Note to Culture Amp employees from CEO, Didier Elzinga

As we have been watching tech company after tech company announce layoffs there have been many questions internally about ‘will we have to do that too?’. As we have shared in our research there is a greater cost to layoffs than many people realise - obviously for anyone who is affected but also for the company going forward. That is why at several points in the last six months we have been explicit that we were pulling every lever BUT layoffs. However we are at a point now that I have made the extremely difficult call that we can no longer maintain that position and we are going to have to become a smaller company.

Therefore we will very regretfully be saying goodbye to roughly 9% of our team. These are people who took a chance on us, who we believe in, and who have made incredible contributions to the company. 

In identifying where we had to remove roles we have focussed primarily on how we de-layer, simplify, and restructure the company in order to be able to operate more effectively in this different environment. Whilst conditions will likely continue to be tough across the industry we continue to see every day the ways in which we are helping our customers tackle an increasingly difficult world. Going forward we are driven by the opportunity to continue to innovate with those customers and deliver ways of driving intentional culture at scale - in a difficult environment is when you need that culture the most.

We have watched lots of other companies do layoffs, however we chose to first pull a number of other levers in line with the softening market conditions. Unfortunately as the year has progressed we are not seeing any evidence that the conditions for our customers will improve in the near term. In the context of this difficult macroeconomic environment we need to ensure that Culture Amp can deliver on its mission no matter how long the markets take to improve.

For those of you who are leaving us, this is not of your doing and we want to give you the opportunity to depart as you wish to. The final date of employment for most departing Campers will be next Wednesday, 26 April. We do this as we believe that the way you depart is important, and that you should have agency in managing the process in the best way for you. The hope is that this gives you time to farewell your teams and arrange any paperwork. Your core communication systems will remain in place to allow for this. 

For those who are leaving, we are providing:

Separation package: A minimum of 10 weeks + additional depending upon length of service.

Stock allocation:  All Campers with less than 12 months tenure will have the initial 12 month cliff for vesting waived.  

Healthcare: Healthcare benefits for four months in the case of US employees, and 3 months access for all Campers and family members to Modern Health.

Outplacement services: Career development, coaching and transition support. 

Laptop: All Campers will have the opportunity to retain their laptop once cleaned by IT. 

Today we focus on ensuring that anyone affected has been properly notified and then through the rest of the week we will be hosting multiple AMAs in order to give everyone an opportunity to ask any questions that they may have. 

In the first instance we should focus on caring for and supporting impacted Campers but also thanking them for all that they have done. Next week will be when we focus on the path forward. 

Didier