Ensuring Open Communication Lines

A few years ago, I tried to convince a CEO we should run an employee survey. He looked at me and said, “Why? So we can create a colorful PowerPoint about feelings and then do absolutely nothing with it?” Honestly… fair. He’d seen the movie before: -100+ questions -Good participation -Beautiful charts -Zero change -Collective employee eye-roll At the time, I was determined to prove a survey could be more than a corporate ritual we perform between budgeting season and the holiday party. Here’s what I learned: An employee survey isn’t about asking questions. It’s about deciding what you’re actually willing to hear. And what you’re willing to do about it. Our first draft survey was… ambitious. We asked everything. Engagement. Benefits. Leadership trust. Office snacks. Probably the emotional impact of the expense policy. It was thoughtful. It was thorough. It was also completely unfocused. The CEO asked me one question that changed everything: “What decision will this data help us make?” Silence. We weren’t clear on what we really wanted to learn. We were going through the motions because “good companies run surveys.” So we scrapped it and started over. Instead of starting with questions, we started with intent: -Where are we guessing instead of knowing? -What’s getting in the way of great work? -What are we actually prepared to fix? -What might surprise us? We cut the survey nearly in half. We removed vague questions like, “Do you feel valued?” (valued… by whom? For what?) We replaced them with sharper ones: -What’s one process that makes your job harder than it needs to be? -What does leadership think is working well - but isn’t? -If you could change one thing in the next 90 days, what would it be? The difference was immediate. Participation went up. Comments got specific. Patterns were clear. Within 60 days, we eliminated a clunky approval process, clarified decision rights, and fixed a communication gap that had been frustrating half the company. Nothing revolutionary. Just listening - and acting. And that’s what changed the CEO’s mind. Employees don’t expect perfection. They expect evidence that their input matters. What I took away from that experience: -Don’t ask a question you’re not prepared to act on. -Fewer, sharper questions beat longer, safer surveys. -Specific beats sentimental. -The real work starts after the results come in. -Over-surveying is annoying. Under-listening is fatal. Now, whenever someone says, “We should run a survey,” my first question is: “To learn what?” Because the power isn’t in the form. It’s in the intention behind it. Sometimes tweaking just a few questions doesn’t just change the data. It changes the conversation.

Too many companies treat Voice of the Employee like a box to check. An annual survey. Generic questions. A vague promise to “do better next time.” Managers sometimes don’t even see the feedback, and nothing changes.    And here’s the problem: beyond just being surveyed, employees want to be seen, heard, understood, and most importantly, they want their feedback acted on.    Too often, traditional VoE feels like a formality, and it’s no wonder employees stop speaking up.   I’ve always advocated for VoE programs to be drivers of performance and engagement, rather than delayed listening exercises. It’s how I built it into the Centrical platform and how I run our company.    It looks like short, targeted pulse surveys about what actually affects people’s day-to-day work: → Are priorities clear?  → Is the workload manageable?  → Do they feel confident in their knowledge of newly launched processes or initiatives?  → Is coaching effective?  → Are they okay?     And when someone signals something’s off, managers get alerted, coaching triggers, and conversations start. It all happens in the flow of work.     Feedback without action isn’t listening.    When employees see that their voice leads to action, trust grows, engagement deepens, and performance improves.    We need better, faster, more human feedback loops, powered by technology, but driven by empathy.     #VoiceoftheEmployee #VoE #EmployeeExperience 

Are You Listening? The Power of Staff Surveys; One of the most valuable assets in any organization isn’t found on a balance sheet, it’s the voices of employees. Yet, many organizations miss out on crucial insights simply because they don’t ask the right questions or, worse, don’t act on the feedback received. A well-designed staff survey isn’t just a formality, it is a strategic tool that fosters engagement, improves workplace culture, and drives better decision-making. It provides a window into what’s working, what’s not, and what can be done to create a more motivated, productive, and fulfilled workforce. But here’s the key; Surveys should never be a tick-box exercise. Employees must see that their feedback leads to real change. A survey without action is like a promise without follow-through, it breeds disengagement and skepticism. To make staff surveys truly effective: ✅ Ask the right questions – Focus on engagement, leadership, communication, and growth opportunities. ✅ Ensure anonymity & trust – Employees should feel safe to be honest, without fear of victimization or backlash. When staff believe their responses can be traced back to them, they may withhold critical insights that could drive meaningful change. ✅ Take visible action – Communicate results transparently and acknowledge key takeaways. Even small changes show that leadership is listening. A culture of open feedback creates a thriving workplace.

