Evolving a joined up employee listening approach with WorkBuzz

Who are The Children's Society (TCS)?

The Children’s Society (TCS) works to transform the hopes and lives of children and young people facing some of the most challenging circumstances in the UK. Delivering this mission depends on engaged, supported people – which is why listening to employee and volunteer experience, and acting on what they say, is a critical organisational capability rather than a standalone HR activity.

Employee listening at TCS is guided by its People Experience Framework – a practical model that shapes how the organisation creates meaningful, inclusive experiences for people at work. Central to this is ensuring colleagues feel heard, valued and able to influence how the organisation operates

Moving beyond the “survey moment”

TCS has deliberately evolved its listening approach beyond a once-a-year engagement survey, creating a joined-up ecosystem of feedback channels that inform real-time decision-making.

Alongside organisation-wide surveys, this includes:

• A People Experience Forum, bringing together staff representatives to share lived experience and shape decisions on areas such as accessibility, digital experience and inclusion

• Open Space – safe spaces held by Leaders for staff to connect and share experience on key issues affecting them

• Spotlight sessions - enabling deeper exploration of timely topics and opportunity for

• Peer communities, strengthening connection and sense-checking proposed actions

Together, these channels balance quantitative and qualitative insight, helping the organisation understand not just what people are saying, but why.

Aligning employee voice with organisational strategy

The Children’s Society’s survey questions are not only designed to measure their ‘people experience index’ but to also align and provide insight with the charity’s organisational priorities, including:

• How individual roles contribute to organisational goals

• Confidence in leadership and internal communications

• Focus on key strategic areas such as youth voice and digital experience

Survey insight is now being treated as a strategic organisational resource rather than a standalone diagnostic. Different teams use feedback for specific purposes, and its credibility has sparked interest from other functions to align their approach.

This creates a consistent and trusted listening experience across the organisation, strengthening confidence in how insight is gathered and used.

The key role of leadership and internal communications

Rather than employee listening being a solely HR activity, The Children’s Society has hardwired leadership visibility into how feedback is discussed and acted upon.

By leaders surfacing employee feedback in organisational comms, the practice of feedback has become more embedded in everyday conversations.

Using insight to inform wider organisational impact

Employee insight has been used by The Children’s Society to support broader organisational goals, including:

• Supporting funding bids, demonstrating commitment to the people experience

• Strengthening recruitment and or our People Value Proposition by articulating how it feels to work at the charity

• Building confidence that strategic priorities are understood and prioritised across teams

Why WorkBuzz?

The Children’s Society highlighted several areas where moving to the WorkBuzz survey platform has been a significant step forward:

• Ease of use – the platform feels intuitive and robust, reducing reliance on manual processes and minimising the risk of human error

“When interrogating data in the WorkBuzz platform, you don’t feel like you’re going to break it. We spend more time on the added value work rather than lengthy manual analysis.” 

~ Stef Gadsden, Head of Culture & Experience, The Children’s Society 

• Strong reporting – rich insights, clear visualisation and easy data export enable meaningful conversations

• Trust and confidentiality – concerns about privacy and anonymity have reduced significantly, freeing up communication time to focus on action rather than reassurance

“We had no concerns raised about confidentiality during our latest survey cycle. And that’s quite significant. People are confident in the process and how the data is handled and managed. I feel secure in the WorkBuzz platform - it gives us confidence.”  

~ Stef Gadsden, Head of Culture & Experience, The Children’s Society 

• Flexibility – the ability to bring all surveys and audiences into one system supports a consistent listening experience across the organisation

Importantly, the platform has enabled the team to move through survey cycles at a manageable pace, allowing time to reflect and act before the next “listening moment” begins – without needing to reduce survey frequency. 

Continuing to evolve employee listening; what’s next for The Children’s Society?

The charity continues to refine its rhythm of listening – balancing structured survey cycles with more responsive, in the flow feedback.

Future priorities include:

• Expand access to Workbuzz system and insights for managers

• Align different feedback opportunities, such as exit and onboarding 

• Strengthen the link between employee engagement and organisational impact

Above all, employee voice at TCS is no longer a point-in-time activity – it is becoming a trusted and practical input into how the organisation delivers its mission, every day.