The people leader’s playbook: Choosing your ultimate employee listening partner
Written by: Emma James, Head of Employee Experience Solutions at WorkL.
Let’s face it: your annual employee survey shouldn’t feel like a trip to the dentist. It should be an insight engine that drives real change. Choosing the right provider is the difference between checking a box and building a truly dynamic, happy and productive workforce.
Here is your essential checklist, broken down into bite-sized, actionable segments.
Survey design and customisation: Beyond the generic template
Stop settling for basic, structured question sets which cannot be flexed to your business and your team. Your survey should reflect the unique heart and people of your organisation.
Science with a Personal Touch: Does the provider offer a scientifically validated core framework (the reliable backbone) but allow you to flex your creative muscles with custom questions on your hot-button topics (like your new remote work policy or recent acquisition)?
The Full Listening Menu: Can they handle everything from the big annual Survey to fast, frequent Pulse Checks and crucial Lifecycle Surveys (Onboarding, Exit)? You need a platform that matches your cadence, not the other way around.
Keep it Clean and Easy: The survey experience needs to be painless. If it’s clunky or confusing, you’ll get garbage data. Ensure the interface is smooth for all employees, especially your frontline and mobile teams.
Data collection and insight gathering: The “so what?” factor
It’s easy to collect data; the magic is in what you do with it. Your partner must be able to turn a mountain of raw data into three clear action steps.
Digging into the comments: This is where great providers shine. You need to read into the numbers by delving into the sentiment – can you see and sort all comments, spot red flag words and interpret meaningful insights from your partner? You want themes and feelings, not a spreadsheet of individual gripes.
Identifying your key drivers: Don’t waste time fixing things that don’t move the needle. The platform must perform statistical analysis to show you which factors are the strongest drivers of engagement/retention in your company. Focus your efforts here!
Context is king: Benchmarks are nice, but they need to be relevant. Can you compare yourself against true industry peers and, more importantly, against your own historical performance?
đź’ˇ Read our recently published Global Workplace Report 2025. Unlock data-driven insights on the shifting landscape of employee engagement, satisfaction, and productivity from 120,000+ organisations.
Expertise to guide once the survey results are in: Your strategic co-pilot
The tech is great, but human intelligence is indispensable. You’re buying a partnership, not just a platform.
The people science dream team: Do they have a resident Employee Experience and Behavioural Science expert on hand? These are the experienced experts who translate scores into organisational strategy and challenge you on why things look the way they do.
Manager mojo enablement: The best dashboards are useless if managers are terrified of the results. Evaluate their training approach; do they offer simple, practical guides and tools to help managers facilitate tough, productive team conversations?
Embedding the rhythm: They should help you weave the listening process into your business calendar, ensuring follow-up action is seen as a core business function, not an HR project.
Dashboard and Analytics: Data for Every Desk
The data needs to be delivered in a format that empowers everyone, from the CEO to the newest team leader, to take ownership.
“See what you need” views: Dashboards must offer tailored role-based access. Managers should see their team’s data instantly, while leaders get the macro-view segmented by region or department.
The visual storyteller: No one has time for dense tables. Look for clear, beautiful visualisations that instantly highlight strengths and weaknesses through heatmaps.
Dashboard support: You need a Client Success team who are there to guide you through your dashboards and how to slice and dice the data in a way which works for you.
Supporting toolkits and workshop elements: Turning talk into action
The survey gives you the diagnosis; the toolkit gives you the prescription. Make it easy for managers to run productive follow-up sessions.
In-platform coaching: Look for integrated features like “Action Planning” tools or Recommended Content that pop up right next to the manager’s lowest scores. It’s instant coaching!
Best practice support: Does the provider offer a range of white papers, toolkit guides and webinars to support you as you turn your results into meaningful action? From improving manager led recognition to showing your people you care about their wellbeing, their expertise should be available to support you in making transformation happen.
The rare connection: Linking to wider employer branding awards: bragging rights
While secondary, a provider that can help you leverage your engagement data for external wins is a bonus.
Award-ready Data: Some providers’ methodologies are directly recognised by, or feed into, major awards such as The Sunday Times Best Places to Work. If external recognition is a goal, this is a time-saver.
Boosted credibility: Partnering with a well-established, respected global brand adds immediate credibility when you share your engagement scores with candidates or the public.
Customer support and expertise: Your safety net
When you’re minutes from launch and something breaks, you need an expert on the line, not a chatbot.
Dedicated partnering: What level of support do you get? Is it a revolving helpdesk, or a dedicated Account Manager/Consultant who knows your organisation by name?
Training that sticks: Look for comprehensive onboarding and training that covers both the technical setup and the best practices for communicating results.
WorkL For Business
We help thousands of organisations improve the happiness of their employees to drive commercial performance through our surveys, L&D programmes, consultancy, awards and recruitment services.
Our unique and proven approach is based on decades of practical experience. We provide advice and support for all employees, not just team leaders, and we have the world’s largest employee sentiment database to benchmark and improve performance.
