Listening is not a survey: what the IC index 2026 tells us about being heard
Most organisations think they're good at listening. They run surveys, host town halls and keep a feedback inbox open. So why do so many employees feel unheard?
The IC Index 2026, from the Institute of Internal Communication and Ipsos Karian and Box, gives a blunt answer. Only 44% of employees say their organisation is good at showing how colleague feedback informs decisions and actions, down from 53% last year. And 52% say their employer welcomes open and honest feedback, down from 60%.
We're asking, but people aren't seeing what happens next.
One survey, two reports
The IC Index surveyed 5,000 UK workers in organisations with 500 or more employees. This year, the same data has produced two publications:
IC Index 2026: The reality check is the main report, covering trust, change, AI and psychological safety.
IC Index 2026: Personality at work is a follow-up analysis of the same respondents, with The Introvert Space. It asks whether personality, specifically introversion and extroversion, helps explain why communication lands differently.
Together they answer two questions: how well are we listening? and who are we actually hearing?
Part one: the reality check
Listening matters most during change. When an organisation listens to employees' views on a change, 70% feel supported to adapt, and 81% are positive on trust. Yet only 25% say that listening happens. When none of the basic change actions are in place, just 6% feel supported.
Safety comes first. Only 49% say people can share their opinion without fear of negative consequences. For people not connected to a computer, it's 39%, against 52% for desk-based colleagues.
Part two: who are we hearing
The personality analysis adds a twist. Half of respondents (50%) came out as more introverted and a quarter (25%) as more extroverted, but extroverts make up 48% of senior leaders. The people shaping communication aren't a mirror of the people receiving it.
It shows up in listening:
Safety: 60% of extroverts feel people can share their opinion without fear, against 44% of introverts.
Forums and Q&As: 28% of extroverts gave feedback through an employee forum, against 15% of introverts.
Surveys are the exception: 65% of introverts and 66% of extroverts used the annual staff survey.
Positivity: extroverts scored higher on every question, so channels that skew towards them can paint a rosier picture than the reality.
The report's warning: if your listening relies on forums and live Q&As, you risk hearing mainly from the people most comfortable there, and often the most positive. (A note on method: personality was measured with three questions, not a full assessment, so treat findings as directional.)
Listening with P.A.U.S.E
The report calls this a design problem, and shares the P.A.U.S.E. model from The Introvert Space, five questions to ask of any channel, meeting or campaign:
Pace: how quickly do people have to respond? Share questions ahead and allow written reflection afterwards.
Access: are there multiple ways to engage? Written recaps, anonymous question channels and short follow-up surveys broaden who gets heard.
Use of voice: are ideas judged by volume or by value?
Sight: do quieter contributors feel seen? Only 36% of introverts see stories about people like them in internal comms, against 53% of extroverts.
Energy design: does every interaction need high social energy? Balance live interaction with written updates.
The advice on where to begin is practical: apply one element to a single channel, see what changes and adjust.
Three habits that help
Close the loop every time. "You said, we did", or "you said, we can't, and here's why".
Listen early, not after the plan is set, and go where people are if they aren't at a desk.
Equip managers. Most spend 30 minutes or less a day communicating with their teams, and among first-line managers, 83% of extroverts feel equipped to lead a conversation about what's happening across the business, against 62% of introverts.
A simple test
Ask five colleagues: "Can you name something that changed because someone spoke up?" Then ask yourself who you didn't ask.
Listening isn't a survey. It's what you do next, and who you make it easy to hear from.
Sources: IC Index 2026: The reality check, and IC Index 2026: Personality at work, Institute of Internal Communication and Ipsos Karian and Box, with The Introvert Space (n=5,000 UK workers, January 2026).
