Does your company suffer from inefficiencies when it comes to drafting a full-proof talent strategy? Refer to our latest blog to learn why eNPS should be your guide to talent strategy.

Why eNPS Should be Your Guide to Talent Strategy

All these years, customer satisfaction has been the primary factor to determine the credibility of a company - its reputation, and success. Introduced to the world in 2003 by Fred Reichheld, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a feedback metric used by companies worldwide to calculate the popularity of their commodities (goods and services) among customers since then.
But with time and evolved thinking, companies have realized that how employees feel about the company is as important as how customers feel about it. And, just like a bad reputation among customers can make or break a company’s name (all of us have read a chain of bad reviews about a particular product on some shopping website at some point), a bad employee experience is capable of the same. Your engaged employees help you to attract new talent, inspire innovation, and boost revenue in the process.
It is also worth mentioning that salary is no longer the only determining factor for choosing a prospective employer. The other equally important criteria include respect, career opportunities, innovation, flexibility, and a warm culture also play a crucial role. Research shows that organizations with highly engaged employees are 23% more profitable, have 81% lower absenteeism, and have 10% higher customer loyalty than organizations with low employee engagement scores.
With time, thoughts evolved, technology evolved, and one thing led to the other. And, now we have a way to measure employee engagement and find out what impact your initiatives and policies are making on your employees. Say ‘Hi’, to an adaption of the NPS metric - the ‘eNPS’ or the Employee Net Promoter Score.

What is eNPS?

The Employee Net Performer Score or eNPS is an effective, simple-to-employ feedback metric that allows businesses to track employee engagement and assess the impact of their employees and culture initiatives.

The eNPS reflects how employees feel about your company and, like the NPS, is based on one simple question: ""On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us as a place to work for your family and friends?""

eNPS gives employers a deep insight into how happy their employees are with their company, what can be done for the betterment, and so on.

Based on the answers to the eNPS survey, your employees will fall under three categories -

1. Promoters - They are your engaged employees with a score of 9 -10.

2. Neutrals - They are your employees with a score of 7-8.

3. Detractors - The employees range between a score from 0-6.

How to Calculate eNPS?

It is a very simple formula. Begin by calculating the eNPS score of your company or a specific department:

a) The percentage of respondents who are promoters

b) The percentage of respondents who are detractors

c) Subtract the promoter percentage from the detractor percentage. To put it another way:

eNPS = % of Promoters - % of Detractors

For instance:

Assume your company has 500 employees who all complete the eNPS questionnaire. When you get their results, you notice that out of the 500 employees:

180 people (36%) are promoters.

200 people (40%) are neutral.

120 (24%) are negative.

So, 24% of your employees are detractors, while 36% are promoters. Thus:

36% (promoters) - 24% (detractors) = 12%

Thus your eNPS is +12.

The above example indicates a relatively high eNPS since the percentage of promoters is more than that of detractors. Had the case been reversed, the number of detractors would have been more than the number of promoters.

When calculating the eNPS, neutral employees are excluded because their score alone does not provide useful information. Obtaining feedback from these employees, on the other hand, is critical. Employees who did not answer this question are also neutrals.

Why eNPS is Important?

In today’s date eNPS is a requirement, because better employee engagement is a necessity for a company’s success. Let’s have a look at why eNPS is important:

1) Improves Company Workflow

Employees often desire the smooth functioning of their companies. It can be very much possible that job seekers may get annoyed at the usage of outdated and inefficient systems. And, we don’t need to mention that you, as an employer, need a well-qualified, efficient, productive, and streamlined workflow and systems in any situation.

Taking feedback from your employees on how things are working, eNPS can help you improve company workflows and systems. Whether you realize it or not, your company most likely has blind loopholes that may impact the efficacy (and ultimately profitability) of your company. When given the chance, your team members can assist you in identifying and resolving those blind spots - and thus help you establish a better and stronger reputation as a renowned company.

2) Gives Your Employees a Voice

Today’s job seekers hate to be merely told what to do and what not to do by their bosses. They want to play a significant role in their company and are keen to learn new skills and take up new challenges. Sometimes, they may even settle for a lesser paycheck if their work offers them the aforementioned factors. They want direct communication with the managers. They want to share feedback and sincerely want to contribute to the development of the company. In short, employees want to have a have in your organizing and building eNPS is a great way to ensure that. Using eNPS as part of your employer branding can indicate to job seekers that you are an employer who values their feedback.

3) Leads to Better Employee Satisfaction

When you leverage eNPS as a part of your employee branding strategy, it shows your employees that you care for them and their opinions, and that you are committed to their happiness and satisfaction in their workplace, that is, in your company. It ingrains a sense of belonging in them. eNPS also shows that you are open to criticism and are willing to make improvements to offer them a better experience. Naturally, this will result in higher employee satisfaction and will eventually lead to enhanced productivity and lower employee turnover.

