The engagement score that counts the people who stayed silent.
Employee Net Promoter Score only hears from the people who answer. The GoodWell Score starts there and adjusts for everyone who did not, so a glowing score from a third of your workforce cannot hide a problem with the other two-thirds.
Start with eNPS.
Every employee answers one question on a 0–10 scale: how likely are you to recommend us as a place to work?
eNPS = % promoters − % detractors, among the people who responded.
Then count the silence.
Non-respondents are added back in. Most of their weight counts against you, as if they were detractors. A smaller share is credited as promoters in proportion to how many promoters you already have. The result is divided by your whole headcount, not just respondents.
100 employees, 69 responded
- Promoters50
- Passives12
- Detractors7
- Did not respond31
(50 − 7) ÷ 69. Looks excellent.
Still positive, but a third of the company has not been heard from.
Participation is part of the answer.
When the two scores diverge, you have learned something. A wide gap means your engaged employees are engaged, and a large group has checked out, does not trust the process, or was never reached. Closing that gap is often the highest-value thing a leadership team can do.
- Track eNPS, GoodWell Score and participation together, every survey
- Reach non-desk employees by SMS, in their own language
- Automatic reminders and a credible confidentiality promise raise response rates
Questions about the score
What is the GoodWell Score?
The GoodWell Score is an engagement metric from −100 to +100 that starts with the employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) and adjusts it for the employees who did not respond to the survey. It gives leaders a view of the whole workforce rather than only the people who chose to answer.
How is it different from eNPS?
eNPS only counts respondents: the percentage of promoters (scores of 9–10) minus the percentage of detractors (0–6). The GoodWell Score keeps that calculation but treats non-respondents as a signal, weighting them mostly as detractors with a small promoter credit proportional to your promoter share.
Why treat silence as negative?
Employees who are engaged and trust the process tend to respond. Low participation usually reflects disengagement, distrust, or a workforce that was never reached. Counting silence prevents a strong score from a small, enthusiastic minority from masking a problem with everyone else.
How do I raise my GoodWell Score?
Two ways: improve how people feel, and improve how many people respond. GoodWell helps with the second by delivering the survey by SMS as well as email, in each employee’s language, with automatic reminders and a clear confidentiality promise.
What score earns the GoodWell Certified badge?
Any company whose GoodWell Score is above zero after a survey, meaning it has more promoters than detractors even after accounting for non-respondents, may display the GoodWell Certified badge.
Find out your GoodWell Score.
Your first survey is free. Upload a roster and you will have your eNPS, participation rate and GoodWell Score in about three weeks.