How Are Your Employees Really Rating Your Business On Social Media?

What do your employees think about your business?  What experience do they take with them when they leave? Are they rating your business on social media? What impressions do they give to potential hires?

If you haven't come across Glassdoor.com and you work in HR, perhaps you should take a look.  This is the website where your employees can share their views (good and bad) about working for your company.  Employees are invited to log-on for free and write a review in much the same way TripAdvisor does for hotels.

So why should you care?  Surely only disgruntled employees who resign from the business feel compelled enough to leave a review? This is where rating your business on social media can make or break your brand's reputation.  Well, that maybe the case but their views are broadcast to the world and remain there for all to see.   Take a look at one of the worst rated companies on the site - Blinkx.   True or false, the reviews don't create a great employer brand impression.  Social media allows word to spread quickly.

Businesses are now living in glass houses - the employer brand is exposed.

When a business invests time and resources into attracting the best talent to the organisation, bad reviews can interrupt the recruitment process - perhaps even stop it altogether.  Some top talent won't even consider employers that carry such negative brand sentiment.

You only need to look to the most socially savvy generation currently entering the workforce - Generation Y.  A recent research study by Johnson Controls reveals that those Generation Y members entering the workplace or preparing to do so have high expectations for what their "office" should look like and offer its employees.   This generation is quite a significant one with over 1.7bn people worldwide falling into this category making up an estimated 25% of the worlds working population.  They are looking to sites like Glassdoor and checking out an employers brand perception in the market before they make any decisions on their career path.

The key here is to engage your staff to a point where they want to leave a positive review.  I left Hitachi a couple of years ago to join SAP but I've taken a hugely positive brand experience with me.  I have fond memories when I see the logo.  If people ask my opinion about the business, it will be positive.  I still have a good relationship with the leadership team and I'll sometimes visit the office when I'm back in the UK.

The employee brand experience should not only focus on current employees.  It should impact potential employees and ex-employees.  How are your employees really rating your business on social media? Make sure the experience is inclusive, positive and tribal.