Look beneath the opinions employees report
Investigate where employees' opinions originated, rather than treating reported perceptions as a complete diagnosis. At a maritime engineering business, stakeholder interviews explored a brand-perception problem that leadership wanted to change. Many employees described the company as trusted and dependable. Almost a third of those interviewed instead described it as arrogant, expensive, lacking in innovation and slow to deliver.
Nearly all employees expressing the negative account had previously worked for the company's nearest competitor. Follow-up interviews traced that account to narratives cultivated as competitive propaganda. Identifying the origin of the perceptions helped guide an employee engagement strategy, rather than simply accepting leadership's original framing of the problem.
Ask employees how they came to hold a view, and use follow-up interviews to examine patterns in their answers. Previous affiliations can matter alongside the opinions themselves. Ragan Communications reported in 2025 that International investigated what the Navistar and International names meant to employees, customers and dealers before its rebrand, with employee sentiment informing internal messaging and tone.