A few months back, my team was in charge of finding someone to fill an administrative assistant role that had been open for an extended amount of time. Despite that being a small red flag we figured we would give it a shot. Everything fell into place very quickly. We’d found a great candidate, gone through two rounds of interviews with him, completed a background check, and put together what we thought was a highly competitive offer. The candidate asked for 24 hours to consider it. When we heard back, he had changed his mind. He declined the job.
We’d built a great rapport during the interview process, so I reached out to him candidly: where had we gone wrong? Was the money not enough? Had he found a better opportunity somewhere else? He told me point blank: he’d visited Glassdoor.com to look up company reviews, and what he found wasn’t good. Multiple reviewers complained about being overworked, undervalued, and disrespected by superiors–things you can’t eliminate by merely offering more money. To make matters worse, the company hadn’t responded to any of the complaints.
As we did some research, it became evident why the position had been open so long: this company had a reputation problem.
Your employer reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed can and do determine whether a candidate accepts a job offer or applies in the first place. They affect everything from your applicant conversion rate to your candidate net promoter score (NPS). Without a solid strategy for managing employer reviews, you leave an important and very public-facing aspect of your employer brand up to chance. I’ll share how your company’s reviews impact your hiring ability and explain how to be more proactive about managing your employer reputation.
How Employer Reviews Impact Hiring
They influence candidates to apply (or not)
If you have a widely recognized brand name, maybe you don’t care too much about what people say online because candidates already have an understanding of what your company is about. But if you’re like the vast majority of businesses, you have to put some effort into educating job seekers about your brand. Even if a person has a general idea of what your company does, they probably don’t know much about what it’s like to work for you, and they’re probably going to do some Googling.
Job applicants look to online reviews to learn about your:
- Company culture
- Leadership
- Morale
- Advancement opportunities
- Salary
- Benefits
…And more. A negative review in any of these areas could be enough to discourage an excellent candidate from applying.
They can determine offer acceptance
According to Glassdoor, 96% of candidates read employer reviews before accepting a job offer, and reviews and ratings from people within the company influence 95%. You can provide the best candidate experience out there. Still, if the reality of working for your company doesn’t align with what you promise during the hiring process, you can bet employees will take to the internet to vent about it.
In our experience, around 80 to 90% of top candidates interview with more than one employer at a time. If your reviews are bad, it’s not hard for those candidates to decline your offer in favor of a company with a better reputation.
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They can help screen out ill-fitting candidates
Job seekers aren’t the only ones who gain value from employer reviews. They also help employers by enabling ill-fitting candidates to self-select out of applying if they feel they wouldn’t be happy in your organization. Ensuring your reviews accurately reflect your culture and work environment can save you time in the screening process while encouraging applicants who are a strong fit.
They make up for other weaknesses
I can’t name names, but one of our clients is among the most well-known brands in America. Its employees give it rave reviews, and it is consistently named on ‘Best Places to Work’ lists.
Truth be told, not every position with this company is a walk in the park. Some are quite unglamorous, with long hours, difficult customers, and lower pay. But because this organization has such a stellar reputation, people line up to apply. Having highly positive employer reviews can offset and even overcome the negative aspects of your job openings.
How to Manage Employer Reviews
1. Monitor them regularly
The first step in effectively managing employer reviews is staying on top of them. Monitor new activity on every platform where your company has been reviewed. Set up Google Alerts to get a notification when your business’ name appears online, and consider using a social listening tool like Sprout Social or Buzzsumo to monitor mentions across social media.
While this list isn’t exhaustive, here are some of the most popular platforms for employer reviews that you’ll want to have on your radar:
- Glassdoor
- Indeed
- CareerBliss
- Fairygodboss
- Comparably
- X/Twitter
2. Respond to reviews
I think most reasonable people understand that no company gets it right 100% of the time. What job seekers want to see is that the company cares and is trying to fix what’s not working. Demonstrate this by responding to negative reviews in a constructive, professional way. Never argue or try to prove the reviewer wrong. Instead, thank them for their feedback and say what you’ll do to take note of and act on the input. This doesn’t need to be the case for all bad reviews. Sometimes, they come from disgruntled people who can’t be pleased, but for the ones that deserve a response, give it.
Here’s an example from real estate technology company Zillow in response to a Glassdoor reviewer complaining about the lack of advancement opportunities:
“Thank you for your feedback. We take your concerns seriously, as they help us pinpoint specific areas needing improvement. Please reach out to us at careers@zillowgroup.com so we can understand your situation better and take actionable steps to address these issues. Your input is crucial in making Zillow a better place to work.”
By acknowledging the critique and providing a way for the reviewer to share more details of their experience, Zillow shows that it values continuous improvement and that its employees’ feedback matters. A tactful response can turn a negative employer review into a positive data point for would-be job applicants.
3. Proactively seek out positive reviews
Don’t just sit back and wait for reviews to come rolling in. Unhappy employees are much more likely than happy ones to take the initiative to leave a review, so if you wait around, you’ll likely collect more bad ones than good. Just as companies ask their customers to leave five-star reviews, employers should ask their satisfied employees to share their experiences online.
Invite employees across departments and levels to participate. Explain the importance of reviews in helping you add talented people to the team and refine the experience for all employees. Let them know that you want their voices to be heard.
4. Take action on concerns
When you take a proactive approach to employer reviews, some negative feedback is inevitable. I have a healthy appreciation for critical reviews. They’re the internet equivalent of that blunt friend who always gives it to you straight. There’s no second-guessing where you need to improve because a negative reviewer will make it clear. So, when receiving a critical review, act on it quickly and thoughtfully.
If a review highlights an isolated incident, like a bad experience with a manager, provide means for the employee to talk further with someone in HR and, if appropriate, address the situation head-on with the individuals involved. For broader trends that emerge from multiple negative reviews, like inadequate pay or poor morale, weigh this input into your broader strategic plan. Consider changing your compensation package, employee development program, leadership or company culture.
Aside from driving positive change in your organization, your response to negative reviews also serves as ammunition. It comes across well when the organization can say, ‘We hear you, and we’re doing X, Y, and Z to act on your feedback and make things better.’
5. Improve over time
Managing your employer reviews is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. Treat it like you would any other recruiting metric by setting benchmarks and tracking your progress over time. For example, if your Glassdoor review is currently 3.8, you might aim to improve it to 4.0 over the next six months.
Regularly check in with employees through feedback surveys and one-on-one conversations. This creates an open, internal conversation that can help you identify potential issues before they lead to a bad review on a public-facing website.
6. Develop an employer branding strategy
If you don’t already have one, now is the time to develop an employer branding strategy. It’s a digital age, and with social media and the younger generation’s reliance on testimonials and reviews, you need to have a handle on your online footprint if you want good candidates. Your employer brand is a reflection of how employees and the public perceive your company as a place to work. If you build a strong employer brand, the problem of negative reviews will largely take care of itself, since your team will be happy and engaged.
Related: 7 Steps for Building a Successful Employer Branding Strategy
Managing employer reviews is essential to maintaining a good reputation and, in turn, recruiting great employees. Every positive or negative review is an opportunity to grow, learn, and improve. By embracing this feedback, you’ll create a more positive environment for employees and a more attractive place to work for candidates. If you’re having trouble and want help developing a better recruiting strategy you can always reach out to us as well.
