Overworked HR departments are struggling to take action on employee feedback and feel less confident that their listening programs can deliver measurable impact, according to a March 4 report from Perceptyx.
In a survey of 750 HR leaders, 95% maintained or increased their listening efforts during the past 12 months, yet only 27% said they felt confident about their employee feedback program leading to desired business outcomes, as compared to 43% in 2024.
“There’s no lack of imperative to gather insights. The program is not when or how organizations listen — it’s how they act on that feedback and follow through,” Emily Killham, senior director and head of Perceptyx’s Center for Workforce Transformation, said in a statement.
Listening programs are using more diverse methods, such as crowdsourcing (60% in 2025 versus 43% in 2024) and listening for behaviors in 360 feedback (36% in 2025 versus 28% in 2024).
At the same time, HR leaders voiced concerns about not taking action in response to employee feedback. Fewer than 1 in 3 HR leaders felt strongly that their organization does a great job of sharing feedback widely.
HR leaders said their top barrier to taking action on feedback was an intense HR workload. More than 40% said their jobs have become much more difficult during the past year, and 30% have considered leaving the HR field entirely. About a third reported mental and physical exhaustion, and a quarter said they already felt burned out.
Notably, organizations that act on employee feedback are six times more likely to exceed financial targets, six times more likely to adapt well to change, eight times more likely to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and eight times more likely to innovate effectively, Perceptyx said.
If employers don’t take action on feedback, employees may lose trust and feel less engaged, according to a McLean & Co. report. Focusing on executing fewer listening goals well appears to be more important than spreading efforts across numerous goals, a McLean director said.
A disconnect exists between what HR teams prioritize and what employees believe is important for engagement, according to a SurveyMonkey report. The gaps between HR pros and employees are most significant at companies without strong feedback programs, advocacy or understanding of employee needs.
For example, employees often feel frustrated by busy work and inefficiencies — but don’t think they have the power to change it or trust employee feedback programs, according to a Resume Now report. About 45% of workers said their suggestions are considered by “rarely acted upon,” and less than half said their employers “actively support” process improvements.