Last updated July 2026
Stepping into a new HR Manager role is challenging enough.
Stepping into one where morale is low, turnover is high, and employees have stopped believing anything will change? That’s another level entirely.
Perhaps you’ve heard comments like:
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
When engagement is low, it’s tempting to jump straight into solutions.
More recognition.
More wellbeing initiatives.
More team events.
More benefits.
Sometimes those things help. Often, they don’t.
That’s because disengagement rarely has a single cause. Two organisations with similar engagement scores can have completely different underlying issues.
The only way to know where to focus is to ask your people.
Employee engagement isn’t something you fix with guesswork. The organisations that make the biggest improvements are the ones that start by listening.
If employees have lost trust, they’re unlikely to be completely open in meetings or one-to-ones.
An anonymous pulse survey gives everyone the opportunity to share honest feedback without fear of judgement.
Keep your first survey focused on understanding rather than measuring everything.
Ask questions such as:
Surveys are a great starting point, but not every concern appears neatly within a scheduled questionnaire.
Some issues emerge at another time, or others are simply too sensitive for employees to wait until the next survey.
That’s why organisations are increasingly moving towards continuous listening.
Stribe’s Anonymous Messenger gives employees a secure way to raise concerns, share ideas or ask questions at any time, not just when a survey is live.
This can help surface issues such as:
For a new HR Manager, it’s a valuable way to hear the conversations that might otherwise never reach your desk.
When responses start coming in, resist the temptation to react to every individual comment.
Instead, ask yourself:
Patterns tell the story. And this evidence-led approach also helps you build a stronger case when presenting recommendations to senior leadership.
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is trying to fix everything at once.
Employees don’t expect overnight transformation. What they do expect is visible progress.
Choose two or three priorities that are:
Small, consistent improvements build confidence that feedback leads to action.
Short pulse surveys every few months allow you to:
This is especially valuable if you’ve inherited an organisation with no previous survey data; your first survey becomes your baseline.
Everything after that shows whether you’re moving in the right direction.
Whether you’re inheriting a disengaged workforce, or building a listening culture from scratch, Stribe gives you the tools to understand your people and act with confidence.
You’ll have everything you need to uncover honest feedback, track progress and demonstrate impact.
About the author
Starting out her early career as a journalist, Jade Madeley is an accomplished content writer with 8+ years’ experience across business, personal finance, SaaS, human resources and employee engagement. Working with Stribe, she crafts insightful content that brings complex HR topics to life and drives meaningful action.