Stop calling it Survey Fatigue. It’s probably “Nothing Changes Anyway” Fatigue. If you want people to keep sharing what they think and feel, you have to earn it. Show them you’re listening and that it matters. Here’s how to do it right… 1. “Where are the Receipts???” Before launching a new survey, show what you did with the last one. Remind employees what they shared and how it led to real change. Even small wins matter here. This is where trust begins. 2. Respect Their Time Run the survey with clear communication and thoughtful outreach. Give people a reason to care while acknowledging the time it takes. Celebrate your early responders and follow up with the rest respectfully, even those last-minute stragglers… 3. Don’t Sit on the Results Your people already know what’s working and what isn’t because they told you. Give a high-level overview of what came up. They don’t need every detail, but enough to know you’re paying attention. 4. Time for Action Pick a few key areas and plan what you’ll do… then actually do it. Planning is part of action, but it can’t be where it stops. Keep people updated on what’s happening and what’s next. Show progress, even if it’s just the first steps. “Nothing Changes Anyway” Fatigue is REAL If your survey process ends with “thanks for your feedback,” you’re doing it wrong. A good survey cycle proves you’re listening and acting. That’s how you earn trust, every time.

Employee engagement surveys are lying to you. 92% of companies measure engagement. Only 32% actually improve it. Here's why: What surveys measure: - "Do you feel valued?" - "Are you satisfied with your job?" - "Would you recommend this company?" What actually drives engagement: - "Can I solve problems that frustrate me daily?" - "Do my improvement ideas get implemented?" - "Am I trusted to make decisions in my work area?" The real engagement killers I see on every plant floor: → Suggestion boxes that go nowhere → "That's not how we do things here" → Problems identified but never fixed → Operators treated like robots, not problem-solvers The engagement drivers that actually work: → Operators leading their own Kaizen events → Frontline workers designing their workstations → Teams solving their own quality issues → Management asking "What would you do?" instead of "Do this" The shocking truth: People don't disengage because they don't care. They disengage because they care too much and keep getting ignored. Your best operators see 47 problems you don't. The question isn't whether they're engaged. The question is: Are you listening? Stop measuring engagement. Start measuring implementation. How many employee suggestions did you implement last month? *** Follow me Angad S. for more!

Making Employee Engagement Surveys Work: A Strategic Approach Why do we need another employee engagement survey❓ What's the point when we don't see any real benefits❓ Employee engagement surveys provide valuable insights into how employees feel about their workplace and can be powerful diagnostic tools for measuring staff satisfaction and commitment. However, when surveys are conducted without meaningful follow-up, they become counterproductive exercises that erode employee trust and confidence. ✅ What Organizations Must Consider for Effective Engagement Surveys: The key to successful employee engagement initiatives lies not just in asking the right questions, but in demonstrating genuine commitment to acting on the responses. Organizations must be prepared to translate survey findings into concrete improvements and hold leadership accountable for results. ✅ A Success Story: The Gallup Q12 Implementation: In one organization where I worked, we witnessed the transformative power of employee engagement surveys done right. The company utilized Gallup Q12 Engagement Survey, which features twelve strategically designed questions that have been designed to elicit actionable insights that directly inform management strategies and drive meaningful engagement improvements. ✅ Overcoming Implementation Challenges: When the survey was first rolled out, we encountered predictable resistance. Many had previous negative experiences where results were collected but never acted upon. The turning point came when leadership made a bold decision: employee engagement scores became a mandatory KPI for all people managers, directly tied to their annual performance reviews. It was a fundamental shift that demonstrated the organization's serious commitment to improvement. ✅ The Results Speak for Themselves: With managers now accountable for their teams' engagement levels, we witnessed remarkable transformations. People leaders collaborated closely with HR, their supervisors, and their teams to address areas of concern. The entire organization became invested in creating positive change. The outcomes were significant: improved work environments, stronger teamwork, and most importantly, increased productivity. The global leadership team deserves recognition for embodying servant leadership principles and ensuring accountability at every level. ✅ Key Success Factors: > Leadership commitment > Accountability > Transparency > Action orientation > Continuous improvement ✅ Reflection Questions How has your organization's employee engagement journey unfolded? How does your leadership demonstrate commitment to acting on survey results? What accountability measures are in place to ensure meaningful follow-through? #employeeengagement 🔔 Follow Alison Shee (MSHRI, CSFC and IHRP-SP) for HR business partnering, coaching, leadership development, employee engagement, learning & development and wellbeing. ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful.