4) Boosts Your Company Culture

Lastly, job seekers are searching for companies with a strong corporate culture. Millennials, in fact, value company culture more than any previous generation, despite the fact that the concept of ""company culture"" has been around since the 1970s.

eNPS can help you develop a better and stronger company culture in the following ways:

• Offering the employees a more active role in the company.
• Encouraging frequent, honest feedback among coworkers and management.
• Allowing team members to express their dissatisfaction and suggest changes.
• Making room for positive affirmation and encouragement.

Finally, eNPS can assist you in developing a healthier, more interactive, and more positive company culture that will attract and retain top talent.

Benefits of eNPS

There are a plethora of benefits of eNPS, some of which are listed below.

a) eNPS is Simple

The eNPS metric couldn’t have been more simple, easy, and less time-consuming in nature. All the employees need to do is choose a score on a scale of 1-10 and be done. The managers don’t need to immerse themselves in deep thoughts for hours thinking of the right questions and the employees don’t need to spend hours writing the correct answers.

b) eNPS has a Higher Participation Rate

There’s no scope for survey fatigue here. There are often online surveys, often via emails, which can get really annoying when one set of questions leads to the other. But with eNPS, there is just one, simple question (On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend us as a place of work for your family and friends?), to which the respondent needs to answer with a single number. And, this entire process is literally a matter of a few seconds, thereby inviting and attracting more participants.

c) eNPS is easy to use

The simple nature of this metric allows you to work with a single number per respondent. And thus, it is super easy for you as an employer to track certain changes and progresses in the eNPS. There’s no space for confusion and issues.

d) eNPS is cost-effective

It is a cost-effective method of measuring employee satisfaction. Because it only takes one email to get started, measuring employee net promoter score requires little time and money.

These benefits, when combined, give you the opportunity to check in with employees more frequently, providing data on whether you're improving as an organization.

How to Structure eNPS Surveys?

There are certain aspects that you need to take care of when it comes to structuring your eNPS surveys. The better you structure your eNPS surveys, the higher your chances of increasing eNPS. We have come up with a few ways that may help you structure your eNPS better:

a) Timely Scheduling

It’s best to schedule your eNPS surveys every quarter. Just like schools arrange regular assessment tests for their students, employers too must arrange regular eNPS surveys, preferably every quarter to stay in the loop and do regular checks with employees and their experience. This format is perfect for observing the changes in satisfaction and their relationship to quarterly patterns.

b) Honesty

Always encourage your employees to be honest. Tell them that they don’t have to give positive scores just if they feel otherwise. Assure them that they are always welcome to express their discontent and there is no obligation to give a good rating. Let them know that you sincerely value their honest opinions, even if they are negative and that you will do your best for the betterment of their experience. Make your surveys autonomous if necessary. Assure your respondents that their identities will not be compromised regardless of their ratings.

Consider the following hypothetical scenario: Your employees are afraid of facing repercussions if they are truthful about their scores. You haven't told them that their anonymity is guaranteed. As a result, you have a group of detractors who are actually excluded from the calculation as passives because their actual satisfaction is closer to a 4 or 5 than the 7 they submitted.

c) Follow up with a Pulse Survey

You may follow up your eNPS survey with a pulse survey in case your latest eNPS survey score has shown a major change, positive or negative. This may help you to look deeper and develop a better understanding as to what led to the score, and what it relates to but doesn’t account for.

d) Take Action

The best way to enhance your eNPS is to act upon the previous strategy. Let your employees know that you have heard, understood, and appreciated their ideas. And that, you will do your best to resolve the concerns at the earliest and offer the best possible experience to the employees. This again assures your employees that you care for their well-being and doesn't affect your company's productivity.

Some Limitations of eNPS

Everything in this world has two sides. They have both pros and cons. And, eNPS is not an exception. Here are a few limitations of eNPS:

1. The fact that eNPS consists of only one question may be a limitation since it narrows it and prevents the employer from having an in-depth look at concerns. And, this is exactly where the need of a pulse survey arises.
2. When employees complete this survey, you will only know how many are promoters, neutrals, or detractors, but not why.
3. Timeliness and Seasonality are very important when it comes to conducting eNPS surveys. If you do not conduct your eNPS surveys at regular intervals you may not be able to track the time-to-time progress or certain issues (if any) in your company. Say, an employee has just joined your company and everything seems enjoyable to them. And being happy, they give a good rating in the survey. But at the end of the year, they may find certain issues that trouble them, which may make them rate a lower eNPS score in the survey at that moment which leaves the previous high score invalid. Opinions may change with time and hence, it's always recommended to conduct regular eNPS surveys.
4. If proper tools are not used in conducting the eNPS survey and managing the numbers, it can get very tricky for the employers to decipher the results of the survey.

Remember that eNPS is only a starting point, and there are certain things that only detailed engagement surveys can reveal. So, don’t forget to take them into consideration. Additionally, remember to combine your eNPS data and customer analysis data to to improve your business performance. However, there are tools available in the market that help you identify how to leverage your employees to get eNPS time and again. Have you got your eNPS done?