We all know customer reviews are important, but employee feedback is also vital to a company’s reputation. Today, Glassdoor is a go-to employer review site that jobseekers check, so managing your reviews is important. Use this glassdoor reputation management guide to learn how to improve your ratings.
What is Glassdoor?
Glassdoor is an employer review site that allows employees to anonymously review companies they have worked for. Today’s job market isn’t just competitive for candidates, but companies as well. Finding the right talent is difficult, so managing your company’s public image is crucial.
The platform contains all kinds of information a jobseeker would want to know about a company, including:
- Feedback and ratings from former employees. These often include assessments of company culture, work-life balance, career opportunities, compensation, pros and cons, and advice.
- Salary information based on employee-reported data. This includes average salaries for job titles, bonuses, and benefits.
- Feedback about the interview process, even if the candidate wasn’t hired.
- Company-posted job listings.
- Workplace photos posted by the company or employees.
- Ratings for thing like diversity & inclusion, the CEO & senior leadership, etc
How Glassdoor Affects Your Business:
Any information on your company’s Glassdoor profile can affect your ability to recruit.
In fact, 86% of employees and job seekers research company reviews and ratings to decide on where to apply for a job. Plus, Glassdoor profiles rank highly in Google search results pages – meaning candidates will see them.
So, the site plays a massive role in your business’s reputation. Which, statistically, matters to job seekers:
- 75% of hiring managers say that reputation affects their ability to recruit
- 83% of job seekers don’t want to work for companies with bad reputations
- 55% of job candidates said they would reconsider their job application if the company had a negative Glassdoor profile
All this to say, negative feedback translates to difficulties finding top talent to work for you.
Businesses with bad reviews can even pay 10% more per hire (Harvard Business Review, March 2016). That’s because the most qualified candidates reject job offers from companies with a bad corporate reputation.
Plus, widespread negative feedback is often a symptom of poor company culture. So, on top of recruiting challenges, you probably also have a high turnover rate.
So what do you do about this?
Can You Get Reviews Removed from Glassdoor?
Glassdoor is all about authentic feedback. So as an employer, you can’t delete reviews on Glassdoor just because they make you look bad.
However, you can flag a review that violates the site’s terms of service. To violate the terms, they must contain:
- profanity
- confidential information
- advertisements or web links
- substantial quoted material
- excessive capitalization
- employee names (other than those in the C-Suite)
Also, employees can only leave “one review, per employer, per year, per review type”. So if you find a former employee spamming you with bad reviews, you can flag them.
How to Flag a Glassdoor Review
- Log into your employer account. If you don’t have one, you can create a free account and claim your employer profile.
- Go to your company’s review section and locate the specific review.
- Click the flag icon at the bottom-right corner of the review.
- From the dropdown menu, choose the reason you are flagging the review.
- Submit the report.
- Wait for a response. If the review violates their policies, they will request the employee to edit or just remove it. You will receive an email notification of the outcome.
Taking Legal Action Against Glassdoor Reviews
If the review contains defamation or slander, you should (in theory) be able to take legal action. However, there are some problems with this:
Glassdoor itself holds no liability for user-generated content, per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Basically, you can’t sue them.
And remember, employees are anonymous, so you likely won’t be able to get their name. This makes legal action difficult.
If the review contains false information (such as a disgruntled employee exaggerating information), follow our fake reviews guide.
If the review contains copyrighted material, you can submit a DMCA notice. However, most reviews likely won’t contain copyrighted content. If they do, it’s possible that it still falls under Fair Use.
Taking legal action might not be an option for you, but you still have other options.
How to Remove Glassdoor Reviews from Google Search Results
You may not be able to remove negative reviews on Glassdoor directly. At Reputation911, we’re all about suppressing negative search results, and the same goes for reviews.
To do this, follow these reputation management for Glassdoor strategies:
1.Claim your free employer account
Claiming your employer account lets you take control over your company’s profile. You can manage and update key information like your mission statement, logo, basic info, photos, updates, and more.
That way, you can showcase a positive brand reputation.
Follow these steps to claim your account:
- Go to Glassdoor for employers.
- Fill in your information, including job title, work email address, etc.
- Check the box to confirm that you represent HR, Recruiting, Marketing, PR, or am an executive at your company.
- Click “Create Account”.
- They may ask you for verification, such as confirming your email address or providing more business details.
Related Post: Optimize your Google Business Profile.
2.Join the conversation
Once you have your account set up, you’ll be able to respond to reviews, which you should.
We get it, you probably want to just bury your head in the sand and ignore bad or false reviews. But, that’s a bad idea, and the data shows it:
65% of review-reading jobseekers said their perception of a company improved after seeing an employer response.
Replying to both positive and negative comments at least shows that you care what your employees think. Remember to stay professional and constructive in your responses without getting defensive.
3.Foster a positive workplace culture
Improving your company culture is one of the most effective ways to improve your reputation on Glassdoor. No, this isn’t a short-term fix, but satisfied employees are more likely to leave glowing comments in the long-run.
Use these tips:
- Focus on improving employee satisfaction through better communication, employee recognition programs, and ensuring work-life balance.
- Conduct regular, anonymous employee surveys to truly understand their concerns. Take the feedback onboard and address issues that lead to negative feedback at the root cause.
- Offer your employees opportunities for growth and promote transparency in the organization.
4.Request feedback from your employees
Requesting feedback from happy, engaged employees can help balance out the negative. You can shift the entire tone of your Glassdoor profile with a steady flow of positive, honest reviews.
Note: This can backfire if you didn’t listen to us in step #3.
Follow these steps:
- Request feedback from employees through your employer account. Under “Review Management”, click “Request More Reviews” to send emails to your employees.
- Personalize the email request to each employee (or department if you have a large company). Explain why employee feedback is valuable.
- Encourage employees to share their honest, authentic experiences, both positive and constructive. Avoid pushing for overly positive praise.
Remember, timing could be important for this. Ask for reviews after positive events like company celebrations, bonuses, or successful project completions.
Conclusion: Glassdoor Reputation Management Strategies
Managing your reviews and reputation on Glassdoor is an ongoing effort. But, it’s a critical part of attracting and retaining top talent at your company. Reputation management is not just about damage control, but building a brand your employees are proud to work for.
If negative reviews are bringing your business down, Reputation911 is here to help. We offer a wide range of review management services to protect, promote, and restore your reputation. Contact us from a free consultation.