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How is the eNPS score calculated?

This guide explains how the scores are turned into detractors, passive and promoters as well as a total eNPS score.

Updated over 3 months ago

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is calculated based on just one question:

"How likely are you to recommend [company] as a workplace?"

People answer this question on a scale from 0 (extremely unlikely) to 10 (extremely likely) and here is how it's converted into a level or label.

Raw score

eNPS level (or label)

Interpret as

0 to 6

Detractor

Expected to say more negative stuff if asked than positive - would not be a convincing reference for a top candidate.

7 or 8

Passive

Expected to have a very balanced view of the workplace - neither being a promotor or detractor.

9 or 10

Promoter

Expected to promote and say nice things about the workplace.

Remember that the question isn't about whether people themselves are happy in their position, although that is a massive factor.

Once all employees have been labeled into either detractor, passive or promoter you take the percentage (%) of people who are promoters and subtract the percentage (%) of people who are detractors.

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

So image the scenario below.

Raw score

eNPS level (or label)

Employees in each level

% of employees at that level

0 to 6

Detractor

11

9%

7 or 8

Passive

76

62%

9 or 10

Promoter

36

29%

Then we simply have an eNPS of 20 (29% promoters - 9% detractors).


eNPS and it's connection to well-being

You can try and optimize your eNPS directly, but we've found that well-being is essentially employee satisfaction and that connects excellent to eNPS as well.

On average 79-80% of the eNPS score can be explained by the employee's own well-being score (the correlation). Especially people who have great well-being are extremely likely to be promoters.

The likelihood of being a promoter is closely linked to well-being:

Well-being level

Average raw eNPS score

Promoter likelihood

Passive likelihood

Detractor likelihood

Average eNPS

Great

9.4

83.7%

13.8%

2.6%

81

Good

8.4

50.5%

42.2%

7.3%

43

Okay

7.7

30.2%

51.2%

18.6%

12

Challenge

6.7

14.3%

45.5%

40.2%

-36

Concern

5.5

6.6%

27.3%

66.1%

-60

Problem

3.5

2.1%

8.9%

89.1%

-87

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