Health Perception Score: HPS is the New NPS — Why Every Business Needs One
We all know how important a Net Promoter Score (NPS) is. This diagnostic tool has long been used as a split indicator of business health and churn — how well a business is doing, and how many customers it’s at risk of losing.
In the current atmosphere of uncertainty and widely varying comfort levels surrounding COVID, many businesses are struggling to get customers back in. And when they do, they want to be sure to keep them. The same goes for employees. But do customers feel safe enough to return to your business? What about employees? If they don’t and you don’t know it, what’s at risk?
It’s never been more important to know how you’re doing regarding your health safety protocols. Insight into what both your employees and customers are thinking and feeling is invaluable. If you’re losing faith from either one because they don’t feel safe, you need to know about it — and act quickly to change course.
Enter: the Health Perception Score (HPS). Like an NPS, an HPS serves as a Doppler radar type of indicator that tells a business whether or not they have a problem. Not only is this information directly tied to a business’s bottom line, it’s crucial to protect against liability issues.
Monitoring health perception is as simple and straightforward as tracking an NPS, and represents the cornerstone of any successful safe space strategy.
What is an HPS?
HPS is a simple feedback mechanism built on the model of the NPS. It starts with one simple question: Please indicate how safe you feel based on your experience today, on a scale from 1 to 10.
This question can be easily added to existing safe space Q&A screenings, which are used to determine if an individual has been exposed to COVID. And while the ratings can be collected manually, an automated solution within a digital safe space solution is not only more convenient, but can serve as an audit trail that can limit liability.
Why is an HPS so Important?
Perception is more important than ever. If you don’t ask, you won’t know, and in this case what you don’t know can absolutely hurt you. Think of an HPS as a bellwether. If there’s a problem, chances are extraordinarily high that money is being lost, be it from lost business or employee retention issues.
But isn’t it enough to follow mandated guidelines? In a word, no. Every business is responsible for its own health, and its own legal protection. Is following the guidelines enough for the people patronizing your business? There’s only one way to know: ask.
People have different expectations of every brand. For example, a customer may not expect the same experience in a Family Dollar as they would in the Nordstrom flagship store. It’s a business’s responsibility to deliver on their brand’s promise. Customers and employees alike care more about their own safety and comfort level than what mandates are or are not being followed.
Identify and Address Issues
Like an NPS, an HPS gives businesses transparency into any issue that may be directly affecting their bottom line. So what should a business do about a less-than-stellar HPS? Get busy — you want boots on the ground in a hurry. Talk to employees, especially the ones that interface with customers, and ask a lot of questions. Then, fix what’s broken. It’s that simple.
Finding solutions for whatever issues are dragging down a business’s HPS score ties directly into The 6 Ps of Safe Space Strategy, from process and physical space to pixels, or tools that can help ensure a healthy and safe environment.
Protect Your Business
Beyond identifying and addressing issues, it’s equally important for a business to protect itself. The truth is, we’re in uncharted territory and every business has a duty of care, or responsibility to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of the people within its walls.
An HPS tied into a business’s safe space ecosystem is crucial for limiting liability. If a legal issue ever arises, imagine how much stronger a business’s case will be if they can go back and point to not only creating a safe space protocol, but asking employees and customers if it was enough, and actively addressing any issues that arose. An HPS can provide proof that a business went above and beyond, and in the end, that is what a judge will factor in.
A Simple Tool for Retention and Protection
Every business needs to know how they’re doing with health safety perception, and where they could stand to improve — now more than ever. Otherwise, a business could lose customers, employees and revenue along with the ability to defend itself.
Implementing an HPS doesn’t have to be difficult, especially if screening protocols are already in place. It doesn’t matter if the data is collected manually or automated, but it’s crucial that questions are asked to determine how safe employees and customers feel within a business’s walls. The survival of the business itself may just depend on it.
InReality’s Learning Center is committed to sharing important guidance to help the industry navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving Safe Space landscape. The information shared is informed by experience working with many constituents and stakeholders. If you have a topic you would like addressed, please submit it to Laura Davis-Taylor at ldt@inreality.com for consideration.
