How to Use Action Plans in Listen?

Description: A complete guide for managers and HR teams to turn Survey or Engageometer results into concrete actions using the Action Plans feature.

✨ How to Use Action Plans in Listen?

The Action Plans feature lets you move directly from analysis to action: Zest AI identifies priority themes, generates tailored action suggestions based on your context, and gives you a space to manage them over time.

🔐 Prerequisites – Access Rights

Access to Action Plans depends on your role in Zest:

👉 If you don't see the Action Plans feature, reach out to your HR team or a Zest SuperAdmin.

🧱 How Does the Feature Work?

Action Plans is built around three complementary modules:

🤖 How Does the AI Generate Suggestions?

Zest AI analyses your results in several passes:

1. It identifies low scores.

2. It flags negative trends over time.

3. It analyses comments with negative sentiment.

It then groups the detected issues into priority themes (1 to 3 maximum), ranked by order of urgency:

• 🔴 Priority 1 — most urgent

• 🟡 Priority 2

• ⚪ Priority 3

For each theme, it generates action suggestions contextualised to your operational reality, taking into account team size, roles represented, seniority, locations, and work setup (hybrid, remote, on-site).

🚀 Using Action Plans Step by Step

Step 1 – Access Action Plans

1. Log in to Zest.

2. From the Listen module, open the results of a closed Survey or Engageometer.

3. Go to the Diagnostic, Heatmap, or Detailed Results page.

4. Click the Take Action button (access card at the top of the page or a dedicated tab depending on the view).

Step 2 – Review the Suggestions Generated by Zest AI

1. In the Action Plans panel, select the Suggestions by Zest AI tab (selected by default).

2. Browse the list of priority themes identified by the AI.

3. Click on a theme to display its associated action suggestions.

4. Expand a suggestion to see its full content: title, estimated duration, description, and concrete implementation examples.

Step 3 – Add a Suggestion to "My Actions"

1. On the suggestion you want to act on, click Add to My Actions.

2. If needed, edit the title, description, or deadline in the editing form.

3. Confirm the addition.

The action will now appear in the My Actions tab.

Step 4 – Manage Your Actions in "My Actions"

1. Click the My Actions tab.

2. Find all the actions you have added or created.

3. For each action, you can:
   • Edit the title, description, estimated duration, or associated theme

   • Update the progress status

   • Delete the action if it is no longer relevant

4. To create an action without starting from an AI suggestion, click Create a New Action and fill in:
   • Title (80 characters maximum)

   • Description (500 characters maximum)

   • Theme (from the Survey or Engageometer themes)

   • Estimated duration

Step 5 – Export Your Actions

As a manager:

1. In the My Actions tab, click Export My List (link in the top right corner, visible when you have at least one action).

2. An Excel file containing your actions is automatically downloaded.

As HR / N+2:

1. From the Diagnostic, Heatmap, or Detailed Results page, click Export Actions.

2. An Excel file containing all actions within your filtered scope is downloaded.

⚙️ Best Practices for Maximum Impact

• Be selective, not exhaustive Prioritise 2 to 3 high-impact actions rather than a long list that's hard to follow through on.

• Clarify ownership Each action should have a named owner and a realistic deadline.

• Update regularly A weekly or monthly check-in is enough to maintain clear visibility on progress.

• Share your chosen actions with your teams Communicating what is being done builds trust in the listening process.

🔗 Related Articles

• How to launch a survey in Zest

• How to analyse your Engageometer results

• How does the Heatmap work?

• What are the roles and access rights in Listen?