Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Word of mouth counts as does an employee survey


Unhappy staff can be revealed by an employee surveySo, Gemma was at a restaurant with her husband Brent the other day.

They’d been there a few times before. It’s a bit fancy, for a special night out.

But this time, there weren’t any tablecloths. And the service was a bit sloppy. And why were other diners there in joggers and shorts? We’re talking a $200 meal here!
What’s the point of this story? Gemma’s not planning on going there again. PLUS, she told me about it and now I’m never going to go there. And I’m going to mention that to any friend who happens to say they’re planning on dinner there. (come on, this isn’t Eatability!)

There’s potentially a thousand bucks in revenue that restaurant isn’t going to see over the next couple of years.

Word of mouth matters. People believe personal stories from people they know more than they do a paid ad. In employee engagement-land, we use Net Promoter Score (NPS) for our clients in their employee survey – ‘how likely are you to recommend your organisation to a colleague thinking of working there?’

A really bad NPS indicates that your employees are giving you a bad review. And if you tell me that you have a rotten time at your job, I’m not going to apply.

The really bad news for employers with bad NPS results is that you don’t even know how many high calibre candidates decide not apply to you, just like the restaurant can’t count the revenue it isn’t making.

And you know, don’t you, which organisations in your sector you wouldn’t touch with a barge pole? Word gets around.

What do you think your employees and former employees are saying about your organisation? Are they champions or detractors?

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