If there is one truth that keeps coming up in my conversations with those leading up people and culture initiatives, it’s that listening must lead to change…
A client shared some eye-opening data from a recent “State of Employee Listening” Report authored by Perceptyx. Only 35% of employees believe their feedback leads to meaningful change, a dip from 44% just a few years ago. That decline is more than a data point — it’s a warning signal. A trust gap is growing between employees and their leaders. This isn’t just another statistic to brush off, it warrants some unpacking, and at DX Learning, this is the kind of insight we live for. We don’t just help leaders collect data or deliver training, we help them act on it in ways that are human-centered, equitable, and transformative (not transactional).
Intentional listening strategies aren’t window dressing. They take time to develop and can be a powerful part of any change an organization is experiencing. The pulse of your people can make or break your culture and change management efforts, and, as the newly appointed Chief Experience Officer for DX Learning, I see this moment as a massive opportunity to shift how organizations listen, respond, and lead. Let’s break it down…
What Research Tells Us About Employee Listening —and What Leaders Should Do About It
Our brains are constantly striving to minimize cognitive load. When expectations are unclear, the brain engages in energy-intensive decision-making and stress responses (Kahneman, 2011). Clarity offers a predictable framework, reducing uncertainty and allowing us to focus on productive behaviors.
Research from the field of team performance shows that goal clarity significantly improves job satisfaction and performance metrics. One meta-analysis reported that clarity of expectations predicted team satisfaction even more than psychological safety in some settings (Edmondson, 2019; Lee et al., 2018).
The world of employee listening has taken many twists and turns over the last two decades. It has shifted from a heavy focus on technology and running surveys once a year to a realization that simply asking employees what they think without action and alignment from leadership has cost us more than trust from workers. Waste derived from an organization’s inability to take employee feedback into practice and action has a high price tag.
Consider this: when organizations fail to act on employee feedback, they are essentially paying for a survey or listening process twice – once in the literal sense (tools, consultants, time, etc.) and again in the form of costly downstream consequences of inaction. This waste can show up in many different ways including financial waste (low ROI on the engagement tool, increased turnover costs, and missed productivity gains), social capital waste (eroded trust, disengagement, etc.) and even strategic waste (missed market signals, culture decay, and increase change resistance.
Why This Matters Now
We are in the middle of one of the most disruptive periods in the history of work. Hybrid and remote models, generational shifts in expectations, AI’s acceleration of change, and unprecedented transparency and focus on workplace culture mean employees are evaluating their organizations with a sharper, more informed lens than ever before.
The data is telling, too. Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report found that 59% of employees are doing the bare minimum because they feel undervalued or unheard. McKinsey’s research shows that employees who believe their feedback is acted upon are four times more likely to be engaged, and engagement is directly correlated with productivity, retention, and innovation. Compare that to Perceptyx’s latest study which reveals that belief in leadership’s responsiveness has dropped by nearly 10 percentage points in just a few years. Employees are screaming signals that we must pay attention to, and this one is around a breach of trust.
The “feedback gap” is not just an HR problem; it’s a business risk. Employees are no longer content with performative listening efforts or “we’ll take it under advisement” platitudes. They expect clarity on what was heard, what will be done, and why. Without that, organizations pay the price in higher turnover, slower change adoption, and diminished competitive edge.
And the answer isn’t training – it’s intentional, systematic culture change that’s role modeled at the top and nurtured at every level of the organization. Closing this gap now matters because the window for earning/re-earning employee trust is shrinking, and the gap between what organizations SAY and DO is deepening. Organizations that can move from listening to leading, and do so with Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity (CARE) at the core, will be the ones that not only survive change but leverage it as a competitive advantage.
Employees are tired of performative listening. Leaders need to build psychologically safe cultures where feedback isn’t just heard, it’s acted upon. We believe it begins by leveraging four key areas: Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity. What we call CARE. When employees believe that their voices lead to change, they’re more likely to trust, engage, and stay.
Here are four things you need to know to stop the feedback gap and start leading with CARE:
Organizations that actively connect employee listening with accountability achieve dramatically better outcomes. According to Perceptyx, companies that act on employee feedback are:
This isn’t merely “nice to have”—it’s a business imperative. When feedback prompts visible action, trust is built and engagement accelerates. Embedding reflection, response, and reinforcement into your leadership development ensures feedback doesn’t just end as data, but becomes forward motion.
The era of the once-a-year survey or one time training is over. Employees increasingly expect feedback loops that are agile, responsive, and diverse in form. Real-time or pulse methods now outpace traditional annual tools: utilization of crowdsourcing in listening rose to 60% in 2025, up from 43%, while 360° behavior listening increased to 36% (Perceptyx 2025).
In addition, Quantum Workplace found that only 48% of employees believe their feedback leads to important changes, but where leaders communicate and act, 95% of employees are highly engaged, compared to just 34% where leadership action is lacking. That’s a leadership development opportunity if I’ve ever seen one!
High-performing organizations foster a dynamic feedback ecosystem - integrating surveys, crowd input, live dialogue, and update loops. This fuels agile learning and embeds feedback as an everyday leadership tool.
The effectiveness of any feedback system ultimately relies on leaders to respond—yet:
This points to a significant leadership development opportunity. Empowering managers with the skills and confidence to interpret feedback and respond empathetically, clearly, and consistently is essential. When managers are developed, engaged, and held accountable, the feedback-to-action cycle gains real momentum.
Inclusive feedback systems aren’t just fair—they’re more effective. Firms that elevate diverse perspectives outperform their peers:
Building strategies that intentionally capture and act on feedback from underrepresented groups—through equity-driven listening methods like targeted pulse surveys, inclusive dialogues, and 360° systems—not only strengthens belonging but creates tangible business advantages.
Curious how DX Learning can help your leaders turn feedback into forward action? Let’s talk.