Building Engineering Culture That Drives eNPS | A Proven AI Prompt for culture for engineering directors | Engify.ai
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# Building Engineering Culture That Drives eNPS

You are an Engineering Director or VP of Engineering tasked with building a culture that drives high eNPS scores through technical excellence, growth opportunities, and team autonomy.

## Current State Assessment

### Culture Strengths
[List what's working well]
1. [Strength 1]
2. [Strength 2]
3. [Strength 3]

### Culture Gaps
[List areas needing improvement]
1. [Gap 1]
2. [Gap 2]
3. [Gap 3]

### eNPS Context
- **Current eNPS**: [Score]
- **Key Detractor Themes**: [What's driving low scores]
- **Key Promoter Themes**: [What's driving high scores]

## Core Culture Pillars

### 1. Technical Excellence
**What it means:**
- High code quality standards
- Thoughtful architecture decisions
- Continuous learning and improvement
- Technical debt management

**How to build it:**
- [ ] Establish clear code review standards
- [ ] Invest in technical training and conferences
- [ ] Create architecture review processes
- [ ] Balance shipping with quality
- [ ] Celebrate technical achievements

**Metrics:**
- Code review quality scores
- Technical debt tracking
- Architecture decision documentation
- Learning & development participation

### 2. Growth & Development
**What it means:**
- Clear career paths
- Continuous learning opportunities
- Mentorship and coaching
- Internal mobility

**How to build it:**
- [ ] Define clear career ladders (IC and Manager tracks)
- [ ] Create mentorship programs
- [ ] Provide learning budgets
- [ ] Enable internal transfers
- [ ] Regular career conversations

**Metrics:**
- Promotion rates
- Internal mobility rates
- Learning participation
- Career development plan completion

### 3. Autonomy & Ownership
**What it means:**
- Teams own their domains
- Engineers influence technical decisions
- Minimal micromanagement
- Trust-based culture

**How to build it:**
- [ ] Give teams clear ownership boundaries
- [ ] Involve engineers in architecture decisions
- [ ] Limit approvals and bureaucracy
- [ ] Trust teams to make good decisions
- [ ] Learn from mistakes, don't punish

**Metrics:**
- Decision velocity
- Team autonomy scores
- Employee satisfaction with autonomy
- Micromanagement complaints

### 4. Psychological Safety
**What it means:**
- Safe to ask questions
- Safe to fail and learn
- Open feedback culture
- Inclusive environment

**How to build it:**
- [ ] Model vulnerability as a leader
- [ ] Celebrate learning from failures
- [ ] Create safe feedback channels
- [ ] Address exclusionary behavior quickly
- [ ] Regular psychological safety check-ins

**Metrics:**
- Psychological safety survey scores
- Blame culture incidents
- Feedback frequency
- Inclusion metrics

### 5. Work-Life Balance
**What it means:**
- Sustainable pace
- Respect for boundaries
- Flexible work arrangements
- Mental health support

**How to build it:**
- [ ] Set clear expectations about hours
- [ ] Discourage after-hours work
- [ ] Support flexible schedules
- [ ] Provide mental health resources
- [ ] Lead by example (take time off)

**Metrics:**
- Average hours worked
- Burnout survey scores
- Time off utilization
- After-hours communication frequency

## Culture-Building Action Plan

### Quick Wins (30-60 days)
1. **[Action Item]**
   - **Description**: [What to do]
   - **Owner**: [Who]
   - **Success Metric**: [How to measure]
   - **Impact**: [Expected eNPS impact]

2. **[Action Item]**
   - **Description**: [What to do]
   - **Owner**: [Who]
   - **Success Metric**: [How to measure]

### Strategic Initiatives (90-180 days)
1. **[Action Item]**
   - **Description**: [What to do]
   - **Owner**: [Who]
   - **Success Metric**: [How to measure]
   - **Resource Needs**: [Budget, people, etc.]

2. **[Action Item]**
   - **Description**: [What to do]
   - **Owner**: [Who]
   - **Success Metric**: [How to measure]

## Communication Strategy

### Culture Messages
- **Vision**: [What culture we're building]
- **Values**: [Core values we live by]
- **Behaviors**: [How we demonstrate values]

### Communication Channels
- [ ] Team meetings
- [ ] All-hands presentations
- [ ] Engineering blog posts
- [ ] Slack announcements
- [ ] 1-on-1 conversations

### Storytelling
- [ ] Share examples of culture in action
- [ ] Celebrate people living the values
- [ ] Highlight improvements over time

## Measurement & Iteration

### Culture Metrics
- **eNPS Score**: Target [X] by [Date]
- **Culture Survey**: Quarterly assessment
- **Retention Rate**: Target [X]%
- **Promoter Themes**: [What drives promoters]

### Regular Review
- **Frequency**: Quarterly culture review
- **Format**: Team discussion + survey
- **Actions**: Update action plan based on findings

## Engineering-Specific Culture Elements

### Developer Experience (DX)
- [ ] Improve tooling and automation
- [ ] Reduce friction in development
- [ ] Fast feedback loops (CI/CD)
- [ ] Good documentation

### Technical Practices
- [ ] Code review culture
- [ ] Testing standards
- [ ] Architecture patterns
- [ ] Knowledge sharing

### Team Structure
- [ ] Clear team boundaries
- [ ] Balanced team sizes
- [ ] Cross-team collaboration
- [ ] Minimal context switching

## Success Criteria

A strong engineering culture should show:
- **High eNPS**: Score >50
- **Low Turnover**: <10% annual turnover
- **High Engagement**: >80% favorable on engagement surveys
- **Growth**: People are growing in their careers
- **Innovation**: Teams are shipping impactful work

## Notes
- Culture takes time to build - be patient
- Lead by example - actions speak louder than words
- Continuously measure and iterate
- Involve the team in building culture
- Celebrate wins along the way
Building Engineering Culture That Drives eNPS

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