Understanding and Calculating Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is a vital metric for HR professionals and people analytics specialists, offering a simple yet powerful way to gauge employee loyalty and their willingness to recommend the company as a place to work. By providing a clear understanding of employee sentiment, eNPS helps identify areas for improvement, inform HR policies, and ultimately contribute to a more engaged and productive workforce. This straightforward metric should be complemented by other employee feedback methods to obtain a complete and comprehensive picture of the employee experience. Essentially, it’s derived from the Net Promoter Score (NPS) used in customer satisfaction, adapting the core principle of recommendation to the internal realm of employee advocacy. As a premier platform for employee reviews and workplace insights, Review.jobs recognizes the strategic value of effectively leveraging eNPS.

Deciphering the Essence of eNPS

eNPS, at its core, measures employee loyalty and their propensity to act as advocates for your organization. It provides a snapshot of how employees feel about their work environment, culture, and overall experience. The foundation of the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) lies in a single, standardized question used to gather employee sentiment: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?”. While this is the standard starting point, some organizations choose to customize the eNPS questionnaire, tailoring it to better reflect their own specific context and objectives.

Mastering the eNPS Calculation Method: A Step-by-Step Guide

Successfully measuring sentiment involves understanding the nuances of the eNPS calculation.

Defining the Groups: Classifying Employee Responses

The rating employees provide dictates which group they belong to in the eNPS system:

• Promoters (9-10): These are your most loyal and enthusiastic employees. They are highly satisfied with their work experience and are likely to recommend your company as a great place to work, boosting employee advocacy.
• Passives (7-8): These employees are generally satisfied, but lack the enthusiastic endorsement of Promoters. They are not actively disengaged, but they also aren’t going out of their way to promote your company. These will be omitted from calculating eNPS results.
• Detractors (0-6): These employees are dissatisfied with their work experience. They are at risk of leaving the company and may even negatively impact morale among colleagues or damage your company’s external reputation.

Performing the Calculation: Applying the Formula

The eNPS Calculation Method is simple yet powerful. The objective of the calculation is to subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters, delivering an actionable score.

The formula is:

% of Promoters - % of Detractors = eNPS Score

Here’s a sample scenario demonstrating how to calculate eNPS: Suppose you survey 100 employees. After the survey, you have the following data:

• 60 employees rated 9 or 10 (Promoters)
• 20 employees rated 7 or 8 (Passives)
• 20 employees rated 0 to 6 (Detractors)

Therefore, you have 60% Promoters and 20% Detractors. Your eNPS score would be 40. The percentage of promoters and percentage of detractors are the only required figures. Passives play no role within the eNPS data formula.

Understanding the eNPS Score Range

The eNPS score range creates a scale that can be used to consistently evaluate where an organization stands. Ranging from -100 all the way to +100, this range is key to understanding the current employee views of the company:

eNPS Score	Interpretation
-100 to 0	Indicates a significantly higher percentage of Detractors than Promoters, signaling widespread dissatisfaction.
0 to 30	Suggests a moderate level of satisfaction, with room for improvement to increase the Promoter base and reduce Detractors.
30 to 50	Demonstrates a strong positive sentiment among employees, indicating a healthy balance between Promoters and Detractors.
50 to 70	Represents excellent employee loyalty and satisfaction, with a large majority being Promoters and very few Detractors.
70 to 100	Indicates world-class employee engagement and advocacy, showcasing overwhelmingly positive sentiment and a strong likelihood of retention.

Interpreting Your eNPS Score and Benchmarking

Once you’ve completed your eNPS calculation, understanding the score along with how the score stacks up against others becomes the next focus.

Understanding eNPS Score Ranges: Gauging Employee Sentiment

An imperative part of leveraging eNPS is understanding what the score signifies. A positive score signals that employee sentiment is net positive across the organization. A higher eNPS score indicates increased employee loyalty and a higher likelihood that employees will remain with the company for a longer duration. Furthermore, a score above 50 is often viewed as excellent, signaling a strong, positive work environment. A low eNPS, of course, may indicate deeper problems within the company and warrant further investigation. The most basic interpretation is that the higher the score, the better the employee experience.

Benchmarking: Internal vs. External

Benchmarking is a crucial step in understanding the significance of your eNPS score and identifying areas for improvement. There are two primary types of benchmarking to consider.

Internal Benchmarking: Tracking Your Progress

Tracking eNPS over time allows you to measure the impacts of organizational changes, initiatives, or even significant events. Segmenting eNPS by department, location, tenure, job role, or other demographics allows you to discover specific areas that may need further attention. Analyzing the trends in eNPS scores over time provides valuable insights into the overall employee experience. Ensure you celebrate successes revealed by eNPS trends and work deliberately to resolve remaining weak points. These trends are critical to review.

External Benchmarking: Comparing with Industry Standards

Comparing your eNPS with industry benchmarks provides context. However, you should apply caution when interpreting external data, as methodologies and organizational cultures can vary significantly. What constitutes a good eNPS score can vary greatly depending on the industry, company size, and geographical location, so it’s important not to fixate on external benchmarks too greatly. Emphasize internal improvement by leveraging internal data and addressing feedback rather than strictly pursuing external comparisons.

