IO ScaleUp Program Identifies Ottawa’s Top Employers for 2021

Posted in Blog, Ottawa, ScaleUp
Oct 4, 2021

logo of field effect, noibu, and fellow

When is a job not just a job? When your employees love what they do, feel empowered by their role and wake up in the morning eager to go to work.  

Sound like an impossible dream?  Well, three Ottawa companies have just proven that not only do those kinds of workplaces exist, they operate right here in the National Capital Region. 

Invest Ottawa (IO) is excited to announce the results of its spring 2021 eNPS service which identifies the top 3 employers in IO’s ScaleUp program with 20+ employees and $2+ million in revenue or capital, based on the experiences of employees.   

The eNPS service, a core element of the ScaleUp program, is offered semi-annually to companies who participate in the program, and has now been run three times.  It has proven so popular that certain larger IO Accelerator companies who met the revenue and employee threshold were also invited to participate this round.  

This year, cyber security expert Field Effect, meeting management software designers Fellow, and e-commerce error monitoring platform Noibu are the big winners, boasting impressive scores that make them some of the most compelling places to work in the city.  

An offshoot of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) which measures customer experience and predicts business growth, an eNPS examines the employee side of the equation, gathering qualitative feedback on employee satisfaction, enthusiasm and loyalty. Additionally, it allows participating companies to compare their scores against the averages of other firms in the program, helping to identify opportunities for improvement versus their scaling peers. 

An eNPS ranges from -100 to 100. To get a score, all participants complete a survey that asks them to select a number from 0 – 10. Each respondent is then categorized based on the number they chose. 

  • Detractors select between 0 – 6 
  • Passives select 7 or 8 
  • Promoters select 9 or 10 

A total score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of “detractors” from the percentage of “promoters.” According to HR Technologist, a good eNPS can range from 10 – 30. But the average score of all surveys conducted by Invest Ottawa for 2021 knocked that number right out of the park, coming in at a whopping 59 – an impressive number by any standard. 

Lynn Stevens is one of Invest Ottawa’s ScaleUp Talent advisors, and she’s been an integral part of implementing the eNPS service, helping to onboard firms, survey employees and calculate results.  

“The eNPS service gives employers an excellent sense of what’s happening inside their company when it comes to employee loyalty. When a person says they really like your brand as an employer, that’s good for you, because after all, a person in only going to recommend you to their friends and family if they truly enjoy working for you. There’s also huge value to knowing just how many promoters you have within your organization, how many detractors and how many passive people, because you can use the data to move passive and detractor folks into the promoter zone by improving your overall HR approach and internal communications.” 

“We’re really proud of these results,” says Dan Cardamore, CEO and Co-Founder of Noibu, whose e-commerce error monitoring platform powers major corporations and the world’s best eCommerce experiences. “We’ve created a culture that puts people first, while still being results oriented. We empower our team to do and be their best, and we treat everyone equally. Our eNPS shows our employees think we’re doing things right, and that means the world to us.” 

 

Initiatives like Invest Ottawa’s eNPS service are proving increasingly vital to businesses and companies, no matter where they are in the world.  Customer satisfaction is a key element of success, but you can’t keep your customers happy unless your internal culture is top of mind and your workforce is strong and stable. That’s where an eNPS proves invaluable.  

A solid eNPS is a critical indicator of companies who are getting it right – putting the needs, values, realities and ambitions of employees first. This leads to a happy, healthy team that feels unified, fulfilled and respected.   

Matt Holland is the Founder, CEO and CTO of Field Effect, which provides the definitive cyber security solution for small and medium size businesses across the globe. He knows firsthand how much an eNPS can support culture and drive positive momentum within an organization, because his team is celebrating their third consecutive Top 3 placement.   

“We’re really proud to be ranked in the top 3 of IO’s eNPS for the third year in a row. Each and every one of our team members has and will play a major role in our success and these results are reinforcement we’re heading in the right direction.” 

A robust eNPS also means employees are more likely to recommend their workplace to friends and business colleagues, serving to attract other good people to the company and leading to greater growth, profit and success. 

Over at Fellow, which has created a tool designed to revolutionize meetings by driving engagement before, during and after every meeting, CEO and Co-Founder Aydin Mirzaee understands why positive word of mouth is key. “We believe it’s not just about what you can do for the company, but about what the company can do for you. We think about employee experience day in and day out because if we take care of our employees then everything else will take care of itself.” 

While the top 3 firms get the recognition, the overall strength of eNPS results from participating firms across Ottawa is a clear indication that they have built a powerful foundation for future growth that could ultimately see them scale their teams and revenue beyond the $100M mark – one of the overarching goals of the ScaleUp program.  

 Nick Quain, Vice President of Venture Development at Invest Ottawa is bullish about the potential of these and other companies in ScaleUp. “Ottawa has an incredible ecosystem for tech, from start-up to scale-up and it is incredibly impressive to see so many firms cultivating such a positive culture at early stages, amidst a global pandemic and within rapidly evolving industries no less. We look forward to continuing to support their evolution and growth.” 


About Invest Ottawa’s ScaleUp program 

Invest Ottawa ScaleUp program assetScaleUp is designed to shorten the leadership learning curve and help companies achieve rapid growth and compete globally. Offered by Invest Ottawa, ScaleUp is for high-growth firms in the region who have reached $2 million in revenue or capital and are on the path to attaining $100 million. 

Through ScaleUp, firms have access to elite advisors, a network of peers, top-calibre talent, new markets and other growth resources like the eNPS service, which measures employee experience and predicts business growth. ScaleUp offers companies the opportunity to choose the right resources and services for them and for their leadership teams as they expand and evolve.  

For more information on the program or to see if ScaleUp is the right fit for your firm, visit investottawa.ca/scaleup/ 

 

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