Generic employee surveys never ask, ‘Does your boss text you work requests every Saturday?’—but contextualized feedback makes these hidden problems obvious. Traditional employee surveys frustrated me for years. They’d spit out broad results with vague insights like “morale is low,” but wouldn’t explain what exactly needed fixing. That limitation is exactly why we built Emtrain’s analytics to capture employee feedback immediately after relevant training scenarios. Rather than generic questions, we ask employees to reflect on specific workplace situations they’ve just viewed. When we applied this method at a large pharmaceutical client, we uncovered something alarming that a typical culture survey completely missed. Employees on one team described their manager repeatedly blurring professional lines by texting work requests over the weekend. Even worse, he invited some employees—but not others—to social activities afterward, creating a clear perception of favoritism and exclusion. Once we saw these anonymous, detailed responses, the issue became obvious and solvable. HR quickly stepped in with targeted coaching. They showed the manager exactly how his behavior unintentionally affected the team, and gave him practical strategies to correct it. Because our data was precise and timely, the manager easily made adjustments. His team immediately felt respected, and morale quickly improved. This experience confirmed what I’ve always believed: vague questions produce vague answers. But giving employees a chance to share their experiences in context brings hidden problems clearly into view—and helps HR teams fix them before they escalate. If you’re relying only on traditional surveys, what subtle workplace issue might you be overlooking right now?

📋Did You Actually Use Your Employee Survey Data? Did you do a survey in 2024? Great—but here’s the real question: What did you do with that data? Employees need to see that their voices lead to real change. Tie their feedback to measurable outcomes, and then show them the results. For example, if employees say they feel undervalued, create initiatives that address recognition—and don’t just stop there. Share how those changes have improved engagement or morale. When you show you’re listening, you build trust—and trust drives culture. ☀️Why it Matters Feedback without action erodes trust and engagement. But when employees see their input driving real changes, they feel valued, and your culture thrives. It’s about turning conversations into impact. 💡Leadership Tip After your next survey, pick one key theme to tackle. Share a clear action plan with your team, and follow up with progress updates. This transparency shows you care and keeps employees invested in the process.

Over 380,000 companies have used Survey Monkey’s Employee Engagement Survey template–but they could have done better! Go ahead and use the template for 90% of questions to save some time, but take the extra step to tailor the survey to include your company’s mission statement and core values. For example, 3M’s mission is to “improve lives through innovation and action,” and one of their core values is to “act with uncompromising honesty and integrity in everything we do.” We can easily translate those into two survey items (on a strongly agree to strongly disagree response scale): • (Mission) At 3M we uphold our mission to improve live through innovation and action. • (Value) 3M’s leaders act with uncompromising honesty and integrity in everything they do. Adding in bespoke items that match your mission and values does three things: 1. Collects data on the aspects of your company culture that leaders care the most about. 2. Sends a powerful message to employees that the company holds itself accountable to its stated values. 3. Reinforces the company’s mission and values simply by resurfacing them to employees in another context. At Google, we significantly retooled our employee survey (Googlegeist) when CEO Sundar Pichai introduced the “Three Respects” for exactly these reasons. (More: https://lnkd.in/gP_yNUw6) Your employee engagement survey is a powerful tool for shaping your company culture. Move beyond the generic and incorporate your core mission and values; you’ll gain deeper, more actionable insights and send a clear message about what truly matters. 👩💻I'm Mary Kate Stimmler, PhD and I write about using social science to build great workplaces and careers. #employeeengagement #peopleanalytics #culturefirst