What is eNPS? How to calculate, interpret and raise your score

“Our eNPS is +12. Is that good?” We get that question a lot, often in the very first meeting of a new employer branding assignment. Our answer is usually: it depends on what you do with it. Here we share what eNPS is, how to calculate it and what we have seen separate the organisations that actually move their score from those that just measure it.

eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) measures how willing your employees are to recommend you as an employer. Employees answer one question on a scale from 0 to 10. You calculate the score by taking the share of promoters (9-10) minus the share of detractors (0-6). The result lands between -100 and +100, and anything above 0 means you have more promoters than detractors.

What does eNPS mean?

eNPS stands for employee Net Promoter Score. It is based on the Net Promoter Score, originally created to measure customer loyalty, but turned towards employees.

What we like about eNPS is that it is simple. One question, ten seconds to answer, and yet it says a lot about the employee experience. It does not measure whether people are satisfied. It measures whether they would put their own name on a recommendation. That is a higher bar, and exactly why it is a good measure of an employer brand.

The question usually reads:

How likely are you to recommend [company] as a place to work to a friend or acquaintance?

The eNPS scale: promoters, passives and detractors

Many are surprised that a 7 does not count as positive. But in practice, a 7 is an employee who says nothing about you at all, good or bad.

How to calculate eNPS

eNPS = share of promoters (%) – share of detractors (%)

Example: 100 employees respond. 40 answer 9-10, 35 answer 7-8 and 25 answer 0-6. eNPS is 40% – 25% = +15.

The most common misunderstanding we come across is that eNPS is an average of all answers. It is not. Passives are not part of the formula, but they are included in the total. An average of 7.5 can therefore give an eNPS close to zero.

What is a good eNPS score?

There is no official average for Sweden, and levels vary between industries and organisation sizes. A common rule of thumb:

In our experience, comparing yourself with other companies holds you back more than it helps. A scale-up with 40 employees and a group with 4,000 have completely different conditions. Compare yourselves with yourselves over time instead, and between teams, roles and offices. The direction says more than the level.

What separates the companies that get value from eNPS

We have seen many organisations measure eNPS. The difference between those who get something out of it and those who do not rarely comes down to the tool. It comes down to five things:

• They ask the follow-up question. “What is the main reason for your answer?” Without it, you have a number but no idea what to do with it.
• They measure regularly. Quarterly or more often shows trends. Once a year gives a snapshot that is outdated before it has been presented.
• They guarantee anonymity. Otherwise answers become too kind, especially in smaller teams.
• They break down the result. A nice company-wide average can hide a team that is far below zero. That is often where the most important insights are.
• They follow up. Employees who never hear what happened to their answers stop responding, or answer less honestly next time.

How to raise your eNPS

1. Start with the detractors. Read the free-text answers and look for patterns. When we go through answers like these, the same themes almost always come up: leadership, workload, pay and development.
2. Turn passives into promoters. This is often where the biggest potential lies. Passives are happy, but they lack something to be proud of. Clear purpose, visible wins and development opportunities make a difference, and it starts with good onboarding.
3. Equip your managers. eNPS usually differs most between teams, not between companies. The closest manager decides whether an employee becomes a promoter or a detractor.
4. Deliver on your EVP. When we interview employees in our EVP work, we sometimes hear that the employer promise sounds good but is not recognisable in everyday work. That gap shows in eNPS first.
5. Show what has happened. Share what has changed since the last measurement, even if it is small things. That is what keeps people answering honestly.

eNPS and employer branding

For us, eNPS is one of the clearest measures of how strong an employer brand is from the inside. Promoters are the ones who tip off friends about open roles, write positive reviews on Glassdoor and Indeed and show up in your communication. Detractors affect the same channels, only in the other direction.

No campaign in the world can make up for a low eNPS. Candidates look you up, and they trust what your employees say more than what you say yourselves. That is why we like to see eNPS among your employer branding KPIs, alongside measures like applications per role, candidate quality and staff turnover.

If you want to measure eNPS continuously, not just once a year, you can do it with Winningtemp, for example. Oddwork has worked closely with Winningtemp since 2018. Get in touch if you want to hear more.

Summary

• eNPS measures how willing employees are to recommend you as an employer.
• Take the share of 9-10 minus the share of 0-6. The scale runs from -100 to +100.
• Compare yourselves with yourselves over time, not with other companies.
• The number is only the start. The follow-up question and what you do with the answers decide the impact.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about eNPS

What does eNPS stand for?

Employee Net Promoter Score. It measures how willing employees are to recommend their workplace.

How do you calculate eNPS?

Take the share who answered 9-10 and subtract the share who answered 0-6. Answers of 7-8 are not part of the formula but are included in the total.

What is a good eNPS score?

Above 0 means more promoters than detractors. +20 to +50 is good and above +50 is very good. Ideally, compare with your own development over time.

Can eNPS be negative?

Yes. The scale runs from -100 to +100. A negative score means detractors outnumber promoters.

How often should you measure eNPS?

At least quarterly to see trends. Many measure more often with short pulse surveys.

What is the difference between eNPS and NPS?

NPS measures whether customers recommend your products or services. eNPS measures whether employees recommend you as an employer. The calculation is the same.

What follow-up question should you ask?

“What is the main reason for your answer?” It makes the number possible to act on.

What tool can you use to measure eNPS?

A simple survey is enough for a first measurement. For continuous measurement with analysis per team, an employee experience platform such as Winningtemp works well. Oddwork has partnered with Winningtemp since 2018.