In the Southeast Asian market, cultural nuances and language diversity significantly impact communication. However, most businesses increasingly rely on feedback to gauge customer sentiment and employee engagement. Traditional feedback tools—often rooted in static, text-based surveys—frequently miss the depth and immediacy of feedback that can be captured through verbal, real-time input. This gap in meaningful feedback collection presents an opportunity for innovative platforms that leverage artificial intelligence to provide a more nuanced understanding of user sentiment.
We had to chance to speak to Violet Yeo, co-founder of Cloudsquire, the company that developed Hearback, a tool that focuses on real-time feedback capture and analysis. Unlike conventional platforms, Hearback’s AI-powered solution captures the subtleties of tone, emotion, and intent, processing these elements to deliver insights that text-based surveys often overlook. This approach is particularly relevant in Southeast Asia, where feedback may be influenced by a variety of languages and dialects. With built-in multilingual capabilities, Hearback enables individuals to share feedback in their preferred language, enhancing both the authenticity and accuracy of responses.
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For businesses, Hearback’s real-time feedback analysis empowers quicker decision-making and actionable insights. By automating transcription and analysis, the platform reduces the time and effort traditionally required to interpret feedback, making it especially valuable for Southeast Asia’s fast-paced markets. Companies can address customer and employee concerns promptly, gaining a competitive advantage by staying agile and responsive.
In culturally complex workplaces where open criticism may be limited, Hearback’s anonymous voice-based feedback options also provide a safe channel for candid insights. This has proven beneficial for organisations striving to improve internal culture and respond effectively to employee needs.
Through its unique combination of voice-based input and AI-driven analysis, Hearback is redefining feedback collection and response in Southeast Asia, making it more inclusive, authentic, and actionable for businesses of all sizes.
Could you elaborate on how Hearback differentiates itself from traditional feedback platforms? What specific pain points does Hearback address, particularly for organizations operating in Southeast Asia?
Hearback distinguishes itself from conventional feedback platforms by prioritising the collection of real-time, verbal feedback and leveraging artificial intelligence to analyse intentions, emotional nuances, tone, and sentiment—capabilities that are often absent in text-based surveys or periodic assessments. Traditional platforms tend to depend on static surveys and structured questions, which can restrict authentic responses and overlook feedback that is not explicitly solicited. In contrast, Hearback’s AI technology processes spoken input, enabling individuals to express their thoughts spontaneously and authentically, resulting in a more comprehensive and accurate stream of feedback. This approach is particularly vital in Southeast Asia, where the ability to capture the variety of languages that exist in the region is especially crucial. This would allow responders to share their feedback in a language they’re most comfortable with, encouraging more authenticity and accuracy in their feedback.
A significant challenge that Hearback effectively addresses is the issue of language diversity in Southeast Asia, where regional languages can complicate the feedback collection process. Hearback’s multilingual capabilities ensure accurate communication and understanding across different linguistic backgrounds.
Additionally, Hearback significantly enhances the feedback analysis process by processing responses much faster than traditional methods. This expedited turnaround facilitates real-time action on feedback, a vital capability in the fast-paced business environments of Southeast Asia, where agility and timely decision-making offer a competitive edge. Moreover, in hierarchical workplaces where direct criticism may be discouraged, Hearback’s anonymous, voice-based feedback options promote candid input, enabling organisations to uncover issues that might otherwise remain concealed in written or face-to-face feedback channels.
For organisations operating in the diverse and dynamic markets of Southeast Asia, Hearback’s emphasis on verbal, real-time, and culturally adaptive feedback distinguishes it as a solution that effectively meets the region’s unique linguistic, cultural, and structural requirements.
How do you identify and capture the “unheard” feedback that most organizations struggle with? Can you share examples of how this overlooked feedback has transformed business decisions in your client base?
Identifying and capturing the “unheard” feedback, which is essentially insights that often go unnoticed while using traditional feedback approaches, is central to Hearback’s approaches. The real-time verbal input collection function of Hearback’s platform allows organisations to collect conversational feedback that encourages more authentic and spontaneous sharing. This is because individuals are often more likely to express their emotions and concerns verbally, which they may hesitate to put into writing. This unfiltered feedback would often contain “unheard” feedback that would otherwise have remained unsaid in traditional feedback approaches. The AI model integrated into our platform elevates the analytics process by allowing organisations to pick up emotional cues in tone and speech patterns. By assessing both the content and the emotional aspects of feedback, the platform can surface latent frustrations, satisfaction, or even excitement that might otherwise be buried in text-based feedback.
One of the industries that would benefit hugely from our solution is consumer packaged goods. A client of ours engaged us intending to enhance their understanding of customer needs and preferences. The current feedback collection process does not allow them to analyse the free comments from the client quickly and effectively, and the set questions limit the answers from their customer and prospects. By implementing Hearback, with a QR code and feedback link accessible by the client through different channels, such as social media, website, and personalised notes upon delivery, our client can consolidate all feedback onto one single platform – Hearback. The collected verbal feedback is processed by AI technology that can be easily configured by them to identify trends and preferences of their customers and allow them to cross-sell other products.
With the entire process being automated, the time taken and manual effort for the collection of feedback from customers and prospective customers to the overall analysis of all feedback collected is significantly reduced.
How do you foresee the adoption of this technology evolving in Southeast Asia, where cultural and linguistic diversity are significant?
The Southeast Asia region offers a fertile ground for Hearback. The region’s rich cultural and linguistic diversity calls for a solution that recognises the limitations of traditional, text-based surveys, with the ability to adapt to the local languages and capture much more authentic, real-time feedback.
