How to Measure Employee Satisfaction with eNPS

Traditionally, employers would track turnover and attrition rates to draw conclusions about retention. But both of those metrics—while useful—can only give you a snapshot after talent is already out of the picture.

HR pros must be proactive. To do so, you need to know what workers think while you still have the opportunity to influence their thinking. Here’s how to measure employee satisfaction with eNPS and what to do with what you find.

How to Measure Employee Satisfaction with eNPS

One of the best ways to gauge satisfaction is with employee Net Promoter Scores—or eNPS. The eNPS is a survey designed to check the pulse of employee satisfaction. 

The survey uses a single central question to elicit a lot of insight about recruitment and retention: “On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most likely), how likely would you be to recommend working at [your organization] to a friend?” Your team may want to add an open response box after the question so employees may elaborate on the score they gave.

Many companies use eNPS because the single question simplifies employees’ buy-in and results in a single, averaged number that can be used to quickly draw conclusions and to determine the best way to follow up.

While standalone eNPS software exists, it’s more practical to use an all-in-one human resources information system—or HRIS—like BerniePortal.

In fact, BerniePortal recently launched a new Survey tool under the Performance Management feature. This tool allows HR and leadership teams to send out surveys to their employees to gauge opinions on topics like company culture, employee satisfaction, and employee performance. BerniePortal’s Survey tool gives you four options, according to whom the survey should be sent:

1. 360 degrees
2. Self-Evaluation
3. Manager Evaluation
4. Manager and Self-Evaluation

Once you’ve solicited and collected your responses, what do you do with that information?

What to Do with Survey Results

The aggregate rating of eNPS will give you an overall idea of how satisfied your workforce is, which is more useful the more frequently you survey. There are, however, diminishing returns to doing it too often. Quarterly or annually is a good way to go.

You can set your survey up to be anonymous, which can increase engagement and encourage honesty. But keep in mind there are culture-building opportunities in following up with individuals who give particularly low scores to the company. 

If you’ve implemented weekly 1:1 meetings between managers and direct reports, it can be much easier to have difficult conversations, such as why they’re unsatisfied and how the organization can improve.

With that targeted approach in mind, you should also share the results with leadership to discuss what can be done, addressing company culture issues that come up in the survey responses. 

Also, in the interest of workplace transparency, let employees know when you implement a change as a result of their feedback. It will give your workforce a better sense of autonomy and ownership in the organization. That kind of mutual respect is what retention is all about.

Consider discussing survey results on company-wide calls and implementing changes based on those results. For example, if employees brought up concerns about their benefits package, take the opportunity to educate everyone in a company-wide meeting about the benefits offered and how to take advantage of them.

Similarly, if employees requested more transparency around team member departures, spend some time in another company-wide call addressing a few recent personnel changes. Like employee surveys, workplace transparency is an excellent retention strategy.

Next Steps

Here are three actionable next steps for measuring employee satisfaction and using the results:

1. First, get buy-in from leadership. Conducting an employee survey without committing to follow through can actually be worse for retention than if you’d never sent out the survey at all.
2. Next, start with the eNPS if you’re new to conducting employee surveys. The simplicity of the format and results make it ideal for your first survey.
3. Finally, adopt an online survey solution like BerniePortal. It streamlines administration and reporting so that you’ll have more engagement and a clearer picture of employee satisfaction. 

Don’t let the “Great Resignation” get you down! Use employee surveys to stay up on satisfaction, build up your culture, and step up retention.

Additional Resources

You can stay informed, educated, and up-to-date with company culture and other important topics using BerniePortal’s comprehensive resources:

• BerniePortal Blog—a one-stop-shop for HR industry news
• HR Glossary—featuring the most common HR terms, acronyms, and compliance
• HR Guides—essential pillars, covering an extensive list of comprehensive HR topics
• BernieU—free online HR courses, approved for SHRM and HRCI recertification credit
• HR Party of One—our popular YouTube series and podcast, covering emerging HR trends and enduring HR topics