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Net Promoter Score (NPS): How we measure our Candidates' Experience

  • Publish Date: Posted about 1 year ago
  • Author:by Antoinette O'Flaherty

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is “one of the most common customer experience metrics used by companies around the world.” NPS measures how customers perceive organisations by asking one simple question:

“On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend our company?”

Depending on their answer, respondents will then fall into one of the following three categories:

  • Promotersleave a score of 9 or 10 and tend to be satisfied with your product or service to the point that they would recommend your business.

  • Passives leave a score of 7 or 8 and are satisfied with your offering, but more is needed to be considered promoters.

  • Detractors respond with a score of 0-6 and are considered unhappy with your product or service.

Emotions diagram
Image credit: Qualtrics

Scores can then be ranked against the following standards to gauge how well you are performing:

How is Collins McNicholas measuring NPS, and for what is this information used?

Since 2018 Collins McNicholas has been using Qualtrics' trusted NPS software to survey job seekers each month. It allows us to monitor satisfaction and collate feedback on how we can improve our service. Depending on the score a candidate gives, we offer a follow-up question. This helps us understand the reason behind each score and gather feedback from candidates who have used our services. For example, if a candidate were to give a score of 0-6, we would ask them what we could have done differently to improve the service. If a candidate were to provide a score of 7 or 8, we would ask them what we could have done to make the experience exceptional. Finally, if a candidate gives a score of 9 or 10, we ask them what they liked about the service we provided. We believe that there is always room for improvement and that something can be learned from every candidate that we work with. 

To date, we have surveyed thousands of job seekers, and in 2022 for the first time, we achieved a “World Class” NPS Score of 70. We maintained this World Class score throughout the year, our highest score to date, meaning that job seekers are more likely to recommend our services than ever before. Our consultants have worked extremely hard since we introduced our hybrid work policy to ensure our candidates are looked after, and it is great to see that our candidates are happy with the service. One candidate said, "The level of service was extremely professional, and most of all, there was excellent personal attention and a genuine concern for my success. Couldn't recommend Collins McNicholas enough. 5 Stars.

We are proud of our "Excellent" score to date, and the positive feedback we receive month after month is hugely encouraging and motivating for our team of consultants. The feedback we obtain through the NPS survey is shared with the whole company so that we can reflect on each sentiment and ensure that we continue to listen to the voice of the customer.

Further reading on NPS can be found here:

https://www.qualtrics.com/uk/experience-management/customer/net-promoter-score/

https://www.bain.com/consulting-services/customer-strategy-and-marketing/customer-loyalty/

Antoinette O'Flaherty - Director
Antoinette O'Flaherty
​Director

antoinette.oflaherty@collinsmcnicholas.ie