What is employee net promoter score (eNPS)?

Employee net promoter score definition (eNPS)

Employee net promoter score (eNPS) is a metric employers use to measure employee engagement and loyalty, often as part of a broader assessment of workplace satisfaction and the likelihood of employees recommending their workplace.

More about eNPS and its purpose

Simply put, employee net promoter score helps determine how likely employees are to recommend their workplace to others. This is based on a 1 to 10 scoring system, with 0 representing not at all likely to recommend and 10 being very likely to recommend.

The results are categorized as follows:

• Promoters/advocates of the business: Those who give a rating of 9 or 10. They are engaged and will likely stay and grow with your business. In most cases, they have much to offer in terms of helping you achieve your future business goals.
• Passives, or neutrals: Those who give a rating of 7 or 8. They are content enough to keep working for the company but lack full commitment. Consequently, they are likely to consider job offers from other employers and might not recommend your business to others. Nonetheless, it may be possible to convert them into promoters over time due to their neutral position.
• Detractors: Those who give a rating of 0 to 6. They are disengaged and unhappy with their workplace. This group is likely to leave the company in the near future, and are unlikely to recommend it to others. This can be prevented by spotting the signs of their intention to quit and addressing their concerns where possible.

To calculate your eNPS, subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters and ignore the passives.

Why employers should measure eNPS

Research shows that employee referrals are often the best source of new hires, providing the highest return on investment compared to other recruitment strategies. By paying attention to employee net promoter score, you can get an idea of how much potential there is for existing employees to refer potential new hires to your organization. Depending on your eNPS, you might consider creating a formal employee referral program.

In general, measuring eNPS provides several benefits:

• It uncovers levels of employee engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty.
• It indicates how likely employees are to recommend your business to others.
• It helps improve efforts to enhance employee productivity and reduce turnover.
• It supports the adoption of effective recruitment and hiring practices.
• It contributes to building a positive public image for your company.

To learn more about why employers should consider measuring and using eNPS, we spoke with Humantelligence CEO Juan Betancourt. “In my experience, measuring eNPS is useless unless the organization really plans to use the data,” he says. “Go into eNPS with the mindset that the value of this data is immeasurable because it’s like having a real-time pulse on how your employees feel about working for your company.”

If you take this step, he advises that organizations make the most of the feedback rather than letting it go to waste. “Sometimes companies do these kinds of surveys and then let the data go by the wayside, which can actually end up demoralizing employees – the exact opposite of what they should be used for.” Instead, use the insights to take action. “This data can be leveraged in so many ways, from enhancing employer branding, your overall hiring strategy, to making the workplace better for your employees.”

What’s considered a good employee net promoter score?

Most employers will want to get a sense of where their score stands, but it’s important to remember that every scenario is different. “As for what’s considered a good eNPS, that’s kind of like asking how long a piece of string is,” says Juan. “Context is paramount, and it depends on various factors like industry, company size, and even regional cultures and different team dynamics.”

However, there can be clues to see if you’re moving in the right direction. “Generally, a positive eNPS score, let’s say above 30, is a good sign. It means your employees are more likely to recommend your company as a great place to work.”

However, once you have an initial score, that’s where work begins. “The real value lies in tracking changes over time, identifying patterns, and understanding the drivers behind the score,” Juan explains. “So it’s best to conduct your first survey to get a baseline and use that to benchmark against quarterly improvements.”

What are some limitations of eNPS?

The eNPS asks: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company as a good place to work?” While this tells you the percentage of employees who are likely or unlikely to recommend your company, it lacks insight into why employees gave these answers, or what you can do to improve any less-than-ideal perceptions. Therefore, it’s important to include other questions in the survey so you can get some context into:

• Why employees feel how they feel
• Which areas of the workplace they are most satisfied with
• Which areas they believe need improvement

Because some employees may have confidentiality concerns, here are some ways to build trust in the process:

• Let employees know why you are conducting the eNPS survey
• Reassure them that their responses are anonymous and will be treated as confidential
• Share the results and changes that arise they can expect going forward

Although these exercises are typically conducted by the HR team, employers might consider outsourcing efforts to a market research agency. Knowing a third party is managing this effort can also signal to employees that the survey is private and confidential.

8 eNPS questions to ask

The following questions may help you increase your employee net promoter score in the long run:

These should give you a good starting point to better understand how employees are feeling about the workplace and begin building up your company’s eNPS.

Now that we better understand what eNPS is and the value it provides, we tapped Juan once more for some final thoughts. “In a nutshell, eNPS is a powerful tool for understanding and enhancing the employee experience, but should be part of an ongoing process.” He cautions against staying focused solely on the metrics. “It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about using those numbers to create a workplace that people genuinely enjoy being a part of.”