When participation plateaus, surveys risk becoming a tick-box exercise. Altrad avoided that trap, turning employee feedback into visible action, lifting trust, boosting retention by 17 points, and improving safety across a complex, multi-site workforce.
A 39 percent boost in safety performance proved engagement drives real-world operational results.
36 of 43 questions improved, showing visible action turned feedback into genuine progress.
Employees’ intention to stay rose by 17 percentage points, reflecting stronger trust and workforce stability.
At Altrad, engagement surveys weren’t new. Thousands of employees across sites and divisions had been sharing their views for years. Participation was steady. Results landed. But the process risked slipping into a familiar trap: surveys as a tick-box exercise instead of a catalyst for change.
Leaders clearly saw the danger: if feedback wasn’t met with visible action, trust would fade, participation would fall, and the survey itself would lose credibility. There was a deep commitment to making listening a driver of trust, culture, and performance across the organisation. Thus, the goal shifted from simply collecting data to using it to show employees their voice mattered.
The insights showed that disengagement wasn’t a future risk; but a present signal showing
Career and growth pathways — strengthening structured learning and manager support. Tools and systems — investing in infrastructure to help people work more efficiently. These priorities align with employee feedback and are already shaping the next phase of Altrad’s engagement journey.
At Altrad, surveys are no longer about scores, they’re about visible change that makes a real impact in the areas that matter most. Employees now see their voices shaping wellbeing programmes, career pathways, recognition initiatives, and leadership behaviour. Leaders, in turn, have sharper insights into the needs of their workforce and know how and when to act to make the most impact.
The latest survey surfaced three priorities:
Each reflects what employees asked for. Each is already shaping the next phase of Altrad’s engagement journey.
What did you do to get your notable increase on response rates?
We made the survey highly visible and accessible, supported by strong communication from both WorkBuzz and our internal channels. Leaders at all levels promoted the importance of completing it, while we reinforced trust by highlighting confidentiality at every opportunity. Updates and reminders were built into toolbox talks, welfare cabin TV slides, posters, and digital channels, so the message reached everyone consistently. We also introduced an incentive to encourage participation. Together, these actions built trust and visibility, resulting in far more people sharing their views.
What were the key actions you did to improve overall engagement?
We focused on leadership visibility and development, while also placing a stronger emphasis on wellbeing. Action plans were created so that we could track our progress. We increased leadership tours and all-hands sessions, enhanced recognition initiatives, invested in leadership development, improved wellbeing support, and created more opportunities so employees could share their views and see how these were being taken into account.
Why do you feel most questions improved in score since the previous survey (36 of 43 questions improved, and many significantly)?
Because colleagues can see that their feedback isn’t just collected but acted upon. Many of the improvements we’ve made directly reflect what people told us in the survey and are embedded in our wider people strategy. As a result, employees are experiencing tangible change, which builds confidence that their voice matters. This momentum of visible progress has driven more positive sentiment across almost all questions.
How do you action plan following each survey, and also monitor progress against those actions?
We review results with leadership teams, identify the priority focus areas, and build clear, measurable actions into our divisional plans. Progress is reviewed bi-monthly alongside business KPIs, and we keep actions live by updating colleagues regularly on “you said, we did” outcomes. This cycle makes sure the survey drives continuous improvement rather than being a one-off exercise.
The score for intention to stay with Altrad has improved by +17 percentage points which is pretty significant. Why do you think this is, and is it backing up real attrition and retention figures for the organisation i.e. significantly fewer people are leaving?
The improvement reflects greater confidence in the business and in leadership. Employees are feeling more valued, seeing clearer opportunities for development, and experiencing better communication. This matches what we’re seeing in practice — voluntary turnover has reduced, and retention in critical roles has improved, giving us more stability across the workforce.
Have you seen any other notable improvements in business performance metrics and KPIs as a possible result of your people now saying in the survey they are more engaged and happy?
Yes. We’ve seen positive trends in safety performance with a 39% improvement in our Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR),
WorkBuzz often find the youngest people least engaged via their employee surveys with other clients. However, for Altrad, they were the most engaged of all the age groups. Is there anything in particular you are doing with your younger people that is making them more engaged?
We’ve invested in apprenticeships, early careers programmes, and clear progression pathways — showing younger employees a future with us. We also respect the voice of young people at Altrad, fostering an approachable and open culture where their perspectives are valued. This combination of development, voice, and community appears to be driving higher engagement levels.
Visibility of local leaders was an area to celebrate, what have you done to achieve this?When this came through as a strength in the survey, we made sure to celebrate it by sharing positive feedback with our leaders, recognising the impact of their efforts. This not only reinforced the behaviour but encouraged leaders to keep building on it.
Following the latest survey, WorkBuzz suggests you take action on 3 key areas of the experience: Senior leaders communicating more in person on the strategy and any changes / career and growth pathways especially how managers support these / a desire for a strong focus on tools, systems and processes to work more efficiently and effectively. Do you agree with these items and do you see these as being the route to further significant improvements to the employee experience?
We agree with these focus areas, though communication continues to be our biggest challenge. The priorities identified reflect what our people have told us and align with our own focus areas. We’ve already increased face-to-face engagement with senior leaders, enhanced career pathways through structured learning and manager support, and invested in better systems to remove barriers and help people work more effectively. The feedback confirms we are on the right track and need to keep building on this progress.
Finally, how has WorkBuzz supported you in helping improve your response rate and scores in the survey / actual employee experience for your people?
WorkBuzz has given us clear reporting, valuable benchmarking, and practical insight to help us interpret results. They’ve supported us in navigating large amounts of data and identifying what matters most to our employees. With so many sites and divisions, there’s added complexity, but WorkBuzz has helped us connect more effectively with our teams and improve our reporting. Their dashboards made it easy to share outcomes, while their guidance highlighted the right priorities. This support has turned survey feedback into practical action plans — directly improving both our scores and the day-to-day experience of our people, though we know there’s still more work to do.
