How CyberPublicity boosted its eNPS by more than 30 points in ten months
Recognition > A pay raise?
To turn your employees into true ambassadors of your employer brand, do you ever wonder whether you should raise your team's pay? Or whether other measures should be put in place instead?
If so, CyberPublicity's story is sure to inspire you!
eNPS, live data
Scale from -100 to 100From 6 in January 2023 to 39 in October 2023, nearly 7 times higher in ten months.
Share of employees who see themselves staying more than two years
of eNPS gained in ten months
When pay is no longer enough
In 2022, the digital marketing agency CyberPublicity substantially raised the salaries of its entire staff. Mainly to match, or even exceed, the market average for pay in its industry. And like many other organizations, this move also aimed to boost employee satisfaction.
Because it was running a continuous employee engagement improvement process with Amélio, CyberPublicity was able to observe the effect of this pay raise up close.
Unfortunately, this offer, however appealing, had only a short-lived impact on engagement and satisfaction levels.
To recognize employees' contributions in ways beyond pay, CyberPublicity's leadership team then launched a recognition program through the Amélio platform.
The results of these recognition efforts are remarkable!
- In October 2023, the share of employees who would recommend the organization as an excellent place to work was almost 7 times higher than it was in January 2023!
- The number of employees who plan to stay with the organization for at least the next 2 years rose significantly.
- The survey participation rate stays very high month after month, a sign of employee involvement and of the synergy recognition creates around the surveys.
A web marketing leader guided by its values
Founded in 2011 by two Montreal entrepreneurs, Benjamin Paradis and Kevin Perry, CyberPublicity is a web marketing agency.
Its head office sits on the outskirts of Montreal, where most of its work takes place. On top of that, many employees work remotely from all over the world.
With around fifty employees, the organization counts a highly skilled workforce among its ranks.
It has built deep expertise in artificial intelligence and digital marketing, at the cutting edge of technology, to optimize the online positioning of thousands of clients. It has also earned Google Partner status, along with several top distinctions, and has been named one of the best technology agencies in Canada and the United States.
It is a true leader in its field, and every one of its actions is guided by values of humanity, innovation and excellence.
An overheated market and a wave of departures
In 2021, the job market in digital and web marketing was booming. Under the pressure of a shortage of skilled talent, recruiters in the sector did not hesitate to approach specialized professionals.
With no shortage of tempting job offers, this drove a high turnover rate across these organizations.
As you might expect, CyberPublicity was no exception and saw a wave of departures on its team.
With this in mind, the organization began a process of assessing and continuously improving employee engagement with Amélio in November 2021.
The first results
When analyzing the first engagement surveys, the main concerns raised by employees were workload, clearer policies around compensation, and the organization's long-term vision, particularly when it came to employees' professional development opportunities, among others.
In the post-pandemic period, it is worth noting that these were very common concerns across organizations.
From pay to recognition
In light of the results from the engagement surveys and over the following months, CyberPublicity rolled out various initiatives to boost employee engagement and turn its people into true ambassadors of the organization.
Raising salaries
Given that compensation had been identified as a source of concern among employees, and in order to align more closely with the market average, CyberPublicity carried out a significant pay increase.
Employees received an average pay raise of 17% in 2022.
Thanks to the Amélio platform's in-depth data analysis, it was easy to track the effect of this move at a glance. That is how the team observed that the impact of this pay raise on employee engagement was short-lived.
Indeed, following the increase, the results for the Compensation engagement sub-factor were positive for a few monthly surveys, and then new dissatisfaction emerged. Additional departures also took place.
Believing that a pay raise or a bonus will motivate an employee over the long term is a mistake. The effect of a pay raise on motivation lasts only two to three weeks.
To align with the market average in CyberPublicity's industry, this pay increase was necessary. However, because it acts as an extrinsic motivator, salary cannot be a long-term solution for engaging employees. After a while, the effect will not be as strong as it was at the moment of the raise.
So, what can be done?
Rolling out a recognition program
A wealth of research shows that recognition is an essential driver of engagement.
of employees say that recognition at work is more satisfying than a reward or gifts.
And the other way around? Several studies have also shown that a perceived lack of recognition in one's job is one of the major causes of resignations.
CyberPublicity then took a closer look at how recognition worked for its employees. Until then, it had been offered solely on the basis of individual performance.
Recognition can nevertheless take many forms, such as an employee's interpersonal skills or attitude.
Since it is a powerful driver of employee retention and engagement, it became clear to CyberPublicity that the time had come to rethink its recognition practices!
Because the Recognition module of the Amélio platform is built into the survey process employees already knew well, it seemed easy to start shifting practices by simply turning on this feature.
A guide to recognition best practices was put together for employees and managers. It encourages, for example, tokens of recognition that align with the organization's values, such as helping others, professional development, taking initiative or teamwork.
