Are Review Sites Sabotaging Your Business?

These days, having a disgruntled employee is more than just a nuisance. It can mean big time damage to your brand if you’re not careful.

Voices are amplified today with the influx of social media. This amplification goes beyond a quick rant on Facebook or Twitter. It can flow over to review sites and do serious damage to your brand’s reputation. One review website that’s particularly threatening to many business owners is GlassDoor.com.

What is GlassDoor.com?

It is a review website where employees go to review employers. It’s anonymous, which means anyone can speak freely about his or her experience with your company.

The website might not seem like a potential threat until you realize how likely it is that the talent you’re trying to recruit will see every bad review. And that’s not all. Customers could read it too.

The website has a high domain authority, which means it’s highly likely that it’ll be seen and read by many people – not just your potential employees. With over 85% of customers reading reviews to learn about a business, GlassDoor poses a direct threat to your marketability both of employees and customers. If the website shows you do not treat your employees well, customers might automatically assume, “then how will they treat me?” This could put an immediate negative spin on your brand, unintentionally sabotaging your business.

It Can Happen to Anyone

Still not convinced this is a real risk for your business? Consider this case study from Amazon.

A New York Times article recently lashed out at Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, for his “brutal” work environment. This company is constantly on the hunt for new talent to bring to their team. They’re also trying to steal that top talent from fellow competitors, such as Apple and Google.

In a report on CNN Money about the article, GlassDoor was referenced. It found that even though 82% of employees had a favorable experience working at the tech company, only 62% would recommend their friends to work there. Apple had 82% of employees referring the company to their friends and Google had 92% of employees referring their employer to their friends.

These numbers are potentially damaging. Bezos spoke out about the story and about himself as an employer. Still, the publicity this story received and the follow up of reviews from GlassDoor could mean the difference between getting top ranked employees and medicore team members who won’t perform as well.

Higher rankings on GlassDoor mean a stronger competitive advantage. Here’s how to sleep better at night knowing you’re ensuring your reviews on the review site will remain positive.

Offer Benefits to Your Employees

A large paycheck is no longer sufficient for compensation. Many Millennials (the generation most likely to leave a review) place higher value on experiences over things. These days, talent wants bigger perks, such as unlimited time off, healthy benefits packages, and at-work activities or engagement.

Take a look at your benefits package. Is it up to par? Is there anything else you could be offering? If so, add it in. Doing so could pay dividends when trying to attract new talent and new customers.

Harness Technology in Your Business

One perk you won’t want to neglect is technology.

86% of people say gadgets have improved their lives, according to Harris Interactive. Neglecting to allow smartphones, smartwatches, and other gadgets into the office can immediately lower your employee’s satisfaction and cause a rift in your team.

Allowing your employees to bring their favorite gadgets doesn’t have to mean a plummet in productivity. In fact, the more you can use technology to manage your business, the more productive you’ll be.

For example, there’s an app for just about everything these days. Use an online scheduling application to manage your employees schedules. This way, they can login and view the most recent schedule anywhere, anytime. It makes it easier on your employees to know what’s expected of them and, in turn, keeps them happier knowing they’re always in the loop with the schedule. No questions. No doubts. All positive interactions with your brand.

Encourage GlassDoor Reviews

Don’t shy away from reviews on this website, or any others for that matter. Encourage reviews from your top talent.

It’s important to note that encouraging reviews does not mean incentivizing employees to write glowing remarks on the website. Instead, it means to let your employees know it’s available and ask them to share their experience online. The more you can get your happy employees talking about your brand, the better GlassDoor will work for your business.

Read Reviews Often

Hiding from negative reviews isn’t a smart strategy for combatting the potential damage. Instead, you need to face them head on.

Some websites encourage brands to respond to every review. Other websites discourage it or flat out don’t allow it. GlassDoor is one of those websites that doesn’t allow business owners to react to disgruntled employees.

So what can you do to move past it?

Read the reviews and listen to what’s being said. Is there a common thread of frustration between the reviews you could fix? Is there an idea planted there that could benefit your business moving forward? Be open to this feedback. The more you’re willing to hear it and change, the fewer negative reviews you’ll have. You’ll attract better talent and more customers just by listening.

Viewing Review Sites as an Opportunity

Review websites might seem threatening, but there is actually plenty of opportunity buried within them. With this employee review website specifically, you can use the feedback as an opportunity to expand your business and attract even better talent.

Listen to the feedback, make the changes that make sense, and start bringing in better team members as a result. Encourage people to leave their two cents. It might be the most honest review you’ve received of your business.

Images: “ Review Character Showing Assess Reviewing Evaluate And Reviews /  Shutterstock.com“

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