Join Bhavna Sawnani in conversation with James Tarbit, Ipsos’ Global Head of Employee Experience, as they explore how organisations can elevate their employee listening strategies and move beyond simply measuring engagement.
James reflects on how listening has evolved from the traditional annual engagement survey into a broader ecosystem of pulse surveys, lifecycle listening, always-on feedback, passive listening, people analytics and conversational AI. Together, they discuss why the annual census still has a role to play, but why organisations need to be more intentional about matching their listening approach to their maturity, decision-making cadence and ability to act.
The conversation explores the shift from listening as a measurement exercise to listening as a strategic business capability. James shares why the greatest value comes when organisations connect employee experience data to customer, operational and commercial outcomes, and why listening should start with the question: “What decision are we trying to make?”
They also unpack the future of employee listening, including lifecycle listening, AI-enabled insights, synthetic personas, passive signals and the growing importance of testing, experimentation and evidence-based practice in HR.
Key takeaways from the episode:
- Listening is not the goal, action and improvement are the goal.
- More frequent listening only creates value when organisations have the capability to respond.
- The biggest risk is not survey fatigue, but inaction fatigue.
- Employee listening should be linked to business priorities, customer outcomes and workforce planning.
- AI and synthetic personas could help organisations test messages and interventions before rolling them out more widely.
This episode offers practical advice for anyone looking to build a more mature, strategic and impact-led employee listening programme.
