A collection of genuine positive online reviews is a force to be reckoned with. It can be the driving factor that dictates the success or failure of a business and propels a product to the top of Amazon’s search results. As for employers, employee reviews have the power to impact your brand in a similar way.
Glassdoor makes the case and reports an astounding 92 percent of employees would consider switching careers if given a chance to work for a company with a stellar reputation.
Bad reviews, on the other hand, can drive your turnover rate and undermine your talent acquisition capabilities.
So if you chanced upon this guide because you’re faced with bad reviews from your employees, you’re in the right place. To help you, we delve into the following:
- The importance of online reviews
- How to get employee feedback
- Responding to negative reviews (review monitoring and review response)
- Successfully manage employee reviews with Rize
The Importance of Online Reviews
Eighty-six percent of job seekers look up Glassdoor company reviews or employee reviews online to decide which company to apply to. Meanwhile, 75 percent of job searchers are likely to consider a job if the employer proactively manages its employer branding (Glassdoor).
The data clarifies the importance of online reviews or Glassdoor for employers: Job seekers, including valuable prospective employees you want on your team, rely on employee reviews when learning about a specific company.
How To Get Employee Feedback
Perhaps the top reason why many employers don’t want to get employee feedback, in general, is the chance of receiving the dreaded negative feedback. But when it comes to credibility, an employee’s voice is three times more likely to be trusted than the CEO’s when discussing the company’s working conditions or culture.
So if you want to bank on that credibility, you must be proactive in encouraging employee reviews. Here are two points to keep in mind:
- When to ask for feedback: Rize Reviews’ Senior Reputation Manager, Tim Clarke, said this highly depends on the company. But as a recommendation, Clarke suggested asking your new hires after the training process, which typically takes weeks, giving your new hires enough time to experience your company. While there’s no restriction on when to ask for Glassdoor employee reviews, it makes sense to wait.
- How to ask for feedback: Ask by sending an email and including a link to where you want them to leave Indeed or Glassdoor employee reviews. And while you should not incentivize your employees in any way (extra pay or gift cards) for Indeed or Glassdoor reviews, you can always thank them for their time and effort. Other ways to ask your employees is through your notice board or company town hall meeting, expressing how you want their voices to be heard.
Responding to Negative Reviews (Review Monitoring and Review Response)
Seeing as sincere employee reviews come with a mix of good and bad feedback, it’s essential to have a strategy for responding to negative reviews to attract and retain valuable employees. When you reply appropriately to Indeed or Glassdoor reviews, you demonstrate to prospective employees that you value your staff. It also shows that you are continually seeking ways to enhance the office environment and culture.
Seven out of 10 respondents to a survey said that after reading a company’s response to a review, their opinion had altered (Glassdoor data). So genuine reviews with proper responses from the management are the kind of social proof job searchers keep an eye out for, making review monitoring and response crucial.
Straighten Out the Facts
Negative reviews frequently contain more than simply opinions. Therefore, taking an employee’s statements seriously if they make accusations in an online review is crucial. Even if the allegations are untrue, the occurrence nonetheless merits (and may be legally required to undergo) a careful examination.
We asked Clarke, “What’s the first thing employers should do when they receive negative feedback?” He responded, “They should have a meeting and reply professionally on Indeed or Glassdoor.”
It’s essential to immediately determine whether you have a pressing problem at hand, but there’s no need to wait for a complete investigation before responding to the specific review. Instead, you can simply thank the employee and inform them that you’re looking into it.
Clarke added, “They should then take action to correct the problem if it’s a valid complaint that can be fixed.”
Respond Timely and Calmly
When replying to negative Glassdoor reviews, it is better to act quickly. Leaving a negative review unmanaged for weeks, if not months, has repercussions, such as losing valuable employees. Nevertheless, reacting prematurely to a negative review can be equally detrimental.
Glassdoor for employers can be overwhelming to manage at first. So it’s wise to dedicate an individual or team who should be reasonable and responsible for monitoring and responding to Glassdoor employee reviews. A dedicated reputation management services team will also eliminate the risk of sending an untimely and poorly phrased response.
Show Gratitude
It may sound futile to express gratitude for a negative review, but this straightforward gesture can do wonders if you mean it. Remember that employee feedback has proven instrumental in enhancing leadership efficacy and performance. So naturally, employees and job seekers highly regard management who ask for and welcome feedback.
Former workers who felt neglected will value your efforts to make amends. In the same way, potential employees will appreciate your positive outlook in the face of harsh criticism and take notice of your receptivity to it.
Take the Conversation Offline When Necessary
There are advantages to publicly reacting to bad reviews, but there are also some negatives to consider. Taking the chat offline after giving a brief yet satisfactory response is preferable because the matter might involve legal issues.
If you’re dealing with an irate employee or the situation entails sensitive information, it would be unsuitable to discuss in public. So instead of continuing the conversation online, suggest that the employee speaks with an HR official about the situation, providing contact information such as an email or phone number.
Flag False and Inappropriate Reviews
Because doing so would damage their reputation as an unbiased review platform, review sites like Glassdoor don’t permit companies to remove negative reviews on their own. However, employers may flag negative reviews if they break the terms of service or community rules for the website.
False statements, disparaging remarks against specific (non-executive) personnel, and the use of vulgar language are only a few examples of violations. After receiving a flagged review, the site admin will assess the content on Glassdoor for employers and, if found to be reprehensible, will remove it.
Automate Your Review Monitoring and Review Response With a Reputation Management Tool
As mentioned, it’s wise to dedicate an individual or team to manage your Indeed or Glassdoor company reviews, but even better to equip them with a reputation management tool. Find a reputation management services provider that can provide you with software to automate and streamline your processes.
Work With Reputation Management Consultants
Understandably, not everyone has the manpower or capability to dedicate anyone in-house to reputation management tasks. You always have the option to get in touch with
Successfully Manage Employee Reviews With Rize Reviews
According to Glassdoor, 86 percent of women and 67 percent of men in the U.S. wouldn’t consider a company with a poor reputation. But unfortunately, many employers don’t realize the impact of having a poor reputation that stems from unmanaged negative employee reviews.
One reason negative feedback is left unmanaged is the lack of notification. So this is where premier
Talk to our reputation management consultants to learn how else we can help you improve your employer brand reputation.
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