Hearback’s multilingual capabilities position it uniquely for this region, enabling organisations to acquire insights from various linguistic communities without the hindrance of translation barriers. This results in more precise and inclusive feedback. Additionally, the region’s focus on relationship-oriented work cultures allows for the utilisation of anonymous, emotionally nuanced voice feedback, fostering safer and more open channels for communication.
As businesses in Southeast Asia continue to advance digitally, there is an increasing demand for tools that cater to the region’s distinct workforce dynamics and enhance cross-cultural understanding. This technology is poised to become a fundamental asset in organisations’ endeavours to make informed, people-centric decisions that foster loyalty and engagement.
What challenges do you face in ensuring that Hearback’s AI can process multi-lingual and nuanced feedback effectively across the region?
Hearback leverages best-of-breed Speech-to-Text (STT) providers to ensure high-quality transcription and analysis across diverse languages To enhance this further, Hearback works extensively with regional participants who naturally use local lingo and distinct accents, capturing the unique expressions and nuances of Southeast Asian languages. By rigorously testing the efficacy of these STT services with real-world regional inputs, Hearback evaluates and refines the output to ensure accuracy and relevance. This layered approach allows Hearback to process and provide nuanced feedback that resonates with the specific linguistic and cultural context of each market.
How does Hearback tailor its solutions to meet the needs of businesses in developing versus developed markets within the region?
In developed markets, like Singapore, where more companies are equipped with advanced digital infrastructure and more complex organisation structures, Hearback allows these businesses to seamlessly integrate its solution into existing platforms and processes. Additionally, the platform’s sophisticated analytics empower companies to uncover nuanced insights, meeting the heightened demands for comprehensive sentiment analysis and multilingual processing.
In developing markets, where the infrastructure for traditional feedback collection may be inadequate, Hearback offers streamlined, mobile-friendly solutions. These allow organisations to efficiently gather real-time feedback, even in situations with limited resources. This capability facilitates enhanced communication between companies and their employees and customers, enabling the acquisition of valuable insights without the need for complex, resource-intensive systems.
This scalable approach ensures that Hearback effectively addresses the diverse needs of organisations in a uniquely positioned region like SEA.
What are the specific challenges faced in engaging organizations with less tech infrastructure?
Engaging organisations with limited technological infrastructure presents distinct challenges. Key issues often include restricted connectivity and mobile accessibility, as unreliable internet access in developing regions can complicate the collection of real-time, cloud-based feedback. To address these challenges, Hearback has optimised its platform for low-bandwidth usage and mobile-friendly interfaces, facilitating efficient feedback gathering and analysis without the necessity of high-speed connections.
Another significant challenge is the level of technical literacy within these organisations. Employees may lack familiarity with AI-driven tools, which can impede their adoption. To mitigate this, Hearback has streamlined its user interface and it is simple to use and more importantly, mobile-friendly. We have AI in the workflow which eliminates the need for switching to different apps for different purposes. For example, audio recording is automatically transcribed and analysed by a configurable AI prompt, eliminating the need for switching to transcription software for transcribing and uploading the transcription text to the LLMs interface for analysis.
Additionally, budgetary constraints can be a barrier for many organisations, as expensive feedback solutions may not be feasible. In response to this concern, Hearback offers scalable pricing models tailored to meet varying organisational needs.
How does Hearback ensure that sensitive information is protected? Could you walk us through the privacy protocols and security measures Hearback has implemented?
HearBack is committed to ensuring data security and privacy for all sensitive information collected on the platform. All files, including voice recordings, images, and documents, are stored securely with strong access control measures in place, allowing only authorised access to this data. Additionally, data is encrypted both in storage and during transmission, providing robust protection against unauthorised access and ensuring that any sensitive information remains safe throughout its lifecycle.
The platform employs multiple layers of network security to safeguard against potential cyber threats. By utilising a web application firewall, the system actively monitors and filters incoming traffic, defending against common vulnerabilities and attacks. This additional security layer helps maintain a resilient and trustworthy environment where users can feel confident that their data is protected against evolving threats.
To enhance privacy in voice data collection, HearBack provides the option to discard recorded voice after processing to enhance anonymity. Voice recordings can also be processed to remove identifiable features, allowing valuable insights to be gathered without compromising personal privacy. These privacy protocols reflect HearBack’s commitment to transparency and user trust, creating a safe space for meaningful engagement.
Can you share specific metrics or success stories that demonstrate the tangible benefits companies experience by implementing Hearback’s feedback platform?
The HR department of an organisation commissioned a mindfulness coaching company (our client) to conduct a mindfulness course for a group of 25 employees. It was not possible in the past for our client to collect information about the learner’s current challenges, and desired outcomes after the course. But with Hearback – a link is being sent to the 25 employees with 5 open-ended questions. Hearback quickly transcribes and analyses the inputs, allowing the coach to customise the course to the state of the learners, and the course is also more engaging. Through the post-survey feedback, the learners have reported getting more out of the course than any others. An executive summary of pre-survey and post-survey is also easily generated with the click of a button. Analysis of open-ended questions has always been a challenge due to the complexity of analysis. Hearback overcame this complexity and made it easy to administer and analyse.
What’s next for Hearback?
Hearback is now used in use cases other than employee engagement, 360 feedback and general surveys. Some examples are incident reporting, product and service feedback, and social projects for collecting stories from different ethnic groups with auto transcription and translation.
The future plans for Hearback involve expanding its usability and adaptability in two main ways:
Partner integration: Collaborating with partners to embed Hearback into their clients’ workflows, allowing it to be tailored to specific products or services. This will enable multiple, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for different industries and needs.
Individual use: Making Hearback accessible for individual users, allowing people to utilise it for personal and professional purposes, like recording travel logs, organising tasks at work, or managing school assignments. This accessibility will broaden its appeal beyond organisational settings.