Encouraging positive reviews of your business on popular job-search sites
If you’re online, you’ve likely gone down the rabbit hole of digging into reviews a time or two. Whether trying to decide which hotel to book or if you should buy a particular shirt, we have all come to rely on reviews – the largely unfiltered, honest feedback of our fellow shopper. And as we’ve all experienced, when the same issue is raised by multiple reviewers, it’s likely to be rooted in truth.
This practice has expanded beyond products and travel to encompass the place where many of us spend such a sizeable portion of our time – the workplace. So, as a brand – and an employer – it’s certainly in your best interest to ensure your online review presence is strong. Such reviews can provide valuable insight into your workplace culture and can go a long way toward advancing your employer brand and attracting the candidates best suited to your business.
Here’s how you can improve, increase, or augment your online review presence:
Invite reviews
The easiest way to gain reviews is simple: ask! You can go about this in a number of ways, but your current employees are excellent candidates. Explain what you want and why it’s important. And put your requests on your calendar – asking maybe once or twice a year. Make responding as simple as possible, as that will likely increase participation. Provide links and perhaps even an optional template…
Encourage authenticity
…But don’t go so far as to only include employees you think will leave glowing remarks or curate only positive reviews. As programmed as we are to manage our messages, this is a place where that will not work to our benefit. Readers recognize authenticity and what’s more, sites like Glassdoor and Indeed have policies against bribery or retaliation. Encourage your employees to be honest… that will go a long way toward attracting candidates who might be the best match for your workplace.
Monitor responses
Don’t just ask for reviews and check the item off of your to-do list. Monitor responses and respond with regularity. As much as we all hope to receive only five-star reviews, look at this as an additional opportunity to identify areas ripe for improvement in terms of employee satisfaction.
Adjust accordingly
Once you’ve seen responses, take action! If there are grumbles about portions of the interview or length of the onboarding process, do what you can to improve. Likewise, make sure you tout your positive feedback as points of particular pride. Doing this shows your employees – current and potential – that you value their input, and that their feedback has the ability to inspire real change.
A little effort toward seeking and reviewing employee reviews can go a long way toward building your employer brand. If you need a little help getting started, let’s put our heads together to craft templates for reviews and responses.
