Since the beginning of business, people have collected customer feedback. Whether it was welcomed or not, automated or not, the process of customers providing feedback is an established one. At some point, we realized that feedback was an indicator of the "customer experience". A human experience that someone had with our brand. And we thought, "let's use that feedback to create a better experience".
The experience of your employees is no less important. After all, how can we expect a customer service rep to make the customer feel like they matter, if the rep doesn't feel that way?
Measuring the employee experience with a simple methodology is a great start.
Using Net Promoter Score Surveys for Employees
As much as we hope our customers will become promoters, one of the greatest measures of our brand is how likely our employees are to recommend us. Because if your employees won't recommend you, how can they possibly create a customer experience that would end differently?
If you've read any of our previous NPS blogs, you might think that the details below sound familiar. And you would be right. The net promoter score methodology holds true whether you are surveying customers or employees, and the details (and the reminder) are what drives towards a better brand experience.
Measure the Entire Experience
Just like with customers, it's simple to survey your employees on one specific thing. Working environment is a huge one right now, with more people working from home and productivity being harder to see. And although this specific feedback is valuable operationally, it's also important to understand the bigger picture.
This is why the Ultimate Question (how likely are you to recommend us?) is critical. This question requires someone to pull in all the information they have about a brand to answer, not just one specific experience.
Framing is equally important. Employees need to know that they are providing feedback on their experience as a whole. After all, depending on the size of your organization, on any given day, someone could be having a rough time. So educate your team on the methodology so they can give you their most accurate feedback.
Survey Everyone
Every employee in your organization matters. While it's particularly important to survey the experience of your customer facing staff, each individual has a unique perspective on how they participate in your ecosystem. And I can tell you right now, if they don't feel valued, they'll leave. Or worse, they'll stay and slowly drag the ship down every day.
There are two groups of people who are generally excited to provide feedback. Those who are raving fans, and those who've had a bad experience. This is why, in the NPS methodology, the Passives are removed from the equation. If you're looking for more detailed information on the NPS calculation, check out this blog.
When you're surveying employees, it's equally important to get feedback from this group. Although they are not considered in the calculation per se, it's important to know how many are truly indifferent to your brand.
Having trouble reaching everyone? Make sure you're using their channel of choice!
Follow-Up, Follow-Up, Follow-Up
Just like with a Customer NPS Survey, follow-up is one of the major differentiators. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, don't survey people for information you aren't going to use.
Implementing these two touch points is a great start:
- Authentically thank them for their feedback & tell them what you plan to do with it
- Inform them once you actually do something with it
Both of these are critical in showing your employees honest & sincere appreciation. And if you're a Dale Carnegie buff (like me), you know that's a key step to becoming a friendlier person - and by extension, a friendlier brand. And when you lead by example on this front, it shows for your end customers as well.
In Summary
In times of uncertainty, like we're currently experiencing, it's critically important to know how your employees are feeling. They are the lifeblood of your brand, and if you don't take care of them, you have no chance of coming out of a crisis in a position of strength.
You can get set up with an eNPS survey in no time. Ask your Tech Partner today.