Currently our CandE Benchmark Research Program overall candidate experience Net Promoter Score (NPS) is currently 3. Yes, 3. That’s on a scale of +100 to -100. So, it’s positive, but it’s 3. However, last year, the final overall NPS was -14. More on this later.
For those who don’t know, NPS was introduced in 2003 by Fred Reichheld, a partner at Bain & Company, in a Harvard Business Review article titled “The One Number You Need to Grow” (subscribers only). The concept was developed in collaboration with Bain & Company and Satmetrix Systems to better measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The NPS Formula is as follows (again, if you’re not familiar with it):
Customers respond on a 0–10 scale:
9–10: Promoters (loyal enthusiasts)
7–8: Passives (satisfied but unenthusiastic)
0–6: Detractors (unhappy customers)
The final NPS = % of Promoters − % of Detractors
When you look at customer experience NPS averages across industries (business-to-business and business-to-consumer), you find the following (based on benchmark studies from NICE Satmetrix, Retently, and others):
| Industry | B2B NPS Avg. | B2C NPS Avg. | Notes |
| Software/SaaS | 30-50 | 40-60 | B2C SaaS often scores higher due to simplicity and user control. |
| Financial Services | 30-50 | 25-40 | B2B clients value support; B2C suffers from trust/service issues. |
| Healthcare | 20-35 | 15-30 | B2C often frustrated by bureaucracy; B2B slightly better relationships. |
| Travel & Hospitality | 30-45 | 35-55 | B2C higher when luxury/personalization is strong; B2B values reliability. |
These are only a few industry examples, but the point is, they’re much higher than candidate experience NPS. I bring this up because, how many times have we heard “treat your candidates like your customers.”
Today NPS is used for employee and candidate experience as well, hence our Survale Talent Experience Platform and the CandE Benchmark Research Program.
But your candidates aren’t your customers in B2B land. Only B2C land. And even then, it’s still not quite the same.
Yes, for over a decade I’ve been touting the fact that how candidates perceive the recruiting and hiring process based on what they’re directly and indirectly experiencing impacts whether or not they’ll apply again, refer others, be a brand advocate, and/or be a paying customer (again for B2C companies). This is all true and we have all the CandE Benchmark data to show that.
These are the only choices that candidates have, besides deciding to apply for a job in the first place, declining an offer, withdrawing from the recruitment process, and/or accepting an offer. And accepting the offer is the only way candidates will be happy customers ultimately, while the employer still has the upper hand in making the final hiring decisions.
Actual B2B and B2C customers always have a choice in the purchasing process. Job candidates do not in the hiring process.
That’s why the overall NPS (and other ratings) in our CandE Benchmark Research are so much lower than customer experience NPS. 90% of our global data are those candidates who weren’t hired, so there will always be a negative skew in our data. As mentioned above, an overall candidate experience NPS of 3. And because we’re still gathering data for 2025, odds are good that the NPS will go underwater into negative NPS. Last year, nearly half of the CandE candidate responses were “detractors” – unhappy customers. So far this year, that percentage is lower, but again, odds are good it will increase to last year’s percentage.
It’s a rough candidate market right now across industries, especially for new grads, those laid off, and professional and management candidates looking to jump from where they are. Hiring freezes, layoffs, AI fear, current trade wars, leaner recruiting teams with under-optimized tech, and more are killing the candidate experience buzz.
In previous better candidate markets, the best you could get with most candidates who weren’t hired was did they feel their recruiting experience was more positive and fair than not. And even in today’s market, TA teams that are investing in timely and consistent communication and feedback loops with their people, processes, and technologies are boosting their candidate experience buzz and business impacts. Our benchmark research underscores this every single year.
