Phase 6 is where insight becomes action. Generating reports is only valuable if the organization acts on what it learns — and acts in a way that participants can see and feel.
This phase focuses on:
Translating survey results into focused, realistic action plans
Communicating outcomes back to participants
Setting up your organization for a stronger next cycle
This article is part of the Entromy onboarding journey. Make sure you've completed Phase 5: Reports & Insights before continuing.
What this phase is (and is not)
You are:
Prioritizing a small number of actionable focus areas
Assigning ownership and timelines
Closing the loop with participants
Reflecting on what worked and what to improve next time
You are not:
Trying to fix everything at once
Keeping results internal indefinitely
Treating the survey as a one-time event
The most common mistake after a survey is over-planning or under-communicating. Both erode trust.
Step 1: Prioritize — don't try to fix everything
After reviewing results, it's tempting to create a long list of improvement areas. Resist this.
Best practice: Select 2–3 focus areas that are:
Meaningful to employees
Within leadership's control to address
Realistic given current capacity and resources
A focused plan that gets executed builds far more trust than a comprehensive plan that doesn't.
How to choose your focus areas:
Look for themes that appear across both quantitative scores and open-ended comments
Weight areas where employee concern is high and leadership action is feasible
Avoid selecting only easy wins — credibility comes from addressing what actually matters
Step 2: Build an action plan with clear ownership
For each focus area, define:
Element | Questions to answer |
What | What specifically will change or be addressed? |
Who | Who owns this action? Who else is involved? |
When | What is the target timeline or milestone? |
How | How will progress be tracked and communicated? |
Keep action plans simple and visible. Complex frameworks that live in documents rarely get executed.
Related reading:
Step 3: Close the loop with participants
One of the highest-impact things you can do after a survey is communicate results back to participants — even at a high level.
Employees who see that their feedback led to action are significantly more likely to participate in future surveys and respond more candidly.
What to communicate:
Thank participants for their time and candor
Share 2–3 high-level themes from the results
Name the focus areas your organization has committed to
Be honest about what you heard — even if it was difficult
What not to do:
Don't share results and then go silent
Don't share results without a plan for next steps
Don't over-promise on timelines
A simple "here's what we heard, here's what we're doing" message goes a long way.
Step 4: Track progress between surveys
Action planning doesn't end at the kickoff meeting. Build in checkpoints to:
Review progress against commitments
Surface blockers early
Keep momentum alive between survey cycles
If you're running Pulse surveys, use them to measure whether focus areas are improving over time. This creates a continuous feedback loop rather than a one-time event.
Step 5: Reflect and optimize for the next cycle
Before closing out this implementation, take time to reflect:
Survey design:
Were the right questions asked?
Were dimensions configured in a way that produced useful comparisons?
Was the survey length appropriate for your audience?
Launch and participation:
Was participation tracking set up correctly?
Were reminders sent at the right cadence?
Were there access or delivery issues that should be addressed next time?
Reporting:
Were reports generated and shared in a timely way?
Were privacy thresholds understood before launch?
Did stakeholders have what they needed to facilitate discussions?
Action planning:
Were focus areas realistic?
Was ownership clearly assigned?
Were results communicated back to employees?
Document what you'd do differently — this becomes your playbook for the next cycle.
How to know this phase is complete
Phase 6 is complete when:
☐ 2–3 focus areas have been identified and prioritized
☐ Each focus area has a named owner and clear next steps
☐ Results have been communicated back to participants
☐ Progress checkpoints are scheduled
☐ Lessons learned are documented for the next cycle
Ready to run your next survey?
When you're ready to begin the next cycle, return to Start Here and follow the journey again. Each cycle builds on the last — and gets faster as your team becomes more familiar with the process.
Final note
The organizations that get the most out of Entromy are the ones that treat surveys as an ongoing conversation, not a one-time project. Participants notice when their feedback leads to real change — and that trust compounds over time.
You've completed the full Entromy onboarding journey. Well done.