As every business executive knows, there’s only one way to know what employees are thinking, especially about major changes taking place in the company: Ask them.

But many employers shy away from employee surveys—even during times of great change—claiming that their employees already are “over surveyed” or that “it can wait” for the annual engagement survey several months hence. That’s a copout.

Most workers are not over surveyed—they’re under “listened to.” They’re tired of spending their time on long annual engagement surveys the results of which are never shared and rarely produce any visible action.

Yet, employee surveys can serve a valuable purpose, enabling leaders to understand what their employees want and need; how they view the company, their unit and their role in the company and on their team; how they’re processing changes that are underway, and whether they’re buying or skeptical of leadership’s messaging and initiatives.