Hiring managers have been socially ‘creeping’ potential employees for years. Whether through Facebook or LinkedIn, chances are if you have applied for a job, you’ve been checked out.
And now thanks to a crop of new employer review websites, employees now have that same privilege.
For those of you unfamiliar with these sites, Glassdoor and RateMyEmployer allow job seekers to sift through reviews of prospective employers—or write their own critique of previous or current workplaces.
Glassdoor, who labels itself as an “Inside Look at companies”, shares salary expectations, personal reviews, overviews, and pictures. Meanwhile RateMyEmployer encourages people to empower themselves with behind-the-scenes information usually not covered during the recruitment process to make informed career decisions. Both these sites are based of anonymous reviews, giving employees the confidence to speak out without ramifications of losing their job.
When a workplace is a healthy environment, transparency can be an employer’s best friend. However when a workplace is toxic is where things can get a little ugly.
Disgruntled employees are using these sites to complain about pretty much everything they can. From salary to culture to leadership— there really is very little employees aren’t willing to share. Because of these 'forums', unhealthy work environments and toxic managers are being exposed like never before. Horrible bosses can’t hide anymore—because if they are behaving unfairly, they are going to get called out on it.
If you think it doesn’t have a real effect on a company's reputation, think again. How your organization’s brand is presented to potential job seekers can and will have long-term consequences on acquiring talent.
Naturally these sites are causing many employers to feel powerless. However this presents an opportunity as well. These sites give employers insight into glaring issues that they might previously be unaware of, allowing them to do damage control before it’s too late. It also provides workplaces a free benchmark against peers from the same industry.
Employers should take the time to monitor what people say about them on these sites and take legitimate criticism seriously. Like it or not, employees will talk about their time at a workplace. And when they do, what will they say about you?
