What do your customers think of you and the business?
You’re probably saying that your customers are very satisfied, and there were only one or two moments where clients weren’t as happy as you wanted them to be. However, you’ll also think that you fixed the issue and all unhappy clients become satisfied!
Many businesses are proud of collecting feedback to measure their customers’ Net Promoter Score (NPS). Some would collect feedback just for collecting data; others act when they experience unsatisfied clients, while you can find numerous businesses collecting NPS’ every second month (too much) or only once a year (too little)!
Regardless of what businesses do, you can see that every one of them would collect customer feedback. They will ask customers how happy they were and determine how many customers will recommend their products and services to other people.
And that benchmark every business use is the Net Promoter Score question, which is:
On a scale of 1-10, how likely would you recommend our product or service to a family member, friend, or colleague?
Here’s another question to think about: What do your job candidates feel about you and the business?
Only a few businesses know the answer. If you’re one of them, that’s great! But if you don’t, then it’s high time you start learning about your job candidates. Sure, you might find feedback from a candidate from an email post-interview, but this feedback isn’t collected systematically.
The point of all that is: You don’t just apply the NPS to customers. You can also use the NPS to candidates, known as the Candidate Net Promoter Score!
Read on to delve deeper into Candidate NPS and its importance to the business.
Research Regarding the Net Promoter Score
The Net Promoter Score is an outcome of Frederick F. Reichheld’s extensive study. He was the one who changed how companies act and think when collecting customer feedback, primarily because of one of his statements: “It turned out that a single survey question can, in fact, serve as a useful predictor of growth.”
Powerful stuff! Reichheld continues this statement, also mentioning: “…the percentage of customers who were enthusiastic enough to refer a friend or colleague — perhaps the strongest sign of customer loyalty — correlated directly with differences in growth rates among competitors.”
Reichheld’s statement implies that the NPS is a relative measure that can predict your growth. Because of that, it’s crucial to master this by first understanding NPS’ fundamental principles. There are also many other factors to consider regarding a company’s growth rate, but Reichheld leaves us with wise words.
“Customer loyalty is clearly one of the most important drivers of growth.”
You get a higher growth rate and beat competitors with better customer loyalty! Now, let’s get into the good stuff.
How to Calculate Net Promoter Score
NPS is presented on a scale ranging from -100 to +100. This is calculated with the principle of the share (%) of Promoters minus (-) the Detractors.
If your NPS is higher than most competitors, then your business would most likely experience higher growth. But enough about the Net Promoter Score. Let’s look into the Candidate Net Promoter Score (CNPS) in particular and see how you and the HR department can learn from it.
Early Conclusions from Research on Candidate Net Promoter Score
Here are a few things to note regarding the Candidate Net Promoter Score based on the research we have done on it.
It’s too early to see the correlation between growth and candidate loyalty
Reichheld’s study connects the dots between growth and customer loyalty, but that was from 1999 to 2002. While some companies have conducted their own research, they were done over shorter periods, thus having data not valid enough to conclude just yet.
When you begin measuring Candidate Net Promoter Score, your score improves!
Once a business begins to measure their Candidate Net Promoter Score, their scores will go up! That’s because this is closely connected to the experiences of recruiters that job candidates meet, and these people would represent the company during the interview process.
Many businesses have benefited from measuring the Candidate Net Promoter Score. It had recruiters begin to discuss, make improvements, and work on small internal changes to put their Candidate Net Promoter Score in a more positive direction.
Through measuring the Candidate Net Promoter Score, you receive valuable data you can take action on, which brings up the score!
One thing’s for sure: Job candidates want their recruiters to continue improving to create the best experience possible. And what’s excellent about recruiters is, based on research, they are willing to work on improving themselves and the recruitment process as a whole.
Recruiters will want to work on improvements using the Candidate Net Promoter Score.
If one of your recruiters received a negative Candidate Net Promoter Score or bad candidate feedback, they would obviously want to take action to prevent the same thing from happening again.
When you use an appropriate tool to collect candidate feedback and measure the Candidate Net Promoter Score, they are all collected systematically. The data is validated based on the comparison against industry standards, which allows the tool to measure your business’ performance in the long run.
Please remember that the Candidate Net Promoter Score will measure how many detractors, passives, and promoters your business has once candidates have experienced the recruitment process. Other factors, such as the metrics for recruiters, finding the perfect talent, and such aren’t measured here.
The Candidate Net Promoter Score will show you the candidates turned into promoters, which helps strengthen the employer brand.
Why Measure Candidate Net Promoter Score?
So, why must you measure the Candidate Net Promoter Score in the first place? Here are the reasons why:
This metric helps recruiters improve.
The Candidate Net Promoter Score is a compelling metric! When you work closely together with recruiters and show them their Candidate Net Promoter Score, comparing it internally and externally, you’ll have better recruiters who will be more inclined to give the company more promoters.
More candidates are inclined to choose your company
You can compare this with the word-of-mouth effect. Promoters will actively talk about your company and brand in such a positive way to people they encounter. When you turn each candidate into a promoter, your business is at a more significant advantage.
Promoters will boost the employer brand.
With more candidates-turned-promoters, the more positive thoughts about the company and its employer. This is one of the crucial factors that attract fantastic talent.
How to Use the Candidate Net Promoter Score
Now that you know how vital the Candidate Net Promoter Score is, how can you use it? Here are some tips to follow:
Compare Candidate Net Promoter Score within teams.
As mentioned, CNPS is a comparison score, measuring candidate experiences through determining how many candidates become promoters. By measuring Candidate Net Promoter scores, you will only get a value you aim to improve on.
We recommend having a benchmark in the company, so you’re aware of the high-performing recruiters who turn the most significant number of candidates into promoters.
Benchmark the Candidate Net Promoter Score externally.
Don’t only benchmark and compare the Candidate Net Promoter Score within the company. It would be best if you also considered comparing it externally.
Let’s say your recruiters have a Candidate Net Promoter Score of 20-40. How does that score stand against other companies’ recruiters? If they score lower than 20, your recruiters stand out. But if they score higher, you need to start improving your scores.
You can use an online tool or compute it yourself with a CNPS calculator to get other recruiters’ Candidate Net Promoter Scores.
Discuss with your hiring managers and recruiters
Almost every customer would discuss the Candidate Net Promoter Score in meetings once a week or month. These meetings can help maintain the mindset of continuously treating candidates in the best way possible. Talk about that mindset and how it can help everyone turn even more candidates into promoters.
You’ll be surprised that even just a small yet powerful mindset shift can have you steer away from the traditional way of recruiting to a newer and more modern one. And the latter helps strengthen the candidate’s overall recruitment experience!
Ask for recruiters’ Candidate Net Promoter Scores when you’re hiring
If you’re planning to hire more recruiters, we recommend asking for the candidate for their personal Candidate Net Promoter Score. This is essential to employ recruiters who can improve the employer brand and turn more candidates into promoters!
Wrapping It Up
Remember that a successful business isn’t just about customer service; you also need to focus on your employees and candidates! Job candidates can make or break the number of talents that apply and choose your company to work in, which would affect your business’ growth in the long run. If you haven’t started measuring your Customer AND Candidate NPS yet, NOW is the time to do so.
If you would like to learn more about the Candidate Net Promoter Score or share your insights about it, let us know in the comments section below. And if you found this article helpful, continue to follow our blog for more insightful information on recruitment and human resources!
