What is Customer Effort Score (CES)?
Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy it was for a person to complete a task — typically by asking a single question about effort and scoring the response. It helps organisations spot friction that reduces participation or satisfaction.
CES is a simple metric that asks participants how much effort they had to expend to complete a specific interaction (for example, filling out a survey or getting a service). The question usually uses a short scale such as 1–5 or 1–7 (e.g. 1 = Very Difficult, 5 = Very Easy). You can report CES as an average score or as the proportion of respondents who found the task low-effort. Because it focuses on immediacy and usability, CES is useful for identifying barriers that cause drop‑out or dissatisfaction.
Usage example
After respondents submit a form, add a question: “How easy was it to complete this survey?” If 80% of Spanish-language respondents rate the experience as easy but only 45% of Somali-language respondents do, you may need to review wording, translation, or the mobile layout for the Somali version.
Practical application
CES matters because lower effort usually means higher completion rates and better-quality responses. For teams running multilingual surveys, CES helps pinpoint which languages or versions introduce friction — whether due to translation choices, unclear phrasing, or technical issues on participants’ devices. Use CES to compare channels, A/B test wording or layout, prioritise translation fixes, and track improvements over time. In Hearo, a translated CES question can be shown to participants in their preferred language while admins see aggregated CES results and language-level comparisons in their own language.
FAQ
How is CES different from NPS or CSAT?
CES measures the effort required to complete a specific task (ease of use). CSAT measures satisfaction with a product or interaction, and NPS gauges likelihood to recommend an organisation. They complement each other: CES is particularly good at spotting usability or process friction that reduces completion or engagement.
What scale should I use and how do I calculate the score?
Common choices are 5- or 7-point scales asking about ease (e.g. 1 = Very Difficult to 5 = Very Easy). You can report the average score, or calculate the percentage of respondents who selected the top two positive options (a ‘low-effort’ share). Choose one method and use it consistently to track trends.
When should I ask a CES question in a survey?
Ask CES immediately after the task you want to evaluate — typically at the end of the survey or after a key interaction. This captures fresh impressions about effort and helps link the score to that specific experience.
How can CES help with multilingual surveys?
Compare CES by language to find where participants struggle. A lower CES in one language may indicate translation issues, confusing phrasing, or layout problems on devices common to that community. Use participant feedback and Hearo’s translation review workflow to fix wording and reduce effort.