Companies with 100 to 499 employees: Employee Engagement and eNPS Benchmark 2026

Companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score 8.09 out of 10 on engagement in CultureMonkey's 2026 benchmark, 2nd of 4 company-size bands and above the 8.05 all-company average. Average eNPS is +23 (good zone).

Based on ~553,000 survey answers.Q3 2026 dataLast updated: October 2026

Drivers, regions and industries appear here only when they have at least 3 companies of this size, so this page can list fewer than the all-size tables. Industry rankings cover the 14 industries with a full driver breakdown.

SNAPSHOT

SMB (100 to 499) employee engagement at a glance

Engagement score
8.09 / 10
Average eNPS
+23
Top quartile starts at
8.36

Largest rise of any company-size band: up 0.28 from 2025 to 2026.

SMB companies rank second of the four size bands

Engagement for all four company-size bands, with companies of 100 to 499 employees highlighted and the other three shown for context.
STRENGTHS

What employees at SMB companies rate highest

  • Culture is SMB companies' highest-rated area and widest lead over all companies. It scores 8.90, 0.59 above the all-company Culture score of 8.31.
  • Job Satisfaction comes second for employees at SMB companies. It scores 8.45, 0.14 above the all-company Job Satisfaction score of 8.31.
Culture8.90
8.31
+0.59 vs all companies
Job Satisfaction8.45
8.31
+0.14 vs all companies
SMB companiesAll companiesDriver score, 6.00 to 10.00, axis truncated

Culture: SMB companies vs all companies

Culture8.90
All companies8.31
6.00Driver score, 0 to 10 scale, axis truncated10.00
SMB companies score 8.90 on Culture against 8.31 across all companies.

See how every company size ranks, driver by driver.

GAPS

Where SMB company engagement falls short

  • Rewards is the lowest-rated area for employees at SMB companies. It scores 7.15, still 0.01 above the all-company Rewards score of 7.14.
  • Recognition is the second-lowest area for employees at SMB companies. It scores 7.51, 0.12 below the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
  • Work-Life Balance completes the three lowest-rated areas for SMB companies. It scores 7.78, still 0.12 above the all-company Work-Life Balance score of 7.66.

Only Recognition actually trails the benchmark

Each line runs from the all-company score to the SMB score for the same driver. Rewards and Work-Life Balance end above the benchmark; Recognition ends below it.

See which of the 22 drivers move eNPS most across companies.

BREAKDOWN

SMB company engagement by region and industry

Regions with enough answers to report for companies of this size.

RegionScore
Latin America8.60
APAC8.26
Middle East and Africa8.15
North America8.12
Europe7.63

Highest and lowest industries with enough answers to report for companies of this size.

IndustryScore
Hospitality8.54
Healthcare8.46
Retail7.62
Manufacturing7.82

See engagement by region across every company size.

Other company sizes: Enterprise (2,000 or more employees)Mid-Market (500 to 1,999 employees)Micro (under 100 employees)

QUESTIONS

Questions about SMB company employee engagement

What is the average employee engagement score for companies with 100 to 499 employees?

Companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score 8.09 out of 10 on engagement in CultureMonkey's 2026 benchmark, 2nd of 4 company sizes and above the 8.05 all-company average.

What is a good eNPS for a company with 100 to 499 employees?

The average eNPS for companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) is +23, in the good zone, which runs from 10 to 30. The all-company median is +26.

What do employees at SMB companies rate lowest?

Of the drivers with enough answers to report, companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score lowest on Rewards at 7.15, then Recognition at 7.51 and Work-Life Balance at 7.78. Rewards and Work-Life Balance sit above the all-company scores, while Recognition sits below.

What do employees at SMB companies rate highest?

Of the drivers with enough answers to report, companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score highest on Culture at 8.90, followed by Job Satisfaction at 8.45. Both sit above the all-company scores.

Do SMB companies have higher or lower engagement than larger or smaller companies?

Companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score 8.09, 2nd of the 4 company-size bands, below enterprise companies (2,000 or more employees) at 8.16 and above mid-market companies (500 to 1,999 employees) at 8.07 and micro companies (under 100 employees) at 7.70. They also had the largest rise of any band, up 0.28 from 2025 to 2026.

What engagement score puts a company with 100 to 499 employees in the top quartile?

Top-quartile companies with 100 to 499 employees start at 8.36 out of 10, against a band score of 8.09. The percentile calculator shows where your own score ranks.

Which industries score highest for companies with 100 to 499 employees?

Of the industries with enough answers to report, Hospitality (8.54) and Healthcare (8.46) score highest for companies with 100 to 499 employees, and Retail (7.62) and Manufacturing (7.82) score lowest.

How engaged are employees at small and midsize businesses?

CultureMonkey groups companies by headcount rather than by business type. Companies with 100 to 499 employees (SMB) score 8.09 out of 10, 2nd of 4 company sizes, with an average eNPS of +23.

Get started

Find out where your company stands among 100 to 499 employees

Benchmark your engagement and eNPS against CultureMonkey Employee Engagement Benchmarks for companies with 100 to 499 employees, based on Q3 2026 data, then turn the gaps into an action plan your managers can run.

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