Ignoring employer review sites such as Glassdoor just isn’t an option
A quick internet search for your company name and ‘employee reviews’ and the results are enough to keep any HR professional up at night. No matter how much time and resource you pump into protecting your employer brand, there is no escaping the negative press. The question becomes, should we engage with it?
Historically, I have never thought there was much to gain from replying publicly to positive or negative reviews placed within very visible forums. At Mencap, we face the difficult responsibility of crossing both charity and service sectors, and historically we’ve taken the ‘head-in-the-sand’ approach and largely ignored any viral comment.
But I had cause to reconsider when the organisation experienced a significant number of reviews which were simply not factual or had been written in a way that potentially damages the brand that as HR professionals we all work incredibly hard to build up, establish and promote.
These types of websites – Glassdoor and Indeed, for example – do encourage employers to respond to reviews that staff members and applicants leave, however they do not make it easy for an organisation to take ownership of its public profile. For example, it takes at least three days of email battles to get a hastily-responded post removed, and by then the damage to the brand is already done.
Before I commenced responding on behalf of our organisation, I felt it appropriate to review other employer responses. I was surprised that some respond poorly, replying to critical reviews with aggressively defensive commentary, almost to the point of calling out the reviewer as a liar, or alternatively, replying to positive reviews in such a way that potentially casts doubt on the authenticity of the positive reviews themselves. In both cases, would the employer be better off not responding at all?
If I respond to each and every review, will it come across as trying to ‘manage’ the discussion? Are the majority of employees or applicants who leave the reviews on these sites looking for a response at all, or just a place to vent?
All that considered, the employer and recruitment brand of any organisation can be seriously damaged by one or two reviews which go unanswered. And those rare cases where an employee or applicant has outright falsified their version of events can be catastrophic. I believe there is an argument for a short, dispassionate response putting the record straight. The key is to do it without sounding defensive. Don’t focus the bulk of your reply on the fact the reviewer is wrong, but instead on “here’s how we handle these issues; here’s what we strive for and why.” And of course, write it in a way that sounds like a real person and not a statement constructed to deflect criticism.
Responding to a review is a great way for the individual to feel their voice has been listened to. Our internal employee forums haven’t always attracted buzzing debate, but by engaging with externally available platforms and providing an avenue for them to engage further with the employer, it reaffirms the organisation’s commitment to employee engagement and strengthens the employer brand.