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Engagement and sentiment

What is eNPS?

Definition

eNPS is a single-question engagement measure: how likely an employee is, on a zero to ten scale, to recommend the company as a place to work.

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eNPS asks one question about recommending the company.

The question is how likely you are, from 0 to 10, to recommend this company as a place to work. It borrows the Net Promoter Score that companies use with customers, which is where the name comes from.

Answers fall into three groups: promoters answer 9 or 10, passives 7 or 8, and detractors 0 to 6.

A single question is easy to answer every time.

One question gets answered, so you get a trend rather than a survey nobody finished. The trade-off is that it tells you the direction, never the reason, so it needs a follow-up question next to it.

eNPS is the share of promoters minus the share of detractors.

The percentage of promoters (scores of 9 or 10) minus the percentage of detractors (scores of 0 to 6). Passives (7 and 8) count in the base but not in the score.

Formula

eNPS = % promoters − % detractors

The result is a whole number between −100, when everyone is a detractor, and +100, when everyone is a promoter. It is written without a percent sign.

Here is a worked example with round numbers.

Take an invented survey with 50 responses: 20 promoters, 15 passives and 15 detractors.

Promoters are 20 ÷ 50 = 40% and detractors are 15 ÷ 50 = 30%, so eNPS is 40 − 30 = +10. The 15 passives count in the 50 but not in the score.

Report the response rate next to the score. If those 50 responses came from a team of 60, the response rate is 50 ÷ 60 × 100, about 83%. A score built on a small share of the team says more about who answered than about the team.

A positive score means more promoters than detractors.

Above zero, promoters outnumber detractors. Below zero, the reverse. Beyond that, the most useful comparison is your own score over time and by team, because published eNPS figures rarely say who was surveyed.

Pair the score with one open question, such as what one thing would make this a better place to work. The score gives the direction and the answers give the reason.

These are the common mistakes with eNPS.

  • Averaging the 0 to 10 answers instead of subtracting the shares.
  • Leaving passives out of the base, which inflates both shares.
  • Comparing small teams quarter to quarter, where one or two answers swing the score.
  • Asking the question without a follow-up, so you know the direction but never the reason.
  • Asking so often that people stop answering, which is survey fatigue.

Put a score on how your team feels.

Turn promoter, passive and detractor counts into an eNPS you can track over time, with the free calculator.

Calculate your eNPS

Free, no signup required.

These related terms are in the glossary too.

  • Employee engagement

    Employee engagement is how committed and involved people are in their work and their company, beyond simply doing the tasks assigned to them.

  • Exit survey

    An exit survey is the written, usually anonymous form version of the exit interview, built from consistent questions so answers can be counted across many leavers.

  • Pulse survey

    A pulse survey is a short, frequent survey, often a handful of questions sent monthly or quarterly, used to track sentiment between full engagement surveys.

  • Survey fatigue

    Survey fatigue is the fall in response rate and answer quality that follows asking people the same questions too often, especially when nothing visibly changes afterwards.

  • Leading indicator

    A leading indicator moves before the outcome you care about. In retention, engagement scores, absenteeism and flight risk signals lead, while the turnover rate lags.

  • Employee retention

    Employee retention is a company's ability to keep the people it wants to keep, for as long as the business needs them.

These pages on this site go deeper.

Back to the HR glossary, where all 52 terms are defined.