Amp Support team. Properly terminating employees in your HRIS with an End Date is the only way to guarantee automatic deactivation. |
Partial Employee Import | Organizations that need complete control over file creation, have unique filtering requirements, or need to manage data fields not supported by the API. | You generate a file and securely transfer it to us at scheduled intervals. Users missing from the file are ignored unless you include an end date. |
API Integration Checklist
Access Requirements & Terminology — Prerequisites and system logic.
Step 1: Connect & Authenticate — Locating and entering your API credentials.
Step 2: Field Mapping — Aligning your TriNet demographics with Culture Amp.
Step 3: Activate Integration — Establishing the technical connection.
Step 4: Run Your First Sync — Reviewing and importing employee records.
Troubleshooting & FAQs — Solving errors, duplicates, and sync blocks.
Before You Start: Access Requirements & Terminology
Ensure that you have access to the following accounts when setting up the integration:
Access to your TriNet instance with the required role (see Permissions below).
Access to Culture Amp with Account Administrator or Employee data administrator access.
Important Considerations & Data Limitations
Important Considerations & Data Limitations
Supported Versions: We only support integration with TriNet PEO. TriNet HR Plus and TriNet HR Platform (formerly known as Zenefits) are not supported
Default Employee ID mapping: The default Employee ID mapping may not work as expected, and result in blank values for users. If you notice Employee IDs are not feeding through correctly after your first sync, reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Data and Integrations specialist.
Terminology Breakdown
Terminology Breakdown
Term | Also Known As | Definition & Example |
Company ID | CID / Org ID | The unique alphanumeric code for your legal entity in TriNet. This is required to link the correct employee directory to Culture Amp. |
Service Date | Adjusted Service Date | The date used in TriNet to calculate seniority. Culture Amp uses this as the Start Date to determine employee tenure. |
Work Location | Office / Site | The physical location assigned to the employee. This is a common demographic imported for survey filtering. |
Employee ID | employeeId | TriNet’s internal unique identifier for a worker. Note: This often requires a backend mapping by Culture Amp to appear correctly. |
Required Permissions & Rationale
Required Permissions & Rationale
TriNet permissions are managed via the Integration Center. To ensure Culture Amp can see the full employee lifecycle (including managers and start dates), the following access levels are required:
Permission/Role | Needed in TriNet | Rationale (Data it unlocks in Culture Amp) |
Integration Admin | Admin Access | Required to generate the Client ID and Secret in the Integration Center. |
Employee Basic |
| Provides core identity data: Name, Work Email, DOB, and Employee ID. |
Employment Full |
| Unlocks "Timeline" and "Hierarchy" data: Service Date, Termination Date, and Reports To. |
Department/Org |
| Provides organizational demographics such as Department Name and Dept Code. |
Step 1: Connect Your TriNet Account
Sign in to Culture Amp with an account that has Account Administrator or Employee data administrator access.
Navigate to your Settings > Account > Integrations page in the Culture Amp platform.
Select TriNet from the list of integrations.
Click Continue setup
You will see CultureAmp’s request to read your TriNet employee data. Click Next
Enter your TriNet Client ID and Secret by following the on-screen prompts.
Enter your TriNet Company ID, obtained during the previous step
🔑 How to Locate your TriNet Credentials
🔑 How to Locate your TriNet Credentials
Overview:
The TriNet integration requires a Client ID, Secret, and Company ID to authenticate. This guide will walk you through finding or creating those credentials within TriNet.
Note: The steps below are sourced from Merge, our integration partner. We recommend checking their official guide for the most current instructions: Merge Trinet Account Linking Guide.
Prerequisites:
Please ensure you are an Integration Administrator in your company's TriNet instance, or someone has shared their access with you
Instructions:
Step 1: Accessing your Client ID, Secret, and Company ID
Sign in to TriNet
Follow the navigation path to access the TriNet Integration Center: Admin•Manager > Integration Center
Click Get Started from the TriNet API section of Available Apps.
Select the applicable integration name from the Select an Integration drop-down list
If you don't see the company you are attempting to integrate with listed in the dropdown, please contact your account manager.
