Action planning case study: How organisations deliver meaningful change

A quick insight

Action planning is the step that turns employee survey results into visible progress. Without it, even a well-run survey can feel like another listening exercise with no clear follow-through.

This case study shows how Wolseley, King’s College London, Gleeson and RNCM worked with People Insight to move from feedback to focused action. Each organisation used survey insight, dashboard reporting, communications and action planning support to build trust, strengthen engagement and create lasting cultural change.

From survey results to lasting impact

Employee surveys are powerful, but the real value comes from what happens next.

When results are shared clearly, managers are supported to act and employees can see visible progress, surveys become a genuine driver of change. Done well, action planning helps organisations build trust, strengthen engagement and show employees that their feedback has shaped decisions.

At People Insight, we help organisations make that shift. Our employee survey platform gives leaders and managers clear, accessible results. Our dashboards make it easier to understand what is happening across teams. Prism helps surface priority themes and practical next steps. Our consultants support leaders to focus, prioritise and turn insight into action.

Wolseley, King’s College London, RNCM and Gleeson each approached action planning differently, but the common thread is clear. With the right platform, expert guidance and visible follow-up, employee feedback can become meaningful change.

Making action planning visible at Wolseley

Wolseley’s journey with People Insight shows how action planning can create visible progress when it is built into the rhythm of employee listening.

Three years into the partnership, Wolseley introduced annual and six-monthly pulse surveys to track progress and understand whether employees could see change happening. One important addition was the question: “What difference have you seen since the last survey?” This helped Wolseley measure not only engagement, but also whether action was landing with employees.

The results showed clear improvement. Between surveys, overall engagement increased by 6%, employee development scores rose by 12% and favourable responses to “The business provides me with opportunities for learning and development” jumped by 15%. Pride improved by 3%, advocacy by 4% and employee retention by 9%.

Participation remained high at around 75%, supported by strong communications, videographic summaries and monthly “Let’s Act!” features in the We Are Wolseley newsletter.

People Insight’s platform also helped make action planning more local and accountable. Managers with ten or more reports were given dashboard access, described as a “game changer” because it gave them ownership of their own results and helped them follow up with their teams more confidently.

Survey feedback also inspired lasting initiatives. The Wolseley Talent Guild, an award-winning career development programme, grew directly from calls for clearer career pathways. More recently, employee feedback informed new company values and an internal awards scheme.

Wolseley’s experience shows what happens when survey insight is not treated as a one-off report. With regular listening, clear dashboards, manager ownership and visible communication, action planning continues to shape the business year after year.

Harnessing local action planning at King’s College London

When King’s College London ran its first all-staff survey in six years, more than 6,400 employees took part and the university achieved an impressive 60% response rate.

The scale of the feedback was significant, but the real breakthrough came through action planning.

With support from People Insight, King’s developed 180 local action plans and 12 organisational-level plans. This combination of local ownership and central oversight helped the university respond to feedback in a structured, manageable way.

People Insight’s workshops helped leaders focus on the areas with the biggest shifts in sentiment, rather than trying to tackle every issue at once. That focus made action planning more achievable for managers and more meaningful for employees.

The platform also gave King’s a clearer way to organise and track action. Managers could use their results to understand local priorities, while senior leaders could see how action planning was progressing across the organisation.

Leadership visibility was critical, too. Roadshows led by the Vice Chancellor showed staff that feedback was taken seriously at the highest level. Together, local ownership, senior accountability and People Insight’s action-planning support helped create measurable improvements, with cooperation and change management scores increasing after action planning was introduced.

King’s shows how large, complex organisations can make action planning feel practical. The key is not to overwhelm managers with data, but to give them clear insight, focused priorities and the confidence to act.

Building belief in action planning at Gleeson

For Gleeson, action planning has been central to a major transformation in engagement.

In 2019, survey participation was 44%. By 2024, it had grown to 91%. That increase reflects a significant shift in trust, belief and employee confidence in the survey process.

A key part of Gleeson’s success was the idea of “shared action”. Using the People Insight dashboard, managers across six regions developed their own local action plans, supported by central oversight. This balance allowed action to be tailored to each region, while keeping the wider organisation aligned.

The People Insight platform helped managers move from results to ownership. Rather than waiting for action to come from the centre, local leaders could see their own data, understand their team’s priorities and take responsibility for follow-up.

Communication was simple but effective. Updates were delivered through roadshows, newsletters, posters and QR codes on site, making action visible to a dispersed workforce. “You said, we did” became a clear signal that survey results were not being filed away, but acted on.

The outcome was growing belief in the value of surveys and stronger employee confidence in leadership.

Gleeson’s journey shows why action planning cannot sit only with HR or senior leaders. It needs to be understood, owned and communicated across the organisation. People Insight helped make that possible by giving managers clear insight, practical tools and a structured way to take action.

