Engaging Employees Through Regular Surveys

I've always strived to understand how engaged my teams are in their mission, and what’s getting in their way that I or my leadership team can help remove. At previous companies, we used quarterly or semi-annual surveys. While they did surface issues, the format had limitations: Forced: Long surveys that are often forced, with managers pushing for participation metrics. Untimely: A quarter is too long; feedback suffers from recency bias. One-way: Comments can’t spark conversation, so team-specific issues often go unaddressed. At Cohesity, thanks to the leadership of Rebecca Adams, we use Workday PeakOn for continuous employee engagement, and it’s made a meaningful difference: No pressure: Brief, biweekly surveys with optional participation. 30–40% of the team usually responds because they want to. Timely: Focus areas evolve over time, so we’re focused on what matters now. Two-way dialog: Anonymous conversations let managers respond to comments without revealing employee identity. I’ve learned a great deal through these exchanges, and it’s gratifying when team members choose to continue the conversation openly as trust develops. Our engagement scores aren’t perfect, and as in any real business, not all issues can be solved quickly. However, I’m grateful for the steady pulse and the visibility on issues as they emerge. I highly recommend a continuous listening approach to any leader serious about building a better culture. #EmployeeExperience #Leadership #PeopleFirst #ContinuousEngagement #WorkdayPeakon

Voice of the Employee isn't a survey - it's a system. A once-a-year pulse check won't tell you what your people are thinking or feeling. If you're still treating Voice of Employee (VoE) as an annual survey event, you're not listening - you're checking a compliance box. VoE is not a metric. It’s not a platform. And it’s certainly not a one-off moment. Voice of the Employee is a system... a designed, deliberate, ongoing approach to listening, learning, and leading differently. Here’s what it really means: ✅ Always-On Feedback This means not just asking once a year what’s working and what isn't. And giving employees permission and mechanisms to speak up in real time - without fear, friction, or formalities. ✅ Actionable Insights It’s not enough to gather feedback. Are you distilling it into priorities? Are you connecting themes across silos? Are you identifying root causes rather than treating symptoms? ✅ Transparent Closing-the-Loop People want to know their input matters. That their concerns don’t vanish into a black hole. That someone is owning the outcome. Silence is not neutral - it’s a statement. If you want engaged employees, trusted leadership, and a healthy culture - then you need more than a survey vendor. You need a listening system, an approach that earns the right to hear the truth. Because here’s the thing: You can’t lead people you refuse to listen to. 🧭 Your move. How are you making VoE more than a survey this year? Learn more via the links in the first comment. #employees #employeeexperience #voiceoftheemployee #employeeunderstanding #data #feedback

❓Are your employee engagement survey completion rates dropping? Or worse, are your employees holding back their honest feedback? From my lived experience and research, here are some common reasons why both of those things could be happening: 1️⃣ Misaligned questions and initiatives: The survey asks about things like collaboration, psychological safety, compensation, etc., but the company’s engagement efforts are focused on t-shirts, parties, and food. There’s a disconnect. 2️⃣ Belief that Nothing Will Change: Many employees feel like their feedback goes into a black hole. They give their honest thoughts but see no follow-up or tangible results, making them question if it’s worth the effort. 3️⃣ Fear of Consequences for Honesty: On the flip side, some employees believe their candid feedback could lead to backlash or negative consequences, especially if the survey doesn’t seem anonymous or secure. 💡 Some possible solutions: 1️⃣ Align Initiatives with Feedback: If employees rank pay as a concern, evaluate if your compensation is competitive. If leadership is rated poorly, it’s time to invest in leadership development. Ensure that what you ask about directly relates to the initiatives you plan to improve. 2️⃣ Show the Impact: Be transparent with employees about the survey results and communicate specific actions you’re taking based on their feedback. They need to see progress to regain trust. 3️⃣ Ensure Anonymity and Safety: Reassure employees that their feedback is confidential and safe from repercussions. Build a culture where honesty is encouraged and valued, not punished. Surveys should be a tool for real engagement, not a formality. When done right, they can drive the very changes employees want to see and that your organization needs. What would you add to the list? #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeFeedback #HRStrategy #OrganizationalDevelopment #EmployeeTrust #SurveyResults #EngagementInitiatives #PeopleFirst #EmployeeExperience #HRTransformation

"I don't even know why I am bothering to write this since no one will actually read it."   Those words screamed back at me as I stared at my computer screen, reading through each comment on our recent #employeeengagement survey, including, ironically, this comment.   At first I wanted to figure out who said it (impossible) and write to them - "I am reading your comment! See, you DO matter!"   But then I let the gravity of the comment sink into me.   What I realized in that moment was two important lessons about the #employeeexperience -   The first thing I learned is that people WANT to be heard. Desperately.    And if you give them a way to be heard they appreciate it and lean into it, EVEN IF they think no one will hear.    If you are at all considering ridding your organization of your employee survey (as I was at the time) consider this lesson, hard. Even if you do nothing, the simple act of listening is meaningful.    I'll add that if you don't give them a formal way to share their feedback, chances are far higher that employees will take those comments somewhere else, like social media and public comment boards. Because they want to be heard. By someone.   The second thing I learned is that I was doing a terrible job of showcasing how we monitored and acted on feedback. That was on me.    This person thought we did nothing with it to the point that no one would even read their comments. That realization hit me hard.    I had to do better, to showcase WHY we were asking, WHAT we heard, and HOW we were going to take action. Because while, yes, I said above that people want to be heard even if nothing is done about it, the more times nothing is done - or that they BELIEVE nothing is done, then eventually they WILL stop sharing, and we are back to them going out to a public forum instead.   In the end, my big takeaway from this was that employee surveys are a powerful tool for boosting the employee experience - when used correctly.   They provide a direct channel for employees to voice their thoughts and concerns, fostering a culture of transparency and trust.   AND, when we actively listen to what they have to say and respond to feedback, we show our employees that their voices MATTER.   So, I now think of these surveys as less about monitoring engagement - we can do that through other leading indicators and analytics - and more about employee listening and the power that has to transform our workplaces. #iamtalentcentric #humanresources #talentmanagement