On Facebook, once your profile is set up you can interact with people from all over the world, in all kinds of communities, and share your opinion on all kinds of matters. Glassdoor however, works a little differently.
If you are an employer, chances are more than likely that your organisation has a Glassdoor account. This social media platform is a great tool through which companies are reviewed, by their (ex)employees, on several factors such as; their interview process, CEO approval rating and even their compensation. Glassdoor has successfully leveled the playing field leaving some employers pulling out their hairs in fits of anxiety. This article is here to act as a tranquiliser. However, much like with any obstacle in life, there are many solutions to this problem!
Post your own content
Seeing as to how your employees will tell their side of the story it makes sense that companies share their side as well. Posting things, such as; photos of your offices, articles on life at your company or even employer branding videos, can of course be done in a way which does not make it seem like you are selling yourself too much.
Promote its use among your employees
If you can’t fight ‘em join ‘em. A head of HR, in a recent interview, told me that their company had “begun to use the tool by trying to build their own community there” and were actively promoting employees to use the tool and review them online. While this works better for companies which are looked upon in a more favorable light by their employees it might provide for a really good source of feedback. While this feedback may at times be very critical, understandable given the anonymous nature in which the feedback is given, it can at times be a very good source of improvement for the HR department of the company being reviewed.
Act on feedback
Sometimes you might just be dealing with a single disgruntled employee but other times the feedback provided could prove to be very valuable. I recently saw a case which merits a mention simply because of its extreme display of transparency. Several employees, from the company, had been complaining about a lack of a formal pension plan in the company. How did they react? First they thanked the employees for their feedback and then stated that, due to their feedback, this issue was being prioritised. One month later in rolls a new pension plan and employee reviews not only increase in number but also in rating!
Treat your employees well
This one seems kind of self explanatory but I will mention it anyway as it loosely relates to the previous point. It goes without saying that, if you treat your employees like dirt, they will not only leave but will likely be bitter about it while doing so. You should never treat your employees well simply to get better reviews but more because it’s just the right thing to do. I believe the best way to accentuate this point is to repeat something, which a Global HR Director from a games development company said to me recently in an interview, and that was “We take Glassdoor very seriously. We want to be as transparent as possible and if we do well the mirror image will be online for people to see!”.
If you enjoyed reading this article, but you’re wondering how to apply this advice to your company, please feel free to send an email to sayhello@zartis.com as we would be happy to help.