Click Accept
Copy the Company ID, Client ID and Client Secret
Do not navigate from this screen until the credentials are entered in the linking flow or securely saved in a local location, as they cannot be accessed again
Click OK
Step 2: Enter the Client ID, Secret and Company ID
Enter the credentials you've just gathered (Client ID, Secret and Company ID) and click Submit
Step 2: Setting Up Demographic Field Mapping
Once you have authenticated with TriNet, you will be prompted to map the demographic fields you would like to import into Culture Amp.
Note: Core demographic fields map automatically and should not be manually configured unless instructed by a Culture Amp specialist. Please note that once these fields are set up, they cannot be edited or deleted. If you need to make changes, reply with "ask a person" in a support conversation to speak with a specialist.
Core Demographics: Automatic Mapping
Core Demographics: Automatic Mapping
This table is intended for your technical TriNet administrator. The following fields will sync automatically from TriNet to Culture Amp.
Note: While the "Typical TriNet UI Label" shows the common reference field in TriNet, exact UI labels and underlying field names may vary by tenant and configuration.
Typical TriNet UI Label | TriNet Endpoint (Data Location) | Culture Amp Field (The Destination) |
Work Email |
| Email (Unique Identifier) |
Employee ID |
| Employee ID (Unique Identifier) |
First Name / Last Name |
| Name |
Preferred Name |
| Preferred Name |
Date of Birth |
| Date of Birth |
Service Date |
| Start Date |
Termination Date |
| End Date |
Reports To (Work Email of the referenced Manager) |
| Manager Email (Hierarchy demographic) |
Custom Demographics: Manual Mapping
Custom Demographics: Manual Mapping
If you track additional employee data in TriNet that you want to use as demographics in Culture Amp, follow these steps to set up custom mapping.
Step 1. Map Fields
Now that the initial authentication is complete, on your Integrations page, click Map fields.
Step 2. Select the Data Model for the Target Field
From the target field dropdown, select Employee.
Step 3. Set Details for the Target Field
Specify the details for the field you want to target (e.g., employee department name).
Step 4. Choose the Matching Field from TriNet
Select the matching field from TriNet and click Save.
Step 5. Save Mappings
You can either Save mappings or click the + Field Mapping button to add more.
Tip: Not all TriNet fields can be synced due to API limitations. If you're unable to sync a desired demographic, you may need to:
Map an alternate custom field that contains similar data.
Manage the demographic directly in Culture Amp via manual imports.
Exclude Employees (Optional)
Exclude Employees (Optional)
To exclude specific employees, you must first specify them in your TriNet system (e.g., by creating a custom field or using an existing one) and set the value of this field to "Yes" for the employees you want to exclude.
Step 1. Start Mapping
Click on Map fields to begin the workflow.
Step 2. Select the Exclusion Field
You will see a field mapping for Exclude from Culture Amp in the workflow.
Search for the corresponding field from your HRIS under the Exclude from Culture Amp field.
Ensure that employees you want to exclude are marked as "Yes" in your HRIS.
Step 3. Save Mappings
Click Save mappings
Note: Only demographics that use "Yes" values can be attached to the Exclude from Culture Amp mapping in your integration settings. It is not possible to map an existing demographic like Job Title and tell the system to exclude all participants whose Job Title is 'Contractor'.
Step 3: Activate Integration
After mapping your fields, click Sync and the system will run an initial sync to connect your TriNet account details and mappings.
Note: This sync does not import employee data yet.
You will see a "Syncing data" message. This initial sync can take up to 12 hours to complete, depending on the size and complexity of your TriNet configuration.
Feel free to navigate away from the page. The process runs in the background.
The "Syncing data" message confirms the connection and mapping setup. Once this first sync completes, you can proceed to import your employee data through another sync.
Note: As part of our commitment to data security, only data relevant to your import and field mappings will be stored.
Step 4: Run Your First Employee Data Sync
Once the initial setup sync is complete, the Integrations page in Culture Amp will update. Follow these steps to run your first employee data import:
Click the Finalise sync button.
Click Get Started.
On the review page, ensure Sync is selected in the "Sync with merge" section (ignore the other options).
Culture Amp will validate the data. If there are no concerns, click Next.
Review the data: Carefully examine the review screen, which shows the number of new employees to be created, existing employees to be updated, and employees to be deactivated. If there are any issues, check the troubleshooting section below or ask our Culture Amp Product Support team for help.
Hit Import Data to pull the employees into Culture Amp.
After the import is complete, click Go to Users to review the new users.