Conducting Effective eNPS Surveys

For HR professionals, a well structured ENPS survey will unlock great value. It is the starting point in capturing employee data and actionable insights.

Designing Your eNPS Questionnaire: Asking the Right Questions

When designing your eNPS questionnaire, it’s advisable to stick close to the standard question format for easy comparison and industry reference. You can supplement the eNPS survey with open-ended questions to obtain richer, qualitative insights. Including open-ended questions allows for better understanding of employee perspectives. Some example questions that can be used include:

• What is the primary reason for your score?
• What can we do to make this a better place to work?

Survey Frequency and Delivery: Strategic Timing

It is recommended that HR departments conduct eNPS surveys quarterly or bi-annually to track changes over time and continuously measure sentiment. Achieving the right frequency is a balancing act, with the need to gather regular insights weighed against the potential for survey fatigue. Leverage HR software or specialized survey platforms to automate the calculation and reporting of your eNPS data. Ensure response confidentiality through anonymous surveys.

Maximizing Response Rates: Gathering Comprehensive Feedback

Improving participation in the eNPS survey is essential for deriving actionable insights. To maximize response rates, communicate the purpose and importance of the eNPS survey to employees clearly. Emphasize that responses will be kept confidential. Keep the survey short and easy to complete, and send reminders to those who haven’t yet responded. To avoid potential employee burnout, routinely evaluate the length and frequency of your employee questionnaires.

Turning eNPS Data into Actionable Insights

The next step after gathering results is turning the eNPS data into actionable insights.

Analyzing eNPS Results: Uncovering Opportunities

Effective analysis goes beyond analyzing the aggregate score. HR should analyze the qualitative feedback from open-ended questions to understand the “why” behind the scores. eNPS results should be shared with managers so they can understand team-specific issues within their departments. Remember to consider your company size when establishing eNPS goals, and always start by understanding your current score when setting a goal to increase score.

Developing an Action Plan: Implementing Change

An action plan is critical to turning simple data into change. The plan should be informed by both quantitative eNPS data and qualitative feedback from employees. Address the issues impacting Detractors while also capitalizing on what’s working well for Promoters. Low eNPS scores may point to deeper problems with company culture, management, or benefits, which further inform the action plan.

Communicating and Closing the Loop: Building Trust

Communicate eNPS results on a high level and share action plans with the staff to create transparency. By taking action based on employee feedback, HR demonstrates that employee opinions are valued, fostering trust and improving morale. Focus on closing the loop by communicating actions taken due to eNPS feedback. This will help ensure HR objectives are achieved. Remember, it’s always a good idea to highlight positive notes when employee feedback is shared.

Best Practices and Considerations

Use these ENPS best practices to ensure a fair and consistent assessment.

• Confidentiality and Anonymity: Reiterate the importance of keeping individual responses confidential to ensure honest feedback.
• Context is Key: Consider organizational changes, workload fluctuations, and management practices when interpreting changes in eNPS scores.
• Continuous Improvement: eNPS is not a one-time assessment. It’s part of a continuous process of feedback, action, and evaluation alongside other HR metrics.
• Inform HR Policies: Your collected eNPS data can be used to inform HR policies and practices to amplify the employee experience.
• Identify Keys: Use eNPS to identify key components of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction, focusing resources where they offer the biggest benefit.
• Measure Effectiveness: Leveraging eNPS helps measure the effectiveness of HR initiatives and programs so time is not lost on efforts that bring no value to the employees or organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are some commonly asked questions about enps calculation:

What is eNPS?
eNPS, or Employee Net Promoter Score, is a metric used to measure employee loyalty. It’s based on a single question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work?”. Employees are categorized as Promoters, Passives, or Detractors based on their responses. This system helps gauge employee engagement within the organization.

Why is eNPS calculation valuable?
This valuable method helps organizations keep tabs on workforce loyalty and happiness, find possible issues, and make well-informed HR decisions. By tracking eNPS, companies can create a more appealing work environment and boost employee loyalty over time.

When should eNPS surveys be conducted?
You can conduct ENPS surveys regularly, whether quarterly or bi-annually, to maintain consistent engagement. The frequency depends on your organization’s needs and the potential for survey overload.

Who are Promoters, Passives, and Detractors?
Promoters (score 9-10) are enthusiastic and loyal ambassadors. Passives (score 7-8) are satisfied but unenthusiastic. Detractors (score 0-6) are unhappy and could potentially spread negative opinions. Knowing each group helps customize the feedback response.

How do you calculate eNPS?
To how to calculate eNPS, subtract the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. The goal is to reach your eNPS score. The ‘Passives’ are excluded from the calculation. For example: If 60% are Promoters and 20% are Detractors, the eNPS would be 40.

Final Remarks

eNPS serves as an effective tool for driving positive change in an organization by quantifying employee sentiment and providing actionable insights. For a comprehensive understanding of the employee experience, it’s crucial to combine eNPS with open dialogue, performance reviews, and other continuous feedback mechanisms. We at Review.jobs encourage HR and People Analytics professionals to effectively implement eNPS and leverage the resulting data to build a better workplace, foster loyalty, and drive business success.