Deep Dives and Listening Framework Integration
The annual Employee Survey is the broad diagnostic of employee sentiment. It can then be supported by other listening channels where Council needs more detail, wants to monitor progress or needs to understand a specific workforce risk.
Listening channels
| Channel | Best use |
|---|---|
| Pulse survey | Track whether sentiment is improving, stable or declining between annual survey cycles. |
| Targeted micro-survey | Explore a specific issue such as workload, change, wellbeing, flexibility or pay understanding. |
| Onboarding feedback | Understand early employee experience and time-to-competence. |
| Exit feedback | Understand reasons for leaving and retention risks. |
| Stay interviews | Understand why valued employees stay and what may cause them to leave. |
| Leader-led listening | Add local context and practical ideas to survey findings. |
When to use a deep dive
Use a deep dive when:
- the survey identifies an important issue but the cause is unclear;
- results vary materially across work areas or employee groups;
- the issue may involve psychosocial risk, safety, fairness or trust;
- Council needs employee input before designing a solution;
- a priority action has been implemented and Council needs to test whether it is landing.
Survey fatigue warning
Do not run another survey simply because results are uncomfortable. Employees will become cynical if Council asks for more feedback before showing how previous feedback has been used.