This document discusses using the Net Promoter System to drive customer-centric culture change within organizations. It provides an overview of how American Express transformed their customer service culture by empowering frontline employees and implementing a closed-loop feedback system focused on Net Promoter Score. The Net Promoter System approach aims to create a flywheel effect where improved employee advocacy leads to improved customer advocacy and vice versa. It discusses key elements like frequent feedback, coaching, team problem-solving sessions, and data-driven process improvements. The document argues that effective leadership, clear goals, employee autonomy, and robust feedback mechanisms are needed to engage employees and maximize cultural impact.

1. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 1
Rob Markey
Global Leader, Customer Strategy
& Marketing Practice

2. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 2
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From score to system:
NPS and Culture Change
Employee advocacy and the Net Promoter® System(SM)
Rob Markey
May 2015
®Net Promoter, Net Promoter score and NPS are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc. and Fred Reichheld
Net Promoter System and Promoter Flywheel are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc.
@rgmarkey

4. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 4
+
Empowering and driving change at the front line
20,000 employees
in 24 countries
Source: The Ultimate Question 2.0; Fortune; American Express website
Jim Bush
• Scripts for consistency, quality, and speed
• Average handling time for unit cost targets
• Call quality monitoring
High employee turnover,
stalled customer satisfaction

5. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 5
Bush adopted an approach we call
“Leading by Letting Go”
Source: “Leading by Letting Go,” Rob Markey, Harvard Business Review 2013
Call center scripts and
average handling time
limits eliminated
Hiring criteria changed
to emphasize hospitality
and values versus
technical skills
“Telephone Service Center Reps”
became “Customer Care
Professionals” with increased
pay and schedule flexibility
Supervisors’ jobs reworked
so they could spend
double the time coaching
and training
Closed-loop
Net Promoter System
implemented
Focused Customer
Care Professionals on
a single metric:
Customer NPS

6. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 6
Clear, simple goal that resonates
Freedom within a framework
(guardrails)
Coaching and support
High-velocity closed-loop feedback
Leading by Letting Go requires four
crucial enablers
Source: “Leading by Letting Go,” Rob Markey, Harvard Business Review 2013
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

7. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 7
Bush’s approach resulted in breakthrough
performance
• NPS doubled
• American Express won the
JD Power Award for service
5 years in a row
• Employee attrition cut in half
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
IMPROVED
RESULTING IN HIGHER
PROFITABILITY
• Costs came down 10% per
year (as a percent of revenue)
due to:
- Fewer dial transfers
- Lower average handling time
- Fewer repeat calls – higher first
contact resolution
Source: “Leading by Letting Go,” Rob Markey, Harvard Business Review 2013

8. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 8
The Promoter Flywheel(SM):
Employee and customer advocacy go hand-in-hand
Work here!
Buy from
here!
Employee
advocacy
Enthusiasm,
energy,
creativity
Profitable,
sustainable
organic
growth
Buy
from here!
Excellence,
trust, value
Growth,
opportunity
Customer
advocacy
The Promoter Flywheel is a service mark of Bain & Company, Inc.
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

9. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 9
Employee engagement is especially strained
at the front line of the organization
ENGAGEMENT IS WORSE THE LOWER
YOU GO IN THE ORGANIZATION
ENGAGEMENT IS POOR AMONG
CUSTOMER-FACING EMPLOYEES
Source: Netsurvey/Bain analysis, September 2012 (n=27,628); Forrester, Nov 2010, “Do your employees advocate for your company”?
Employee NPS
Boardroom
Front line

10. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 10
Satisfaction is necessary but insufficient to
generate energy, enthusiasm and creativity
I have
a safe work
environment*
I have what I
need to do a
good job**
I am valued
(and compensated)
fairly
Employee satisfaction
Foundational basics:
Eliminating employee pain points
*Safe in both physical and emotional terms
**Including resources, training, technology, process, personnel, and organizational effectiveness, among other things
Extraordinary
purpose and
accomplishment
Extraordinary
teamwork and
affiliation
Employee advocacy
Differentiators:
Creating promoters
Extraordinary
autonomy,
learning, growth
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

11. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 11
Employee advocacy delivers a completely different
experience to customers
Call
Center
Example
PROMOTER
EMPLOYEE
• Energetic: Never
rushes customer off
call, demonstrates
empathy throughout
• Enthusiastic:
Ensures full
resolution of
customer issues
• Creative: Proactively
identifies new ways
to please customers
PASSIVE
• Perfunctory;
answers only what
is asked
• Provides additional
info only when
requested
• Sounds detached,
indifferent, following a
script
DISENGAGED
DETRACTOR
• Tries to end call as
quickly as
possible
• Disagreeable, may
blame customer for
not understanding
policies
• General negative
tone, not a team
player

12. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 12
Net Promoter Score predicts individual and
firm-level performance; common language
0-6
7-8
9-10
Extremely
likely
Extremely
unlikely
Would you recommend us to a friend?
% Promoters
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Minus NPS of the best relevant competitor
% Detractors
Relative NPS (rNPS)
Minus

13. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 13
Net Promoter System – mechanisms that
support a culture of customer-centricity
Reliable, trusted currency/metric
NPS/eNPS; common language; loyalty economics
Feedback, learning and improvement
Individual learning,
behavior change,
and connection with
customers
Inner Loop Outer Loop
Root cause analysis,
prioritization &
implementation of
structural
improvements
Huddle
Team problem-
solving, issue
escalation,
mutual
commitment
Sustained leadership commitment
Strategic priority; inspirational behaviors that earn customer and employee advocacy; sponsorship spine
Employee/team environment focused on loyalty
Safe environment, effective organization, right tools and training, valued fairly
Robust operational and analytic infrastructure
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

14. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 14
Inspirational leadership: at the heart of
creating a customer-centric culture
Walt Bettinger
CEO, Charles Schwab
View the video at
http://NetPromoterSystem.com/greatness

15. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 15
Set the
ambition
• Establish a clearly defined and compelling
vision for the future
• Set inspiring but achievable goals for
competitive NPS leadership and continuous
improvement
Walk
the
walk
• Invest in the skills of leaders from the
executive level to the front line
• Recognize and make the most of linchpin
employees, those leaders that have a big
influence on the customer or employee
experience
Inspirational Leadership: Three steps
Cascade
commitment
throughout the
organization
• Make regular time to interact with
customers and employees (closed loop)
• Focus attention on customer issues
• Coach employees, support your teams,
make things better every day

16. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 16
Inner Loop: High velocity closed-loop feedback
accelerates learning and customer focus
Close the loop to listen and
if applicable, fix customer issues
Learn and grow
with the benefit provide active coaching
Engage the employees Get customer feedback
• Follow up with any customer
whose feedback indicates it is
merited
• All groups share in follow-up
• Listen with empathy; address
open issues as appropriate
• Collect feedback only at
moments of truth
• Respect the customer’s time
with very short survey
• Document what was learned from
customer follow-up
• Commit to individual
improvement
• Coach and train individuals
• Reinforce positive behaviors
• Share each piece of feedback
individually and immediately
with employees
• Emphasize individual events,
not statistics
Follow up
with select
customers
Identify
actions &
coaching
needs
Execute on
actions &
coaching
• Provides employees with a sense of autonomy as they respond to customers’ needs
• Increases the quality and frequency of employee coaching and learning
• Turns many customer detractors into promoters
Follow up
with select
customers
Identify
actions
and
coaching
needs
Execute on
actions and
coaching
Communicate
customer
feedback
Gather and
understand
Individual learning
& connection with
customers;
autonomy
Inner Loop
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

17. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 17
Huddle: Create a sense of teamwork and
ownership; surface themes for escalation
HOW DO THEY DO IT?WHAT IS A HUDDLE?
Frequent and highly interactive
two-way dialogue among
supervisors and their teams
- Discuss how well we are taking care of
customers and review customer verbatims
- Celebrate employees who contributed most
to our success
The “Daily Download”
Escalation of key themes to the
Outer Loop to improve processes,
policies, products, and more – requests
for the support needed to do a great job
Team problem-solving sessions to
discuss biggest challenges, barriers to
success, and opportunities
- Employees work together to identify
root causes of challenges and
suggest solutions
- Employees make personal commitments
to do things differently

18. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 18
Vanguard and the Outer Loop:
Connecting with customers when it matters most
View the video at
http://NetPromoterSystem.com/videos

19. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 19
Outer Loop: a rigorous, transparent process
instills confidence and engagement
Develop
solutions;
implement
Understand
root causesAnalyze feedback & data Communicate
Prioritize
opportunities
Determine
root cause
Identify
and
propose
potential
actions
Prioritize
actions;
decide
which to
implement
(PMO)
Approve
necessary
resources
(PMO)
If analysis
requires
significant
resourcing
Other actions
surfaced by
business
(e.g., non-client
experience
actions)
Synthesize
Front-
line
NPS
Comp
bench-
marks
Other
em-
ployee
input
Opera-
tional
data
A
B
Item triage shared with
employees to encourage
full transparency
Triage and
assign item
owner
Just do
Study
further
Defer/don’t doC
Explain why
to employees
and close
loop with
clients
Imple-
ment by
testing,
learning,
and
modifying
Encourage
adoption
and close
loop with
crew and
clients
If PMO decides
against
implementing
Source: Bain case experience

20. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 20
Each primary element of the Net Promoter System
helps engage and energize employees more deeply
Source: Bain case experience
Feedback & scores
delivered daily to each
agent
Daily NPS feedback
requested via SMS,
answers registered
Coaching
sessions
Structural issues
identified and
escalated
NPS, competitive
intel, complaints,
operational data
analyzed
Five why’s,
additional
customer
interviews,
etc.
Cross-functional
teams form to
develop, test
and implement
potential
solutions
Leaders communicate
improvements
directly to customers
and to agent teams
Individual learning
& connection with
customers;
autonomy
Inner Loop Outer Loop
Prioritization &
implementation of
structural improvements
(e.g., pricing, product,
process, policy, etc.)
Huddle
Group problem-
solving, issue
escalation, mutual
commitment
Gather and
understandFollow up
with select
customers
Identify
actions
and
coaching
needs
Execute on
actions and
coaching
Communicate
Analyze
feedback
and other
data
Identify
issues and
opportunities;
prioritize
Under-
stand
root
cause and
develop
empathy
Develop
solutions and
implement
actions
Communicate
with employees
& customerscustomer
feedback
Agents,
supervisors,
leaders
make
follow-up
calls
Agent level trends
monitored; Individual
dashboards generated
Actions taken to repair
customer relationship
Frequency,
severity,
impact,
readiness
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

21. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 21
Net Promoter System and culture change:
Typical risks along different parts of the journey
Energetic,
enthusiastic,
and creative
Time
Resistant,
pessimistic,
disengaged
Employee
engagement
Uninformed
optimism
Informed
pessimism
Hopeful
realism
Informed
optimism
Senior leaders
Front line and
middle management
Jaded
cynicism
“Valley of
despair”
Build
foundation
and factbase
Pilot & early
implementation
Rollout &
full potential
Maturity &
re-invigoration
Common
risks:
• Leadership
team not
aligned
• Intent and case
for change
missing
• Sponsorship spine
broken
• Customer-centric
behaviors not
reinforced
• Unrealistic roll-out plan
• Cross-functional
processes ineffective
• New priorities steal
attention
• Fatigue
Hopeless
defeat

22. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 22
The results are clear: companies with engaged
employees deliver superior financial results
… AND IMPROVE
PROFITABILITY
• More customer loyalty
- Higher average revenue per
customer
- More customer referrals
- Less customer churn
Revenue
Cost
• Reduced attrition
- Less hiring and training
required
- Less onboarding
• More efficiency
- Increased productivity
- Lower absenteeism
• And for some industries:
- Less shrinkage
- Higher quality
- Fewer safety incidents
COMPANIES WITH HIGHER
ENGAGEMENT GROW FASTER…
Source: Hay Group Insight “Engaging and Enabling Employees to Improve Performance Outcomes” (2009 Hay Group global normative database)

23. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 23
Net Promoter System – mechanisms that
support a culture of customer-centricity
Reliable, trusted currency/metric
NPS/eNPS; common language; loyalty economics
DRAFT
Feedback, learning and improvement
Individual learning,
behavior change,
and connection with
customers
Inner Loop Outer Loop
Root cause analysis,
prioritization &
implementation of
structural
improvements
Huddle
Team problem-
solving, issue
escalation,
mutual
commitment
Sustained leadership commitment
Strategic priority; inspirational behaviors that earn customer and employee advocacy; sponsorship spine
Employee/team environment focused on loyalty
Safe environment, effective organization, right tools and training, valued fairly
Robust operational and analytic infrastructure
Copyright 2015 Bain & Company, Inc.

24. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 24
NetPromoterSystem.com

25. This information is confidential and was prepared by Bain & Company solely for the use of our client; it is not to be relied on by any 3rd party without Bain's prior written consent. 25
Q & A