What companies would never learn about their employees without AI

What really motivates employees? – This question is more relevant today than ever, especially in industries such as consulting and financial services, which rely on trust, expertise and personal relationships and are also under high pressure to innovate. Traditional employee surveys often only provide superficial answers. A study from the manufacturing industry clearly shows how companies can use modern natural language processing (NLP) technology, i.e. AI-based natural language processing, to delve deep into the actual experience of their employees – and gain concrete ideas for action.

The study: 40,000 open answers, intelligently analyzed

In a large-scale study, Zortify and Great Place to Work analyzed over 40,000 open-ended text responses from employees at industrial companies using NLP technology. Unlike multiple-choice questions, open answers allow an unbiased view of what is really important to employees. NLP makes these answers measurable, comparable and structurable in terms of content – e.g. via semantic cluster analyses.

The result:

Employees with low loyalty to the company speak significantly more often about poor leadership – even more often than about salary. Highly committed employees, on the other hand, mainly talk about team culture, appreciation and meaning.

The real game changer: experience as a management parameter

The key finding from the study:

“The employee experience must become the starting point and benchmark for all transformation activities.”

Marcus Heidbrink, Co-Founder and CEO of Zortify

With the help of AI, this experience can be systematically recorded and incorporated into decision-making processes for the first time. Companies can use an NLP tool to analyze tens of thousands of responses on the emotional state of employees and extract the most important topics, problems and moods from them. In terms of the diversity of opinions, this corresponds to the input from a large number of focus groups, the implementation of which would entail enormous costs.

Active listening with AI offers three key advantages, particularly in industries such as finance and services, which are experiencing major upheavals and a growing shortage of skilled workers:

1. Understanding instead of assuming

NLP tools not only recognize whether someone is dissatisfied, but why – in the employees’ own words. This enables differentiated, target group-oriented measures.

2. Culture as a lever for loyalty

The perception of values such as appreciation, innovation or tradition differs significantly between loyal employees and those who are willing to change jobs. Targeted action here strengthens emotional loyalty.

3. Shaping transformation effectively

The study highlights cultural factors such as participation, autonomy and communication quality as key retention factors. NLP technology helps to identify these in employees and turn them into strategic control variables – especially in hybrid, dynamic working environments.

Employee satisfaction in the financial sector: no reason to be complacent

At first glance, the financial sector performs well in recent studies when it comes to employee satisfaction – top 10 at kununu and at the top of the Pens Study 2024. The sector scored particularly well for corporate culture (4.26/5), working environment (4.22/5) and diversity (4.40/5). However, as is so often the case, first impressions can be deceptive. This is because the scores say nothing about increasing polarization within the sector:

Job security in private banks is only 49% (vs. 70% in public sector institutions).
Management deficits and work intensification are increasing despite rising salaries.
Over 80 % of institutions report a shortage of skilled talent.

Conclusion

At a time when talent is more selective than ever and work pressure is increasing in many areas, it is no longer enough to conduct a survey once a year. If you want to retain your employees, you have to listen continuously. NLP technology makes this listening efficient, scalable and intelligent.

Employee retention starts with genuine participation – and AI provides the key.

You can download a detailed summary of the study from Zortify and Great Place to Work here.

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