3 Signs Your Employee Listening Sucks (And What to Do About It)
Here are 3 signs your employee listening process isn’t just broken — it sucks. And more importantly, how to fix it.
1. You’re Still Relying on Annual Engagement Surveys
If your “listening strategy” starts and ends with a once-a-year engagement survey, you’re not actually listening — you’re just running a ritual.
By the time the results roll in, and rippled through layers of review - they’re already outdated.
Real listening is ongoing. Contextual. Two-way.
Fix it: Use short, frequent pulse surveys. Check in after big changes — new leadership, re-orgs, onboarding and exit. Make listening and responding a habit that’s baked into the way the organisation operates.
2. You’re Drowning in Data but Doing Nothing with It
Dashboards, heatmaps, sentiment scores — deep dives, and 89 PPT slides. If you’re not doing anything with that info, it’s just digital wallpaper.
Too many companies get stuck in analysis mode. They want the perfect action plan, the full story, all the numbers. Meanwhile, employees are still waiting for something to change.
Fix it: You don’t need 100% certainty to take action. You need momentum. Start with the obvious stuff. Make one visible change. Tell your team why. Then do it again. Clarity follows action — not the other way around.
3. Nobody Knows What Happens to Their Feedback
This one’s the trust killer.
If people give honest feedback and then hear nothing — no follow-up, no response, no change — you’ve just told them their voice doesn’t matter.
Next time you ask for input? Don’t be surprised when they don’t bother.
Fix it: Close the loop. Let your team know what you heard, what you’re doing (or not doing), and why. Even a simple “We’re still exploring this” goes a long way. Silence sends the wrong message.
In conclusion
Employee listening isn’t about surveys. It’s about conversations.
If your people don’t see action, they’ll stop speaking up. If they don’t feel heard, they’ll start looking elsewhere.
So stop treating listening like a data collection exercise. Treat it like a leadership priority.
Ask. Act. Repeat.