AKRON, Ohio–Seeking to better engage employees? Ask them how the credit union is doing.
That’s the advice from Phillip Kane, CEO and managing partner with the consultancy Grace Ocean.
Writing on Inc.com, Kane reminded the connection between engaged associates and improved business results is, by now, undeniable, with plenty of data to back it up.
But many smaller organizations struggle with employee engagement, he noted, pointing to the fewer resources available to measure the opinions and attitudes of employees. As a result, many of those organizations take a pass on even trying, he said.
But there is way to measure engagement that any size company can use.
Many CUs are already familiar with the net promoter score (NPS) as a unique way of measuring customer satisfaction. NPS asks the respondent essentially one, single question, noted Kane: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend X company to a friend or colleague?"
“But immediately upon learning about NPS, I saw its potential as an engagement tool,” said Kane. “By simply changing the "ultimate question" slightly to, ‘On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend our company as a great place to work to a friend or relative?,’ we created a tool for engagement that enabled us to very inexpensively and simply launch an engagement management program that was also readily accepted by our associates and which delivered significant improvements in both engagement and in our real business results.”
‘Perfect for Smaller Enterprises’
Today, net promoter score is widely used for associate engagement, noted Kane.
“The tool is referred to as eNPS. And it's perfect for smaller enterprises,” he explained. “Here's how it works: Associates surveyed are asked the ultimate question. NPS recommends the form, ‘On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend X company to a friend or colleague?’ It's essentially the same question as customer net promoter. I still prefer, ‘On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend our company as a great place to work to a friend or relative?’ But either will work.
“I recommend surveying 10% of your associates per quarter. This will enable you to gain a statistically significant view of engagement over time, with the quarterly waves enabling you to detect any seasonal variations.”
How the Scoring Works
Surveys can be administered online via a service such as Survey Monkey, but are very inexpensive, he said.
“Scoring works this way: Those answering 9 or 10 are called Promoters. Those answering 0 through 6 are Detractors. Those answering 7 or 8 are Passives. To calculate the score, simply subtract the number of Detractors from the number of Promoters and divide by the total number of respondents then multiply by 100.
((Promoters - Detractors) / Total Respondents) x 100
“For example, in a survey with 36 Promoters, 29 Passives, and 6 Detractors, the NPS would be calculated as NPS: ((36-6)/71) x 100 = 42.”
Kane said for Promoters and Detractors, the NPS rules enable you to ask a simple, optional follow-up question: "Can you tell me/Would you mind telling me the reason for the score you gave?"
“I highly recommend gathering this information. It will prove invaluable to you,” Kane wrote. “Use this information like a hunting list of issues to investigate and potentially correct in your business. As you fix things, tell the organization and tell them that the idea came from the engagement survey.
Spreads Like Wildfire
“For Detractors, it is also permissible to ask the respondent if they would be OK with a member of the management team contacting them directly. This is again, optional,” Kane continued. “However, I strongly recommend doing so. This one act, if done with sincerity and by a management team dedicated to following up on and fixing what they find out about, will do more to drive your business forward than almost any other single business initiative you can imagine. Especially if the owner/CEO participates in the calls. Word will spread like wildfire that this is happening and that issues are being addressed. As a result, your organization will start seeing trust spiral.”