1. You already have an audit process — you just don't call it that

In marketing, a customer base audit is a systematic, repeatable review of how customers differ from one another and how their behaviors change over time. The same idea applies to employees.

"Let’s just look at the data that’s sitting in front of us. Are there any systematic patterns? Are there warning signs the employee base is getting worse or better?"

Whether it's hire dates, performance trends, or usage of internal tools, your people data is trying to tell you something. The problem is, most HR teams don't have a structured way of listening.

2. Survey data isn’t bad — but it needs a better home

Surveys are often overused as a standalone decision-making tool. The better move? Treat survey data as just one input into a larger, more contextual employee audit.

"It gives you a place to put survey data in that doesn't make it the only mechanism for decisions. Contextualizing it makes it so much more powerful."

By anchoring surveys in broader patterns of behavior, hiring trends, or attrition cohorts, HR teams can make more nuanced, reliable calls.

3. Think in cohorts, not averages

Averages hide more than they reveal. Instead of lumping all employees together, look at how different groups behave based on when and how they joined.

"Not all employees are created equal. The mix of people in each hiring cohort matters way more than any individual."

Use cohort analysis to understand what types of hires perform best, which training programs lead to better outcomes, or whether a specific hiring spree led to lasting value or quick churn.

4. Build systems where honesty is incentive compatible

Encompass Labs emerged from a grading algorithm Pete built for Wharton — one that rewards students for both the quality of their work and their ability to fairly evaluate peers.

"If you know a topic or your peers well, you should be recognized for that — and able to recognize talent when you see it."

That principle now powers peer evaluations at work. The goal? Make honest, insightful feedback the default behavior — not the exception.

5. Stop acting on vibes. Start acting on patterns.

Good data isn’t the end goal. Action is. The most forward-thinking teams use audits to:

• Refine hiring sources based on long-term performance
• Spot early indicators of high vs. low retention
• Design onboarding to push more people above the performance tipping point

"If someone's first performance score is high, they're more likely to stay high. If it's low, they rarely recover. That tells you where to focus."

6. Performance management should move at the speed of work

Annual reviews are too slow and too broad. With the right tools and approach, assessments can happen more frequently, with less friction, and more relevance.

"We work in sprints. Why aren't we assessing people in sprints too? One company did 18 assessments in a year. It changed everything."

Imagine if people decisions moved as quickly and confidently as product decisions. That’s the future this conversation points to.

Listen to the full episode to hear how you can bring marketing-grade rigor to your people decisions — and build more strategic, evidence-driven HR systems.