Engagement sits at 72/100 (Healthy) with a participation rate of 84% across 148 of 176 employees. The organization is carried by strong purpose alignment (82) and team-level trust (78), but three structural risks are pulling the score down: (1) workload sustainability has fallen 11 points QoQ to 54, with cafe-floor and customer-support staff well below the threshold; (2) recognition is wildly uneven — an 18-point gap between the roastery (74) and cafe floor (56); and (3) 41% of respondents say feedback given in 1:1s rarely results in visible action. eNPS has slipped from +28 to +19, driven almost entirely by the cafe and support cohorts. Without intervention in the next 30–60 days, the model projects a 6–9 point EI drop by Q3 and elevated regrettable attrition risk on the cafe floor.
1. Methodology & Coverage
- 148 responses out of 176 invited (84% participation, +6 pts vs Q1).
- Departments represented: Cafe Floor (62), Roastery & Production (34), Customer Support (22), Wholesale & Sales (16), People & Finance (9), Leadership (5).
- Confidence: High for Cafe, Roastery, Support. Indicative only for People & Finance and Leadership due to small n — read those as directional.
- Free-text comments analyzed: 312 across 9 open questions. Sentiment split: 46% positive, 31% neutral, 23% negative.
2. Engagement Index — Dimension Breakdown
| Dimension | Score | vs Q1 | Band |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Purpose & Mission | 82 | +1 | Thriving |
| Team Trust | 78 | +2 | Thriving |
| Manager Effectiveness | 71 | -3 | Healthy |
| Growth & Development | 66 | -2 | Healthy |
| Recognition | 63 | -5 | At risk |
| Communication & Voice | 61 | -4 | At risk |
| Workload Sustainability | 54 | -11 | At risk |
| Pay & Benefits Fairness | 58 | -1 | At risk |
3. Strengths to Protect
- **Purpose alignment is a genuine moat.** 86% can describe Acme's mission in their own words; 79% say their daily work connects to it. This is the single biggest reason people stay.
- **Peer trust is high across every department.** Even in cohorts where overall EI is weak (Cafe, Support), team-trust scores stay above 72. Whatever managers are doing on team chemistry is working — don't disrupt it.
- **Onboarding rated strongly** by employees in their first 6 months (EI 79). New-hire NPS is +44.
4. Watch-outs & Root Causes
### 4a. Workload sustainability (54, ▼11)
- 38% of respondents reported >5 hours unplanned overtime per week in the last month.
- Concentrated in Cafe Floor (47%) and Customer Support (41%).
- Comments cluster around three causes: (i) unfilled shifts after two Q1 departures, (ii) the new mobile-order channel adding ~22% volume with no staffing adjustment, (iii) inconsistent break enforcement on closing shifts.
4b. Recognition variance (63, ▼5; 18-pt department spread)
- Roastery managers run a structured weekly shout-out; cafe and support do not.
- 29% of cafe staff said they had received no recognition of any kind in the last 90 days.
- High performers in Support are the most likely to feel invisible (recognition score 49 in that cohort).
4c. Feedback follow-through (Communication 61, ▼4)
- 41% disagree that "feedback I share in 1:1s leads to visible change."
- 7 comments use the exact phrase "black hole." Another 14 describe the same pattern.
- Strongest in Cafe and Support; Leadership cohort itself rates this at 78, suggesting a perception gap leadership may not see.
4d. Pay & benefits fairness (58)
- Not a crisis, but the lowest-tenure quartile (<12 months) scores it at 49.
- Comments focus on (i) tip-pool transparency on the cafe floor, (ii) parity between full-time and 30-hour contracts on health benefits.
5. eNPS Deep Dive
- Overall eNPS: +19 (Promoters 41%, Passives 37%, Detractors 22%).
- Roastery: +38. Cafe: +4. Support: -9. Wholesale: +25.
- Detractor comments are dominated by two themes: workload (62% of detractor comments) and "feeling unheard" (44%, with overlap).
- Promoter comments cite mission, teammates, and coffee quality, in that order.
6. Department Scorecards
### Cafe Floor (n=62) — EI 61, eNPS +4
- Lowest scores: Workload (48), Recognition (56), Communication (57).
- Highest scores: Team Trust (74), Purpose (78).
- Top 3 comment themes: short-staffing on weekends, tip-pool clarity, lack of recognition from district managers.
- Risk: 11 cafe staff scored <40 on workload AND were detractors on eNPS — this is the at-risk attrition pool.
Roastery & Production (n=34) — EI 81, eNPS +38
- Strongest cohort in the organization. Workload sustainable (72), recognition healthy (74), growth perceived (74).
- Watch-out: growth scores dipped 4 pts as the team has stabilized — high performers are asking "what's next?" Three explicit comments about wanting a senior-roaster track.
Customer Support (n=22) — EI 58, eNPS -9
- Lowest department score. Workload (49), Recognition (49), Manager Effectiveness (61).
- The new ticketing system rollout in April is cited in 9 comments as poorly trained-for.
- Two comments raise a specific manager-behavior concern — recommend a confidential check-in.
Wholesale & Sales (n=16) — EI 74, eNPS +25
- Healthy overall. Sole watch-out is tooling: 6 comments about CRM friction and duplicate data entry.
People & Finance (n=9) — EI 76 (indicative)
- Small n; treat as directional. Comments are positive but mention being stretched thin during the Q1 audit.
Leadership (n=5) — EI 80 (indicative)
- Self-reported; expected to be higher than line staff. The perception gap on "feedback follow-through" (Leadership 78 vs org 61) is the most important signal here.
7. Tenure & Demographic Cuts
- <12 months tenure (n=29): EI 74. Onboarding strong, pay-fairness weakest.
- 1–3 years (n=64): EI 70. Workload weakest here.
- 3+ years (n=55): EI 73. Growth & development weakest — the "what's next" question is real.
- No statistically meaningful variance by gender or location after controlling for department.
8. Comment Theme Map (top themes by frequency)
1. Short-staffing / overtime — 71 mentions
2. Recognition inconsistency — 44 mentions
3. Feedback not acted on — 38 mentions
4. Mission & coffee pride — 34 mentions (positive)
5. Manager quality (mostly positive at team level) — 29 mentions
6. Tip-pool transparency — 17 mentions
7. Ticketing-system training — 12 mentions
8. Career path clarity — 11 mentions