Driving progress with action planning at RNCM

The Royal Northern College of Music shows how action planning can create meaningful change in higher education.

Following its staff survey, RNCM achieved a 69% response rate and an impressive 88% engagement rate, 15 points higher than the sector benchmark.

One of the strongest results was belief that RNCM would act on survey findings. This score was 23 points above the sector average, showing that employees trusted the organisation to listen and follow through.

That trust came from a deliberate focus on openness and visibility. Results were shared on the staff intranet with clear “what happens next” updates, while managers led discussions with their teams to agree local actions. Progress was monitored through dashboards and discussed with both trade unions and the Staff Engagement Group.

People Insight’s support helped RNCM connect survey insight with inclusive action planning. The platform gave leaders and managers clear access to results, while the wider survey process helped RNCM keep communication open and progress visible.

Over two years, scores improved steadily in areas such as equality, cooperation and change management. Recognition scores were also 13 points higher than the sector average.

RNCM’s progress was directly tied to its commitment to transparent communication, inclusive action planning and consistent follow-up. It shows how action planning can strengthen trust when employees can see what is happening and understand how their feedback is being used.

Why belief in action matters

Across Wolseley, King’s, Gleeson and RNCM, one theme stands out: belief that action will follow survey results.

At RNCM, belief that action would happen was 23 points above the sector average. At Gleeson, growing trust in action planning helped deliver record-high response rates. At King’s, belief grew as staff saw both senior leaders and local managers acting on results. At Wolseley, visible initiatives such as the Talent Guild provided proof that employee feedback was shaping business decisions.

Belief in action matters because it sustains the feedback loop.

When employees think nothing will change, participation falls and survey fatigue increases. When employees can see progress, they are more likely to share honest feedback, engage with future surveys and trust the process.

This is why action planning is not just a post-survey task. It is central to employee listening.

People Insight helps organisations build that belief by making results clear, action practical and progress visible. Our platform helps managers understand their data. Prism helps identify priority themes and suggested next steps. Our consultants help leaders avoid the common mistake of trying to fix everything at once.

The result is a more focused, credible approach to change.

How People Insight makes action planning work

Turning survey data into practical action can be daunting.

Thousands of comments, scores and dashboard views can leave leaders and managers unsure where to start. Without the right support, organisations can either do too little or try to tackle too much at once.

That’s where People Insight helps.

Our approach combines employee survey technology, Prism-supported analysis, practical action-planning tools and expert consultancy. Together, these help organisations move from “we have the results” to “we know what to do next”.

Prism highlights priority themes and helps point leaders towards the areas where action is likely to have the most impact. The action centre within the People Insight platform gives managers practical guidance, suggested actions and trackable steps. Dashboards provide visibility across teams, so progress is clear and accountability is shared.

But technology alone is not enough. Our consultants run action-planning workshops that help leaders interpret results, focus on the right priorities and create realistic next steps. This is especially important for large or complex organisations, where different teams may need different actions.

People Insight also supports the communication side of action planning. Clear “you said, we did” updates, manager guidance and follow-up communications help employees understand what has changed and why.

This combination of platform and human expertise is what makes action planning stick. It helps action become part of the organisation’s culture, not just a one-off task after the survey closes.

Continuing the action planning journey

Wolseley, King’s, Gleeson and RNCM demonstrate that action planning is not something to tick off after a survey. It is an ongoing process that builds trust, strengthens engagement and delivers lasting results.

Each organisation shows a different route to meaningful change. Wolseley made action visible through ongoing communication and manager dashboards. King’s embedded action planning across local and organisational levels. Gleeson built belief through shared ownership and simple communication. RNCM strengthened trust through transparency, inclusion and consistent follow-up.

The lesson is clear. Surveys provide the insight, but action planning makes the insight real.

With People Insight, organisations can build a more confident and structured approach to employee listening. Our platform helps capture and understand feedback. Prism helps turn complex results into clearer priorities. Our consultants help leaders focus action and communicate progress.

This is how employee surveys move from measurement to meaningful change.

Begin listening to your people today

Surveys are only the first step. Action planning is where employee voice becomes visible progress.

With People Insight’s employee survey platform, Prism-supported analysis and expert consultancy, your organisation can turn feedback into focused action that builds trust, strengthens engagement and supports lasting improvement.

We can support you with:

• Employee surveys
• Employee engagement surveys
• Pulse surveys
• Survey reporting and dashboards
• Prism-supported analysis
• Action planning
• Manager guidance
• Action-planning workshops
• Survey communications
• “You said, we did” updates
• Employee listening strategy

Surveys are only the first step. Action planning is where employee voice becomes visible progress. With People Insight’s employee survey platform and consultancy, your organisation can take feedback and turn it into meaningful change that builds trust, strengthens engagement and delivers lasting results. 

Don’t let feedback sit still. See how People Insight helps you turn employee survey results into action with clear reporting, expert guidance and practical next steps.