In the experience world, both for customer and employee, there is real risk in not responding to feedback. Both groups must feel like their voices are heard and that concerns will be addressed. If repeatedly asked for feedback without any follow-up, feedback participants will grow weary of the “ask” and ignore it moving forward. They will lose trust in the idea that their voices matter and become frustrated with the relationship.

For employees in this challenging and turbulent economy, it is more important than ever that companies are checking in with their staff members. Companies must continuously gauge employee sentiment, concerns, questions, and friction areas so that action can be taken to support staff. Monitoring for burnout will be an important task as companies seek to retain the employees they have.

However, collecting feedback, in whatever format or channel a company chooses, must be done thoughtfully and with an eye towards what action can be taken.

Recent data from Quantum Workplace showed that only 48% of employees say significant changes are made at their organizations as a result of employee feedback. For those employees working with leaders and managers who are exceptional at communicating and taking action on survey results, 95% are highly engaged. This is demonstrably bigger than the 34% high engagement reported by employees who say that kind of communication and action is nonexistent.

How does this disconnect happen? Potentially, a company has asked about too many initiatives that they cannot possibly take action on. Perhaps they are implementing changes, but they have done a poor job of communicating it back to employees and closing the loop. Or worse yet, there was silence on the feedback. Employees want transparency and if there are initiatives that simply will not be able to launch, even if they are of high importance to their employees, this communication must be made. Employers must work to provide a steady flow of accurate, timely, and empathic communications with their employees regarding any feedback or voice of the employee program.

On the positive side, the Quantum Workplace data did report actions being taken on a number of issues. Top actions taken after employee feedback was received via surveys include changes related to compensation and benefits, policy, and procedure changes, return to work or remote work, and communication. 

Cadence is another issue related to employee engagement. In the data, monthly surveying was associated with the highest level of engagement. However, it is often a hard balance, as those surveyed on a monthly basis also were more likely to say they were being over surveyed.

Quantum Workplace Lead Researcher Shane McFeely says, “Asking for employee feedback doesn’t increase engagement. Organizations need to find meaning in their survey data and make changes to improve the employee experience. Employees are more engaged when they see their employer actively trying to make work better every day and feel valued for providing feedback that improved their experience.”