Why Negative Glassdoor Reviews are Killing Your Recruitment Efforts
Glassdoor is a hub for job seekers to not only access open positions but to vet employers as well. However, disgruntled or angry former employers often use these employer review sites to rant or use them as a sounding board for their frustrations.
The average rating on Glassdoor is 3.3, and it’s pretty reasonable to assume that many in that range provide a better experience than their reviews reflect.
Stats and Facts on Glassdoor and Workplace Review Sites
Glassdoor is the most well-known and frequented employer reviewer site. However, sites such as Indeed and Kununu(Monster) allow employees to leave employer reviews too. About 53% of job seekers on Glassdoor look at the company page, and with the unemployment rate at its lowest in since 1969, job seekers can be extremely selective with deciding where to apply.
For a quick look at job seekers actions consider these insights:
- 69% of candidates won’t’ take a job at a company that has a bad reputation, even if they’re currently unemployed.
- 83% of job seekers are likely to look at company reviews and ratings before applying for a job.
- 88% of Glassdoor visitors search or apply for jobs on the site.
The silver lining is that you can draw in ideal candidates through managing your Glassdoor employer reviews. You can respond to a review, flag a review, and encourage current employees to leave reviews, which may be more positive.
Can and Should You Respond to Negative Glassdoor Employer Reviews?
You can respond to reviews, and you should try to respond to as many as possible. Responding to reviews can have a few positive impacts:
- Show potential applicants that you notice and care about your employer brand
- Allow those employees the chance to leave a new review (not a response to your response)
- Address concerns or issues brought up in the complaint.
Avoid leaving defensive responses because it can further validate the claims made in the review. You should always thank the person. Even when the review is negative, and, if reasonable, address that the employer intends to make positive changes.
Responding to reviews can give applicants insight into the sort of feedback and communication that they should expect from your company.
Use Your Glassdoor Reviews to Address Real Problems
Give each complaint a chance. If you’re noticing patterns in your employer reviews, then you might consider making a few changes. In Glassdoor’s 2020 report for Employers, they report that 93% of employee reviews mention company culture. Other often voiced factors that could impact your recruits include internal career opportunities, trust in leadership, and employee morale.
Make changes, modify your policies, and more to acknowledge outdated views on diversity, growth, skill-building, and more. While you can’t change the reviews, you can make changes that will result in positive future reviews to back up the responses made to negative comments.
How Can You Build Positive Glassdoor Employer Reviews to Improve How Job Seekers View Your Company
Glassdoor and other employer review sites don’t prohibit or even discourage companies from encouraging their current employees to leave reviews. Glassdoor even provides templates for HR teams to promote new reviews.
Encouraging your employees to leave feedback on Glassdoor can give insight for potential applicants on the current state of the company. Ideally, your staff will leave honest feedback that explains the benefits, advancement opportunities, and what it’s like to work within your teams.