Hearing is a passive state Listening is an action

I just finished reading Workvivo by Zoom’s Listening Gap report, and it nails a critical truth, that asking for feedback isn't listening if your people never see the results.

Think about the standard employee survey. Sharing the findings and outlining next steps is an absolute baseline for building trust. Yet, the data is alarming:
- Only 19% of employees say leaders frequently share survey results and next steps.
- For frontline workers, that number drops to a dismal 13%.
- Nearly a quarter (23%) rarely or never see leaders share feedback at all.

Workvivo highlights a trap many organisations fall into which is doing well-intentioned work but forgetting to tell anyone about it. Even if leadership is taking action based on a survey, if you don't actively communicate those changes, employees can easily assume nothing happened. The result? The next time you ask for their opinion, they won't bother.

The report also flags a severe disconnect with frontline workers. When they are surveyed, the questions often have nothing to do with their daily reality. This brought back some painful memories. I still shudder remembering leaders in past lives desperately cramming every pet topic into a single survey, proudly declaring they managed to "keep it to under 50 questions!"

No wonder the report found that only 12% of frontline workers feel the surveys they receive are always relevant to their roles, while a full quarter say they are rarely or never applicable.

This isn't a new concept, but it’s a necessary wake-up call. Real listening requires a visible, appropriate response. When an employee actually feels heard, it builds trust. It helps us navigate change, mitigate risks, and ultimately make significantly better business decisions.