Dealing with Negative Glassdoor.com Reviews

With the advent of the Internet and explosion of social media, people now have a plethora of outlets to expound on all aspects of their lives. In some instances, they can do so behind the mask of anonymity. One area of increasing concern to many in the corporate world are websites like Glassdoor.com, which provide job seekers with insights into companies they may be considering for their next jobs.
      These insights are only possible because current and former employees can anonymously post their salaries and commentaries about what it’s like to work there.
      More often than not, those commentaries are negative, even for organizations that do well in “Best Places to Work” type surveys. Because websites like this enable individuals to vent their frustrations and disappointments incognito, it’s not surprising that the site tends to attract more negative commentary than positive.
      After all, on the flip side, people who are happy with their employer and their jobs have little reason to go out of their way to post a review saying so. Contributors to Glassdoor’s reviews are self-selecting in that way and, like online polls, the collective impression they leave cannot be considered a scientific sampling or an accurate reflection of the true internal state of the organization.
      Meanwhile, company leadership is often puzzled and frustrated to read negative commentary that runs contrary their own experiences, especially when they believe they are making the necessary investments in people and work environments to help ensure that theirs is a great place to work.

Considerations
That’s not to say that the criticisms should be ignored or belittled. But there are a number of factors in any given situation to consider before determining the most appropriate response:

• Calendar – Consider all the posts in the context of the calendar. Do the more negative comments occur around the same time? Does that coincide with internal turmoil and change? For instance, was there a leadership shake-up or mass layoff? Were your financials down and, as a result, expected bonuses and raises/promotions not forthcoming? If so, then consider the commentary a temporary anomaly. However, as the internal situation improves, make sure that the negative commentary dies down, too.
• Consistency – Look for consistencies (and inconsistencies) in the commentary. Do the same words and phrases recur? Are any of these words and phrases familiar to you? Have you heard them in office gossip or exit interviews? Do they seem accurate? Or are they just plain false? Nevertheless, if they are untrue and misleading but are repeated on the site, that in itself is noteworthy. Perhaps commenters are merely echoing what’s been said before, but maybe not. Consistency can also mean that something is amiss.
• Location – Weigh commentary from different locations and see whether they differ or are similar. Does one location seem to garner more negativity than all the rest? What’s going on there? Have there been any difficulties related to local management turnover or other local factors?
• Survey – Compare the commentary with what you’ve learned in any recent internal employee surveys, particularly verbatim comments, if your survey invited them. Does the Glassdoor.com commentary align with the commentary gleaned from the surveys? If you find consistency of criticism among the posts similar to the comments found in your survey, then your challenge is clear-cut, and your response should be too.

Refute the Falsehoods
Tempting as it may be, it would be unwise to engage in an online debate with the critics. Sure, you should respond to and refute outright falsehoods on the site, but focus most of your energies on engaging your internal audience directly. Start by making open discussions about these types of criticisms a regular part of leadership’s formal and informal encounters with employees.
      If you’re not doing it already, consider adding monthly or twice-monthly casual lunches or breakfasts with a dozen randomly selected employees with the CEO or other members of the leadership team. Use the opportunities to directly cite the criticisms mentioned on Glassdoor.com and/or employee surveys. Ask about employees’ personal experiences and whether they find the critiques fair.
      You may not get total openness initially, but keep at it. Even if no one in the room confesses to sharing those doubts, the fact that leaders are showing sincerity in asking about these issues will spread quickly and hearten employees who may have doubts about the organization. Meanwhile, your everyday internal communications should directly and indirectly address the issues being raised in the negative commentaries, and in so doing, indicate your awareness of the problems and your desire to do something about them.
      In a similar vein, if your Glassdoor.com reviews show a concentration of negativity at a single location, you’ve gained a new insight you may not have known about. Focus your energies there. Senior leadership needs to get a better understanding of the gaps at the site – whether it’s a matter of poor local management or other factors – and address them directly. It would also be helpful for senior leadership to be more visible at the location in the near term to help bring listening, communications and understanding to bear on the situation.
      If, on the other hand, you find the criticisms inconsistent and often out of left field, it’s probably safe to relax, no matter how negative they may seem. Remember that there are complainers in every crowd and you’ll never make everyone happy. Just be sure to continue monitoring the commentary while, at the same, investing time and energy in engaging your employees consistently, regularly and honestly.
      Lastly, don’t panic. Let’s remember that the purpose of Glassdoor.com is to help prospective employees get a better feel for the company they are considering joining. Most people who include Glassdoor’s services in their job hunt know how to read between the lines of negative commentary.