presentsOrganisationalCulture Audit
Finding the psychodynamic pulse of your organisation
Through confidential interviews and your organisational data, we listen for the stories that shape how people think and behave at work — why the same problems recur, where power really sits, and what needs to change, and what deserves protecting.
Organisation-wide and Team Deep Dives.
- Confidential and independent
- No blame, no shame
- Whole-organisation or single-team
- NPPV Level 2 vetted
A culture audit is a confidential, independent look at what it is really like to work in your organisation — using the stories your people carry, alongside your data. senseia brings a psychodynamic and neuroscience-informed lens to that work: we come in with care, with no blame and no shame, and with the clinical boundary-setting that makes it safe for people to speak honestly.
The problem
Unexamined culture is an operational risk
Culture problems rarely announce themselves. They show up as the same complaints, grievances and inspection findings returning year after year, however many policies are rewritten.
The patterns are not random. They have a logic — and that logic can be found.
12 of 17
fire services rated poorly on values and culture were also rated poorly on effectiveness.
HMICFRS, 2023The Baroness Casey Review named the Met’s culture of defensiveness and denial as the biggest barrier to fixing the force.
Baroness Casey Review, 2023
How we work
We listen to stories. Not to gather data — to find the patterns underneath.
We are trained in psychodynamic methods, neuroscience and trauma-informed practice. That means we understand why people protect themselves, why organisations develop defensive cultures, and how to create the conditions in which people can speak honestly — without blame and without shame.
Psychodynamic patterns
We look beneath the surface: the unconscious dynamics that keep an organisation in its current pattern, and the underlying story that the stories people tell us reveal.
Neuroscience lens
We accept that everyone is human. Behaviour that looks like bad character is often a predictable response to an environment that doesn’t feel safe. We look at the system, not the individual.
No blame, no shame
We come in without a verdict. Our role is to understand — not to prosecute, not to rank, and not to embarrass. That is what makes it possible for people to tell us the truth.
Trauma-informed
Organisational culture can carry trauma. We are trained to hold that carefully — to hear it, to make sense of it, and to report it in a way that opens possibility rather than closes it.
Clinical boundary-setting
We create the conditions in which honesty is possible. Clear boundaries around confidentiality, role and purpose — held throughout — are what allow people to go to the places that matter.
Absolute confidentiality
What individuals tell us stays with us. Findings are reported as themes, never attributed. That is not just a commitment — it is the foundation of everything else.
At a glance
Is this the right fit?
The senseia lens
How it fits
Who
- Organisations
- Teams
- Individuals
How
- 1Audit
- 2Intervention
WhatCultureCommunicationTransformation
How the lens works →
- Who commissions it
- Chief officers, boards and HR directors
- Who it involves
- People at every level of the organisation, through confidential interviews, alongside your organisational data
- Not designed for
- Investigating individual complaints or misconduct, or replacing formal grievance or disciplinary processes
- Scale
- Whole organisations or single teams
- Duration
- Depends on org size and scope
- Delivery
- On-site data review, remote interviews, in-person sessions
- What you receive
- Findings and recommendations — never a report
- Vetting
- If required.
- Cost
- By proposal, once scope is agreed
How it works
From what people say to the story underneath
01
Listening
Confidential one-to-one interviews with people across the organisation, at every level. We listen for the recurring stories — the ones that show up in different mouths, in different parts of the organisation.
We are not looking for facts. We are listening for the pattern that the stories reveal.
02
Evidence
The stories are examined alongside your organisational data — grievances, turnover, absence, performance, inspection findings. Where they diverge from each other and from the facts is where the most important things are.
Data tells you what happened. Stories tell you why it keeps happening.
03
The pattern
We find the psychodynamic logic that keeps the culture in its current shape. Our findings aren’t delivered as a report — they’re presented through the stories themselves, so leaders experience the pattern, not just read about it.
That understanding is what creates the motivation to change — and the evidenced rationale for it. If you want to act on what we find, we can help with that too.
For a single team
Sometimes the question is not organisation-wide. A new manager walking into an established team, a persistent conflict, a restructure, a merger — these are moments when a focused, independent look at what is really going on in that team can be more useful than a full review.
Team deep dives are commissioned independently. No wider review needed.
Ask about a team deep dive ↗The evidence
Delivered with discretion
senseia has carried out culture reviews and audits for police, fire and rescue services, the NHS, councils, regulators and other large organisations across the UK, including the Nursing and Midwifery Council, North Wales Police, Devon and Cornwall Police, Cornwall and South Wales Fire and Rescue Services, and NHS trusts.
senseia’s work gave me a profound insight into the strengths and vulnerabilities of our culture – it was delivered with discretion, integrity and compassion.
senseia gave us an honest picture of where we were — which is exactly what you need if you are going to lead real change.
Case study
+90%
perceived organisational support, against the national average.
North Wales Police commissioned a senseia culture audit as Amanda Blakeman became Chief Constable.
Read the North Wales Police case study →Figures come from individual client programmes with their own samples, comparators and evaluation methods. They are presented as programme-specific evidence, not a single pooled study. See our impact.
Common questions
Your culture audit questions answered
What makes this different from a staff survey or engagement exercise?+
We don’t run surveys. We listen to stories — because the patterns that keep a culture in place are carried in what people say and how they say it, not in how they score a question. A culture audit finds the underlying story that shapes how people think and behave.
How do you keep what staff tell you confidential?+
Interviews are confidential, and findings are reported as themes, never attributed to individuals. Interview notes are stored securely and deleted when the project is complete. Confidentiality is not just a commitment — it is the foundation that makes honest conversation possible.
What does ‘no blame, no shame’ mean in practice?+
We come in without a verdict. Our role is to understand — not to prosecute, rank or embarrass. We look at organisational systems and patterns, not individual character. That is what makes it safe for people to tell us what is really happening.
What methods do you use?+
Confidential one-to-one interviews across the organisation, alongside your organisational data. We bring a psychodynamic and neuroscience-informed lens, and we are trained in trauma-informed practice.
How long does a culture audit take, and what does it cost?+
Up to 3 months. Cost is by proposal, once scope is agreed.
Will the report be published, and who owns it?+
Discussions about ownership and publication are dependent on the needs of the commissioner.
Have you worked with police, fire, NHS or councils before?+
Yes. senseia has carried out culture audits for North Wales Police and has worked with Devon and Cornwall Police, Cornwall and South Wales Fire and Rescue Services, NHS trusts and councils, over more than 13 years in public services.
What do we get at the end?+
Findings and recommendations. The audit is a stand alone product: its findings make an evidenced case for what comes next.
Enquire
Start with understanding
Tell us what keeps coming back in your organisation. We’ll talk through whether an audit is the right place to start, and what it would involve. The findings make an evidenced case for what needs to change — and if you want to act on them, we can help with that too.
Talk to us about a culture audit ↗ See all programmes →