Note: If you see any unexpected numbers (e.g., too many employees being deactivated or created), do not proceed with the import. Check the Troubleshooting section or reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
Once these steps are completed, you will see the green "Syncing data" notification appear on the Integrations page.
After syncing is complete, you will see the latest sync information, including the date and time of the last sync, and confirmation that your integration is Connected on the Integrations page.
Set Up Automated Daily Syncs
Set Up Automated Daily Syncs
By default, auto-syncs are off. We recommend enabling daily syncing to ensure your employee demographics are kept up-to-date.
To enable: Go to Integrations, click on the Off button and toggle Auto-sync On.
To disable: Go to Integrations, click on the On button, then click Turn off auto sync.
Note: If you leave the "Finalise sync" message on the "Integrations" page, the autosync feature will not work. You must click the "Finalise sync" button to enable autosync.
Troubleshooting/FAQs
If the fixes below don't resolve your issue, please remember that the complexity of TriNet means complex mapping or sync problems often require a specialist. Please reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
General Data Integrity & Import Management
The first step when investigating any data issue is to check the Import Summary Screen for your most recent import.
Go to Settings > Employee Data > Import History.
Select your most recent import to view details.
This screen provides information on the state of your integration, any specific errors, or will prompt you to run a manual sync to identify problems.
TriNet: Integration Specific Errors
TriNet: Integration Specific Errors
Issue | Cause | Suggested Fix |
Terminated Employees Still Showing as "Active" | The employee was removed from the TriNet sync report or deactivated without a populated End Date. | Immediate Fix: Re-add the user to the TriNet report with a valid End Date and sync again. Secondary Fix: If they cannot be re-added to the report, reach out to our Culture Amp Support team (via "Ask a Person") to request a manual sync to process the deactivation. |
Need to Edit/Delete Mappings | Mappings are locked in the Culture Amp platform once set up. Adding or editing custom mappings often requires a full back-end sync to be triggered by our Culture Amp support team for the changes to be reflected in the platform. | Contact Culture Amp Support:
|
Switching from CSV or Other Imports
Switching from CSV or Other Imports
If you are moving from CSV uploads or a different integration, keep the following in mind:
Demographic Consistency: When mapping fields, you must map the data to the exact same demographic field you used historically (e.g., mapping to "TEAM" is different from mapping to "TEAM NAME"). Using an incorrect or slightly different title risks discontinuity in your trended survey results.
Recommended Action: To avoid confusion, we recommend navigating to Settings > Employee Data Demographics and deleting the old, unused demographics after your first successful sync. (This won't impact any previous survey results.)
Handling Duplicate Employees
Handling Duplicate Employees
Culture Amp uses two fields as unique identifiers for user profiles: Email and Employee ID.
As long as at least one of these remains consistent between TriNet and Culture Amp, the sync will successfully update the existing profile rather than creating a new one.
Duplicate Risk: If you change both the Email and the Employee ID simultaneously in TriNet, the sync will not find a match and will create a duplicate profile.
If you see a duplicate profile error flag during your import, take the following steps:
Scenario | Action to Take |
A. Before Changes Are Applied | During the first sync review screen, stop the sync. Update the employee emails in Culture Amp to match those in TriNet.
|
B. After Changes Are Applied | To clean up the duplicated profiles:
|
Further Guidance | Check out our dedicated support guide for further information on duplicate employee clean-up. |
Sync Blocked to Protect Employee Privacy
Sync Blocked to Protect Employee Privacy
Your automated daily sync might be blocked if Culture Amp detects a high-risk change for an employee. You will receive an email notification if this occurs.
When It Happens: The sync is blocked if a combination of an employee's Name, Date of Birth, or Email is changed simultaneously.
Purpose: This prevents one employee from accidentally getting access to another employee's private information (like performance reviews).
Fix: If you've intentionally changed the employee's details, you can run a manual sync to push the change through. Go to Settings > Employee Data > Users, click Import data, and select Sync. Culture Amp will guide you through the rest.
Redaction of Sensitive Data
Redaction of Sensitive Data
As part of this integration, Culture Amp has the ability to redact sensitive data at your request. If you need any fields to be disabled/redacted for your account, please reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.
💬 Need help? Just reply with "Ask a Person" in a support conversation to speak with a Product Support Specialist.