And so, with an official internal launch in the winter of 2023, CyberPublicity's Octopus program was born!
Recognition you can see, feel and measure
Between January and October 2023, the results of the initiative were remarkable!
Here is what CyberPublicity employees have to say:
Easy to use and customizable, the platform's Recognition module has a positive impact on employees' engagement and long-term commitment.
Amélio recognitions are a great initiative!!! It feels really rewarding to receive a message of appreciation. A little pat on the back is all it takes.
With Amélio, you really do see more recognition happening. Personally, it means a lot to me.
If a colleague sees and appreciates my work, I know it thanks to Amélio.
CyberPublicity employees
Recommending CyberPublicity as a good place to work
The eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) reveals how proud employees are of their employer.
This indicator measures the ratio of ambassadors of your employer brand on a scale from -100 to 100.
The more promoters there are, the more positive the eNPS will be; conversely, it will be negative if the organization has more detractors. An eNPS above 50 is considered excellent.
For more information about the eNPS and how this indicator is calculated, feel free to read our article.
To drive the eNPS up, concrete actions must be developed to better meet employees' needs.
It seems CyberPublicity understood this well!
Indeed, in January 2023, the organization's eNPS stood at 6. Then, through steady progress, the eNPS reached 39 in the October 2023 engagement survey.
That is a score nearly 7 times higher in the span of ten months!
In other words…
Employees reported noticing that CyberPublicity listens more closely to its people and shows a genuine commitment to creating a more human environment, in perfect keeping with its organizational values.
Staff members express pride in their employer, its mission and its culture of mutual support, trust and flexibility. This leads them to recommend the organization more readily as a good place to work.
Fewer early departures
Another remarkable result that followed the changes in recognition practices is the number of early departures. Employees now picture themselves staying with the organization over the longer term.
In January 2023, 47% of employees planned to stay with CyberPublicity for more than two years and 50% were considering leaving the organization within the next two years.
Among the reasons for a potential departure raised by employees was a lack of recognition!
In October 2023, more than 70% of employees plan to stay and 29% are considering leaving their job within the next two years.
We have seen a huge difference in our staff retention since rolling out the Recognition module. Employees' desire to stay is clearly there.
Not only is the number of anticipated departures in the coming years clearly lower than in January, but above all, the ratio of positive to negative comments on this question has shifted!
There are far more positive comments about CyberPublicity since the new measures were introduced, and that holds true across a majority of the engagement factors.
Better internal communication, organizational values and a mission that resonate with employees, and recognition from their manager and their organization all help drive staff retention within the digital marketing company.
Positive sentiment toward the organization
By changing its recognition practices, tracking the results of the engagement surveys run with Amélio, and pursuing other initiatives, the digital marketing agency demonstrated genuine effort to create an inspiring workplace.
And that did not go unnoticed by its employees!
Indeed, CyberPublicity's sincere openness to receiving feedback from its employees, and the concrete actions that follow, are well received by staff.
Combining continuous-improvement surveys with the importance placed on recognition shows that employee well-being matters greatly to the organization. And that it will keep putting concrete actions in place to that end.
Employees' positive sentiment toward CyberPublicity fosters their engagement and long-term commitment.
Keeping the momentum going
Given the positive impact of the process with Amélio and its Recognition module, CyberPublicity intends to keep up the efforts it has begun. Of course!
Because the platform makes it possible to run customized surveys, the organization can easily measure employee satisfaction in order to refine and adapt its practices.
That is how CyberPublicity ran a survey to assess its recognition practices following the launch of the Octopus program.
According to Julio Ganzanini, human resources business partner, strong manager involvement is one of the keys to the success of the initiative at CyberPublicity.
Indeed, team leads were made aware of how important it is to act when concerns are raised, to follow up on them, and above all, to let their employees shine. By thanking them for their contribution, their steady effort, their positive attitude or their willingness to help their peers. This is even more true during tougher or busier periods.
And that is exactly what the organization's managers do.
Amélio and its easy-to-use Recognition module help make this culture of employee appreciation possible.
Recognition, stronger than pay
This CyberPublicity case clearly highlights that a pay raise will never have as much impact as a shift in perspective and culture around recognizing and valuing employees.
By combining initiatives that meet employees' needs, measuring those actions, and above all, betting on recognizing teams' contributions through a recognition platform like Amélio, an organization certainly boosts employee satisfaction while strengthening their sense of belonging.
At the same time, this drives a lower turnover rate and turns employees into true ambassadors of the organization.
What if recognition became your best lever?
Do you want to bring about a change in your own recognition practices and, in turn, boost your eNPS, your employee engagement and your retention rate?
Start a continuous improvement process with Amélio and unlock the full potential of recognition in your organization!
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