In today’s fast-paced business world, companies are constantly seeking ways to improve, enhance and grow their operations and ensure that they have a happy and engaged workforce.

Over the years, companies have tried and tested various internal tools and surveys to gain insight into what employees are thinking, as well as to gain feedback on a range of workplace topics. One tool that has gained in popularity over recent years has been the employee Net Promoter Score, or eNPS, typically included within engagement or pulse surveys.

What is eNPS?

The eNPS provides a robust measurement tool to measure employee engagement and loyalty.

Employees are asked a single question, typically in an engagement or pulse survey or feedback form, like, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend [Company Name] as a great place to work to a friend or colleague?”.

Based on their responses, employees are grouped as:

• Promoters: Companies consider employees who submit high scores promoters of the company, which means these employees have high satisfaction levels. They include respondents who answer with a nine or ten on a numbered scale or an agree or strongly agree response on a five-point scale.
• Passives: Passives comprise employees who respond with a seven or eight on the number scale or a neutral on a five-point scale. They feel content with the company but lack feelings of loyalty.
• Detractors: When employees respond with a number between one and six or a strongly disagree or disagree score, employers categorise them as detractors. These employees feel unsatisfied with the company and are disengaged in their positions.

The eNPS is calculated with the following formula:

eNPS = promoters% (those who scored 9-10) – detractors% (those who scored 0-6)

Note: Passives are excluded from the eNPS calculation as they are neither promoters or detractors (scored 7-8)

The eNPS will be a score anywhere between -100 and 100. Technically, anything above 0 is considered an acceptable score.

According to netpromoterscore.guru a NPS of 0-20 is good and an NPS over 50 is great. It can be used as a marker survey across companies and industries.

What is the benefit of using an eNPS in employee pulse or feedback surveys?

The eNPS is a really useful tool for companies to assess and track their employee engagement. It can be helpful in the following ways:

• To predict longevity – eNPS is a great predictor of employee loyalty. The higher your eNPS score, the more likely that your team will stay with the company and you will have less turnover.
• To identify areas of strength – Where you identify great results, it is an opportunity to celebrate these, particularly if you have been proactively investing in your people initiatives and the eNPS score has increased as a direct result of this.
• To identify areas for improvement – A decreasing or low eNPS provides a great marker for companies to see that perhaps their employees are not that happy with or engagement. By referring to other scores and valuable comments from employees, it is possible to identify specific areas where employees feel the company can improve. This acts as a great starting point for identifying problem areas and making strategic changes.
• The ability to compare results survey-on-survey – eNPS allows companies to benchmark their scores against themselves (previous surveys) as well as industry standards and competitor companies. This comparison can be a vital tool for understanding where your company stands in relation to others and for setting goals to improve your workplace.
• To support your People Strategy – eNPS is a great way of testing whether initiatives have worked or had an impact. It can also help in identifying strategies and policies that will improve the overall employee experience.

How do Common Goal Consulting help with survey implementation?

At Common Goal Consulting, we work with many small to medium businesses to design, run, analyse and report on engagement and pulse survey data quarterly. We run all surveys externally and anonymously through an independent platform, so that employees can be honest in their responses through both qualitative and quantitative questions.

Talk to our team to find out how we can help you. Email us on projects@commongoalconsulting.com.au or call our Director, Nikki Jenkinson, on 0472 545 584 to discuss your options.