Many businesses track their net promoter score (NPS) to monitor customer sentiment. A high NPS is seen as a sign of a well-run, well-liked business that usually ends up with higher profits and happier customers. But what about employee net promoter score (eNPS)?
I worked somewhere once that tracked this. The company’s declining eNPS correlated with the increasing unhappiness of employees through times of leadership changes and layoffs. The company culture completely changed, and not for the better.
As a result, the business started losing employees it wanted to keep alongside those it had laid off. It was not a pretty picture or nice place to be.
If the company had acted on the downward trend in its eNPS, it may have been able to prevent some of the decline in culture and profits from the changes.
So let’s dive into your employee net promoter score and the real impact it could have on your business.
What is an employee net promoter score?
It only takes one question to start measuring your employee net promoter score. Just ask team members: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company as a workplace?”
Their responses will fall into promoters, detractors, and neutrals:
- Promoters: Rated you 9 or 10
- Neutrals: Rated 7 or 8
- Detractors: Rated 6 or below
To calculate your employee net promoter score, subtract your detractors from your promoters.
So, for example, let’s say you had 150 employees. If their responses showed 100 promoters and 50 detractors, your eNPS would be 50.
Your score could be anything from +150 to -150 depending on how your employees responded.
The final score reflects your company culture and internal trends.
It can act as a canary in the coal mine, revealing how employees feel before negative sentiment leads to declines in productivity and culture—and therefore profits.
When I first heard of this scoring system in my early 20s, I always thought the ratings for promoters seemed really high.
But the more I thought about it, the more I considered how I rated companies. Those I was most likely to rave about I would rank with either a 9 or 10.
If I gave it a 7 or 8, I probably wouldn’t speak badly about it, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to promote it to others, either.
If I rated it 6 or below, I was basically indifferent (or worse). So the rating system makes perfect sense. The more promoters you have, the more opportunities you’ll have for positive exposure via word-of-mouth.
Why does your employee net promoter score matter?
Right now, we’re in an employer’s market. This is a stark shift from the employee-led market we were in before the pandemic. However, your employee happiness still impacts your business growth (or lack of it).
For every point your eNPS increases, your company’s finances can benefit by up to $470,000. With just a one-point increase.
But that’s not all. A one-point increase can also lead to financial growth of around $940 per employee. That’s because happier employees are more productive, less likely to leave, and provide better customer service. So not only do they make you more money, but they save you money, too.
A “good” employee net promoter score is one that falls between 10 and 30. In 2022, the global eNPS was 21.
Average scores can vary significantly between sectors.
For example, in 2024, professional services had the highest eNPS with a score of 35. In the technology sector it was 25, and in healthcare it was 22.
The benefits of a higher employee net promoter score
Here are more of the benefits you could experience with a higher employee net promoter score.
Decrease turnover
Increasing your employee net promoter score could reduce company turnover by up to 10%. In turn, this could save you up to $600,000 per year when you factor in the annual costs of recruitment, training, etc.
Improve employee happiness
When companies run quarterly eNPS surveys instead of yearly ones, they see increases in employee happiness. Regular sentiment surveys show you, in real-time, what’s happening across your business and how employees feel about any changes.
Need help running regular surveys?
Using Workrowd, you can automate employee net promoter score surveys. What’s more, as the responses come in, you’ll be able to see your results live in your personalized dashboard. Yes, that’s right; we’ll analyze the results for you, too.
That way, you have more time to spend acting on feedback and making changes to improve employees’ working lives.
And increasing your employee engagement, which could lead to a 23% increase in profits.
Outperform competitors
All businesses want to beat their competitors, right? When companies improve their employee net promoter scores, they can outperform their competitors by 202%. Small changes can lead to big differences.
Conclusion
Your employee net promoter score shows you how employees really feel about working for your organization.
It can impact everything from company profits to employee productivity. It can even tell you how likely you are to outperform your competitors.
A low or decreasing eNPS can also act as a signal that something isn’t working in your business. Knowing what’s happening means you can fix it before things go drastically—and irreparably—wrong. This protects your company culture, employee productivity, and your bottom line.
Track employee sentiment
Tracking how employees feel doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Instead, you can use Workrowd to send regular employee feedback surveys after programs and events, or at various points throughout the year.
Our software can then analyze the results of these automated surveys. That way, you save time on tedious tasks and get more time to spend supporting employees.
To find out more about how you could use Workrowd to monitor your employee sentiment, book your free demo today.
