A national food chain lifts store crew from −25 to ~0 and POS managers to +10.
Inflation-squeezed pay, unpredictable shifts and admin-heavy managers drove a sub-zero eNPS. A pay refresh, scheduling fairness, manager de-admin and peer recognition reset the experience — and store KPIs followed.
The challenge
A 300-POS retailer employing more than 4,000 FTE, with HQ in former CEE countries, compared poorly to external benchmarks in one of the lowest-scoring sectors — where eNPS often sits sub-zero. Continued high forced and unforced turnover compounded the problem.
Baseline diagnostics
Bi-annual pulse scored the company at −12 overall — with the gap between HQ and the shop floor especially visible.
Voice of employees
Store staff said:
“Poor pay in the light of inflation.”
“Unpredictable shifts.”
“Head office doesn't get it.”
“Short staffing.”
Store managers said:
“Stuck in admin.”
“No time for coaching and training.”
Interventions
- 01
Pay floor & benefits refresh
Management committed to a market-competitive wage with worker perks such as an improved staff discount at tenure milestones.
- 02
Scheduling fairness rules
POS and regional managers worked on minimum rest periods for shop-floor crews, supportive guardrails on split shifts, and transparent and predictable rotational releases.
- 03
Manager de-administration
Regional managers worked with sales executives to centralize redundant reports. Better store systems for replenishment and frontline officer assessment freed manager hours for people leadership.
- 04
Peer recognition
A light-weight, mobile recognition tool for shop-floor teams shared monthly “customer hero” stories as internal best demonstrated performance — shaping a new set of values for POS operations.
Outcomes
After more than one and a half years, store-crew eNPS leveled at around zero, with hard-to-hire POS managers moving up to +10. Stores with the biggest eNPS gains saw absence, out-of-stock situations and shrinkage fall — while ticket value and customer repeat sales increased.
Dr. Norbert Hölzl, “Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Logic and Evolution of this Ratio, current Benchmarks compared to iBDP, and selected Industry Case Studies”, Leadbacker, 2025. Pages 15–16. Composite, anonymized case based on patterns observed across Leadbacker client deployments.
Image: Unsplash.