LONDON, UK. June 16th, 2026 – Just 53% of employees believe their feedback from surveys will be followed by action, according to new global benchmark data from People Insight, pointing to a widening disconnect between employee voice and organisational change.
The report warns that many organisations are “listening loudly but acting quietly”, putting employee trust, engagement and future participation at risk.
The findings come from People Insight’s new report, The senior leader’s role in employee surveys, which argues that employee feedback should be treated as a core leadership responsibility rather than a standalone HR task.
The report highlights a familiar pattern: senior leaders approve survey programmes but disengage from outcomes, HR teams are left accountable for actions they cannot fully control, and managers are expected to implement change without enough authority or support.
Over time, this disconnect can undermine trust, reduce engagement in future surveys, and weaken the overall impact of employee listening strategies.
The report also warns against overpromising, recommending organisations build trust by clearly communicating what will change, what will not, and where improvements may take longer.
According to People Insight, effective employee listening depends on consistent leadership involvement beyond the point of survey launch.
This includes defining priorities from results, owning decisions and trade-offs, and maintaining ongoing communication with employees about progress.
Without this, organisations risk a “belief-in-action gap”, where employees keep giving feedback but lose confidence that it will lead to meaningful change.
“Employees are not expecting everything to change overnight, but they do expect honesty and visible progress,” said Tom Debenham, Managing Director at People Insight.
“When only 53% of employees believe action will follow a survey, it is a clear signal that something is breaking down. If people repeatedly give feedback and see little change, they will question the value of speaking up.
“Leadership buy-in has to go beyond approval. It means making decisions, focusing on the right priorities and showing progress over time. The organisations that get this right treat employee feedback as a leadership responsibility, not an HR exercise.”
The senior leader’s role in employee surveys explores what leadership buy-in means in practice, why it often falls short, and how organisations can build stronger ownership to convert feedback into action.
The report also examines sponsorship visibility, decision-making pathways, accountability frameworks, communication approaches, and measurement and action planning.
