Culture Amp’s permissions model gives you flexibility and control over who can access different parts of the platform.
This article provides a complete breakdown of the permission levels and roles available across modules, surveys, and performance cycles. Use it as a reference to understand what each role can (and cannot) do.
Updated Permissions Model (August 11, 2025)
The updated Roles and Permissions page uses a simplified, module-based system. Instead of assigning multiple roles, you can now grant one of three permission levels for each module (e.g., Performance, Surveys, Goals):
If you are familiar with the previous system, here is a quick reference table to understand the new roles:
Previous Role | New Role |
Account Administrator | Account Administrator |
Surveys Administrator | Surveys Full Permissions |
Surveys HR Business Partner | Surveys Limited Permissions |
Survey creator | Survey creator |
Survey comment replier | Survey comment replier |
Survey data analyst | Survey data analyst |
Employee Data Administrator | Employee Data Full Permissions |
Performance administrator | Performance Full Permissions |
Performance HRBP | Performance HRBP |
Develop administrator | Develop Full Permissions |
Goals administrator | Goals Full Permissions |
Group goals administrator | Goals Full Permissions (Scoped Role) |
Core Permissions and Roles by Module
Account Administrator
Overview: Highest platform access except Performance. Manages account settings, employee data, and user permissions.
Permission | Access |
View/manage employee data | ✔ Yes |
Clear bounced emails | ✔ Yes |
Configure HRIS integrations & syncs | ✔ Yes |
Assign roles to users | ✔ Yes |
Manage account & survey settings | ✔ Yes |
Issue invitations/reset responses | ✔ Yes |
Create/manage surveys | ✔ Yes |
Add/export survey participants | ✔ Yes |
Create/view/share survey reports | ✔ Yes |
View Action Dashboard | ✔ Yes |
Administer Skills Coach | ✔ Yes |
Manage goals | ✔ Yes |
Edit career paths/competencies | ✔ Yes |
View development reports | ✔ Yes |
Enable Coach | ✔ Yes |
Create/manage performance cycles |
|
No
Employee Data Full permissions
Overview: Focused solely on managing employee data. No access to other modules.
Permission | Access |
View/manage employee data | ✔ Yes |
Clear bounced emails | ✔ Yes |
Activate/deactivate employees | ✔ Yes |
Configure HRIS integrations & syncs | ✔ Yes |
Create/manage surveys/performance |
|
Manage goals |
|
Access raw data |
|
Request feedback |
|
Surveys Module Roles
Account-Level Roles
Assigned at the account level (not per survey).
Surveys Full Permissions
Overview: Full control over surveys and reports, except for account or employee data settings.
Permissions | Access |
Create surveys | ✔ Yes |
Manage survey settings | ✔ Yes |
Assign another Survey admin | ✔ Yes |
Add survey participants | ✔ Yes |
Issue invitations and reset responses | ✔ Yes |
Export survey participants | ✔ Yes |
Create survey reports | ✔ Yes |
View all survey reports and add viewers/owners | ✔ Yes |
View the Action Dashboard | ✔ Yes |
Export survey participants | ✔ Yes |
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Export survey participants with demographic data |
|
No Note: Surveys administrators and Survey admin can export survey participants, but not with demographic data, unless they also have the Employee data administrator role.
Surveys Limited Permissions
Overview: Read-only report access with some filtered reports, no survey creation or admin rights.
Permissions | Access |
View the survey's Reports page | ✔ Yes |
Preview reports | ✔* Yes |
View/export filtered or leader-based reports | ✔ Yes |
Add report viewers/owners | ✔ Yes |
View the Action Dashboard | ✔* Yes |
View Administrator reports |
|
Create/edit/publish reports |
|
Bulk import sharing permissions |
|
Create/edit/launch surveys |
|
Manage account/users |
|
No
No
No* Requires being a viewer on relevant reports.
Survey creator
Overview: Can create and manage surveys they own, no account or employee data access. They are automatically designated as survey admins for their created surveys, gaining full access to survey admin features. Their access can also be restricted to specific demographics.
Permissions | Access |
Create surveys | ✔ Yes |
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
No
Survey data analyst
Overview: Can extract raw survey data if enabled on the survey.
Permissions | Access |
Access to survey raw data (if enabled) | ✔ Yes |
View audit log of data extracts | ✔ Yes |
Note: Another Account administrator must assign this role; self-assignment is not permitted.
Survey comment replier
Overview: Can reply publicly to comments left on surveys where comment replies have been enabled.
Permissions | Access |
Reply to survey comments | ✔ Yes |
Survey-Level Roles
Assigned per survey (not account-wide).
Survey admin
Overview: Survey admins have access to specific surveys they’ve been invited to, but they cannot create new surveys. There are two levels of Survey admin access: Overall and Support only.
Access level | Permissions | Access |
Overall | Manage survey settings | ✔ Yes |
| Assign other Survey admin | ✔ Yes |
| Add survey participants | ✔ Yes |
| Issue invitations and reset responses | ✔ Yes |
| Create survey reports | ✔ Yes |
| View survey reports and add viewers/owners | ✔ Yes |
| View the Action Dashboard | ✔ Yes |
| Export survey participants | ✔ Yes |
| Share reports | ✔ Yes |
| Manage account settings or employee data |
|
| Create surveys |
|
| Export survey participants with demographic data |
|
Support only | Issue invitations and reset responses | ✔ Yes |
No
No
No
Report Owner
Overview: Can view specific survey reports shared with them and receives notifications and reminders to drive and take action on those reports.
Permissions | Access |
View survey reports that they have been added as a viewer too | ✔ Yes |
View and create actions in reports that have the take action framework enabled | ✔ Yes |
Receive notifications and reminder nudges to take action on reports | ✔ Yes |
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Create or manage surveys |
|
No
No
Report Viewer
Overview: Can view specific survey reports shared with them and create actions where enabled, but does not receive notifications or reminders to take action on the reports.
