The way you handle reviews builds a positive or negative reputation. You can’t remove bad reviews, so in this post we talk about handling them professionally.
Close to 50% of Glassdoor users read your reviews before speaking with your company. This makes it essential to have a good reputation on Glassdoor. It is worth remembering that almost all companies have and will receive some negative reviews. This post will walk you through what to do if your company has bad reviews on Glassdoor. We'll cover simple tips and tricks to boost brand image.
flag up fake reviews.
Although you don't want to ignore genuine reviews, fake reviews will stick out like a sore thumb. You cannot rely on Glassdoor spotting these, so you need to flag reviews that you believe Glassdoor should remove. You do this by selecting the flag icon on the review and choosing the relevant reason you want it removed.
You cannot just ask Glassdoor to remove a review just because you do not like it; you have to have a reason for asking for something to be removed. Here are some of the reasons you might be able to get Glassdoor to remove a review:
- The review might have been accidentally associated with your company. For example, you get a review from a US candidate and you have no operations and employ no US staff. These type of errors can be fairly common especially if your organisation has a generic name.
- It breaches Glassdoor’s guidelines (e.g. swearing, bullying, attacking a named employee etc)
- Contains false information. This is really hard to prove so most reviews that are flagged for this do not get removed.
- You believe the same person has written multiple reviews. Once again this is very hard to prove.
fix the problems from within your company.
Next, look for any issues that pop up regularly. The best way to handle company reviews is to fix the problem internally. If many previous employees talk about, micromanagement, or salaries being a bit low, you'll need to address these issues.
If you don't fix them, your company could build a bad reputation, turning potential employees away and decreasing your talent pool.
This doesn't mean you have to hunt for every problem in reviews. Simply look for a series of similar complaints and look to tackle them one at a time.
But what if you notice a more serious pattern of problems? Maybe some reviews complain about toxic work culture or micromanagement.
You need to sit down with management and employees and hold a meeting where everyone can discuss the workplace problems they're experiencing. Use anonymous surveys if you feel like workers won't speak their minds in a meeting.
Once you've solved these problems, move on to the next step.
respond to honest criticism and feedback.
According to Glassdoor, 62% of users report that their image of a company improves after seeing them respond to reviews.
This can be achieved when replying to reviews; remain professional. Even if you feel this review is wrong and spreads misinformation, you don't want to get emotional or angry since it'll harm your brand image. See it as an opportunity to improve. These users give you free constructive criticism on what your company can do better. So thank the reviewer for any criticism, apologise, and explain what you're doing to prevent it from happening again.
For example, if someone complains about having too little holiday time, you could say something like:
“Hey [name]. Thank you for taking the time to post a review on our Glassdoor page. We apologise if you weren't given a chance to make use of your holiday time. We've run an internal report and found that many employees have saved up holiday time. So we're encouraging them to use it."
check for any spelling and grammar mistakes.
Spelling and grammar errors make your brand look unprofessional. And when potential employees see these replies and come across typos, it may draw them away.
You can't edit anything on Glassdoor once you've posted it. So it's essential to proofread replies a few times and even paste your text into a tool like Grammarly.
It also helps to ask your colleagues for help. This way, you aren't just looking for spelling and grammar issues but also clarity and professionalism. They might spot a sentence or two that doesn't read well, and you can work on it together.
respond to additional feedback.
Remember that Glassdoor reviews aren't one-way communication. Think of it like a text message where parties can communicate back and forth. But remember, once they post a review and you reply that is the end of the conversation.
But after you've replied to negative reviews by thanking them, apologising, and explaining how you're fixing the problem, your job isn't over.
Listen to what each Glassdoor user has to say and reply politely and professionally. They felt the need to take time out of their busy schedule to give feedback, so after your first response, they'll likely reply.
If they thank you for fixing the problem, job done. But if users notify you of any other issues within your company, you'll want to resolve them also.
building a Glassdoor reputation made easy.
A solid reputation on Glassdoor attracts talent to your company and makes the hiring process less expensive. But handling bad reviews properly is vital since it shows professionalism and can even attract potential employees.
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