The pandemic has spurred tremendous shifts in the way businesses operate to fulfill the needs of their customers and equally importantly—their employees. Often the case, employers have had to remain agile and pivot quickly while forming new cultural norms—a remote work culture. The adaptation of this new workplace culture means finding ways to keep employees engaged, productive, and happy.
Three Ottawa companies excelled at just that and created a space where their employees could continue to feel empowered in their day-to-day roles.
Invest Ottawa (IO) is excited to announce the results of its fall 2021 eNPS service – a core element of the ScaleUp program, offered semi-annually to companies who participate in the program. Each round, IO identifies the top three employers in IO’s ScaleUp program with 20+ employees and $2+ million in revenue or capital, based on the experiences of employees.
Certain larger IO Accelerator companies who met the employee threshold have also been invited to participate in the past two rounds.
Custom software solutions experts bitHeads, meeting management software designers Fellow, and e-commerce error monitoring platform Noibu are the big winners of Fall 2021. These exceptional companies garnered impressive scores that make them some of the most exciting places to work in the Nation’s Capital.
An offshoot of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) which measures customer experience and predicts business growth, an eNPS examines the employee side of the equation, gathering qualitative feedback on employee satisfaction, enthusiasm and loyalty. Additionally, it allows participating companies to compare their scores against the averages of other firms in the program, helping to identify opportunities for improvement versus their scaling peers.
An eNPS ranges from -100 to 100. To get a score, all participants (employees) complete a survey that asks them to select a number from 0 – 10. Each respondent is then categorized based on the number they chose.
- Detractors select between 0 – 6
- Passives select 7 or 8
- Promoters select 9 or 10
A total score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of “detractors” from the percentage of “promoters.” According to HR Technologist, a good eNPS can range from 10 – 30. But the average score of all surveys conducted by Invest Ottawa for 2021 knocked that number right out of the park, coming in at a whopping 65 – an impressive number by any standard! To top it off, this round scored an average of 70!
Lynn Stevens is Invest Ottawa’s ScaleUp HR Advisor, and she’s been an integral part of implementing the eNPS service, helping to onboard firms, interpret results, and develop improvement plans where needed:
“The eNPS service gives companies amazing insight into what is happening inside their organizations. It is a great jumping off point. Great companies, like the high-scoring top tech companies in Ottawa, recognize that the eNPS provides critical information to help them improve and stay an employer of choice. The companies know that it isn’t just a number but rather great insights on areas of interest and improvement for their employees. Companies are also reassured about the things their employees love about working with them and they (the companies) can make sure they continue to do those things, because that is why people love to show up and give their best every day!”
The eNPS service is an invaluable initiative and is becoming increasingly vital to businesses and companies. If your internal culture is top of mind and your workforce is engaged and happy in their roles, your customer satisfaction will show through.
“At bitHeads it’s part of our DNA to have an area at HQ for our employees to come down and decompress after a successful week,” says Martin Savard, Vice-President of Sales and Business Development, bitHeads. “It’s been paramount for the last 25 years to have a space for our employees to embrace our culture and to drive innovation at the same time.”
A solid eNPS is a critical indicator of companies who are getting it right – putting the needs, values, realities, and ambitions of people first. This leads to a happy, healthy team that feels unified, fulfilled, and respected.
Noibu is a prime example of just that. This past year, they put in place a Culture Committee, which includes 40% of its employee base. Noibu is not new to receiving high eNPS scores as they also placed top three in Spring 2021.
“It’s cliché to say, but I never knew I could enjoy my job so much, and that surely reflects in the eNPS score,” said Brianna Cook, Customer Success Manager and Culture Committee Co-Chair at Noibu. “Noibu always provides a great balance of autonomy and support to feel confident at work on a daily basis.”
There’s no better way to attract better talent than word of mouth. Having that high eNPS score means employees are satisfied and are therefore more likely to recommend their workplace to their peers.
“We want everyone at Fellow to have the opportunity to learn as much as possible about as many parts of the business as they want,” said Aydin Mirzaee, CEO and Co-Founder at Fellow. “A core value of ours is ‘experiment and grow’, which we apply not only to company growth but also for everyone in the company. Fellow is more than a product, we’re a team on a mission and we’re all builders.”
“While the top three firms receive recognition, the overall strength of the eNPS results from participating firms across Ottawa is a clear indication that they have built a powerful foundation for future growth that could ultimately see them scale their teams and revenue beyond the $100M mark – one of the overarching goals of the ScaleUp Program,” said Nick Quain, Vice President of Venture Development at Invest Ottawa.
About Invest Ottawa’s ScaleUp Program
ScaleUp is designed to shorten the leadership learning curve and help companies achieve rapid growth and compete globally. Offered by Invest Ottawa, ScaleUp is for high-growth firms in the region who have reached $2 million in revenue or capital and are on the path to attaining $100 million.
Through ScaleUp, firms have access to elite advisors, a network of peers, top-calibre talent, new markets and other growth resources like the eNPS service, which measures employee experience and predicts business growth. ScaleUp offers companies the opportunity to choose the right resources and services for them and for their leadership teams as they expand and evolve.
For more information on the program or to see if ScaleUp is the right fit for your firm, visit investottawa.ca/scaleup/.