Permissions | Access |
View survey reports that they have been added as a viewer too | ✔ Yes |
View and create actions in reports that have the take action framework enabled | ✔ Yes |
Receive notifications and reminder nudges to take action on reports |
|
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Create or manage surveys |
|
Performance Module Roles
Account Level Roles
Assigned at the account level (not per survey).
Performance Full permissions
Overview: Manages performance cycles but cannot access employee data or account settings.
Permissions | Access |
Create/manage performance cycles | ✔ Yes |
Configure cycle settings | ✔ Yes |
View performance cycles | ✔ Yes |
Complete reviews and self-reflections for others | ✔ Yes |
Create/share/view calibration views | ✔ Yes |
Submit feedback requests/share feedback on behalf of managers | ✔ Yes |
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Manage goals |
|
No
No
Performance HR business partner (HRBP)
Overview: Limited to viewing and acting within assigned departments only.
Permissions | Access |
View performance cycles | ✔ Yes |
Complete reviews/self-reflections for others | ✔ Yes |
Create/share calibration views (*shared only) | ✔* Yes |
Submit feedback requests/share feedback on behalf of managers | ✔ Yes |
Manage goals |
|
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Create/configure performance cycles |
|
No* Perform HRBPs cannot view calibration views (unless shared) if the view includes performance reviews outside their scope, such as reviews from other departments.
Performance Cycle Level Roles
Assigned per cycle (not account-wide).
Collaborator
Overview: Can access and comment on an employee’s manager review, but cannot view or comment on self-reflections.
Permissions | Access |
Access the employee's manager review that they've been assigned to as a collaborator | ✔ Yes |
Comment on each manager review question | ✔ Yes |
View or comment on an employee's self-reflections. |
|
Access the employee's profile |
|
Calibrator
Overview: A calibrator is someone who participates in the calibration process to help ensure performance reviews are fair and consistent across teams and departments.
Access Type | Ratings Preview Access | Read-Only Access |
View manager performance reviews | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
Use filters to sort views | ✔ Limited* | ✔ Yes |
Access employees outside scope |
|
|
View employee profiles |
| ✔ Yes |
View self-reflections |
| ✔ Yes |
View goals |
| ✔ Yes |
View peer/upward feedback |
| ✔ Yes |
Respond to calibration prompts | ✔ Yes |
|
*Filters are available within the Respond to Ratings tab, but are more limited than those in the read-only view.
Note: Calibrators with read-only calibration access can only view information within their permission scope. The feature respects role-based access and reporting lines; unless they are a direct or indirect manager, or have specific Admin or HRBP permissions, they won’t see reviews, self-reflections, goals, or feedback outside their scope.
Development Module Roles
Development Full Permissions (Account-Level)
Overview: Manages aspects of employee development without accessing sensitive data.
Permissions | Access |
View development reports | ✔ Yes |
Administer skills coach | ✔ Yes |
Edit career paths and competencies | ✔ Yes |
Manage performance cycles or goals |
|
Manage account settings or employee data |
|
Manage surveys and associated reports |
|
No
No
No
Goal Module Roles
Goals Full Permissions (Account-Level)
Overview: Full organizational access for creating and managing goals (except org structure).
Permissions | Access |
Full access to create/view/edit and manage goals org-wide | ✔ Yes |
Assign Group goal admins | ✔ Yes |
Administer collaborations | ✔ Yes |
Post comments on any goal | ✔ Yes |
View all goal reports | ✔ Yes |
Create/manage org structure |
|
No
Goals Full Permissions (Scoped Role)
Overview: Manages goals for specific organizational units only (e.g., departments) with cascading permissions across group and individual goals within and below the assigned group.
Permissions | Access |
Create/manage goals for assigned groups | ✔ Yes |
Create and manage cascading goals within those groups | ✔ Yes |
FAQs
Administration Roles:
What’s the highest level of access on the platform?
What’s the highest level of access on the platform?
The Account Administrator. They can manage nearly everything except the Performance module.
Can an Account Administrator manage performance cycles?
Can an Account Administrator manage performance cycles?
No, you’ll need the Performance Administrator role.
Survey Roles:
Can Survey Administrators export participants with demographic data?
Can Survey Administrators export participants with demographic data?
Only if they also have the Employee Data Administrator role.
Can I assign someone to manage a single survey?
Can I assign someone to manage a single survey?
Yes, assign them the Survey Admin role and limit their access to that survey.
Can Survey Data Analysts scope access to specific demographics?
Can Survey Data Analysts scope access to specific demographics?
No. Once assigned, they can access all raw data from enabled surveys.
Performance Roles:
Can Performance HRBPs see calibration views?
Can Performance HRBPs see calibration views?
Only for departments within their scope. Views that include data outside their scope won't be visible.
Develop Roles:
I want to manage career paths without accessing sensitive data, which role would be suitable?
I want to manage career paths without accessing sensitive data, which role would be suitable?
Assign the Develop Administrator role.
Goals Roles:
What’s the difference between the Goals Full Permissions and Goals Full Permissions (Scoped Permissions) role?
What’s the difference between the Goals Full Permissions and Goals Full Permissions (Scoped Permissions) role?
Goals Full Permissions has org-wide access. Goals Full Permissions with restricted permissions are limited to assigned groups.
Can scoped users see public goals outside their scope?
Can scoped users see public goals outside their scope?
They can view public goals (e.g., visible to everyone), but they can’t manage or edit them unless within their assigned scope.
What if someone changes departments?
What if someone changes departments?
If your HRIS syncs regularly, scoped access should update automatically. Still, it's best to check permissions after org changes.
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