Prospective employees are more likely to trust Glassdoor for information about a workplace than almost any other source.
Careers advice website Glassdoor was found to be the third most trusted source of information (68%) about what it’s like to work in a company. The site came behind only family feedback (80%), and colleague or ex-colleague feedback (89%).
Only 56% of respondents stated that they trust a company’s own information about itself.
Glassdoor launched in the UK in 2013. Whilst the site allows users to view a large database of salary and CEO information, it is best known for its anonymous employee reviews. These detail both the good and the bad of the workplace culture, and allow a prospective employee to make an informed decision about whether to join an organisation or not.
A company cannot remove a review but they can respond to it, which allows them to defend themselves against any unsubstantiated claims. 65% of respondents agreed that this has a positive impact upon how trustworthy they consider the site to be. However the site is not just a forum for the disaffected, as aggregate scores indicate that most people leaving reviews are satisfied by their employment.
Tom Lakin, Director of Career Design told HR Magazine that user-generated content such as that provided by Glassdoor is becoming an increasingly larger part of how we make important choices. “I read reviews on TripAdvisor before choosing where to eat,” he said.
“We sit at our desks 40 hours a week, so having the opportunity to make a more informed choice is compelling. People are using Glassdoor as another source of information before making a big decision.”
Glassdoor might seem threatening to an employer, but it is a means of receiving honest feedback from your employees about what it is really like to work in your workplace. Whilst you have no way of stopping a bad review from going public, being a professional employer in the first place will give you a much better defence.
Of course, the more professional you are as an employer, the less likely you are to receive negative feedback anyway.
