10 Ways Online Reviews Affect Employer Branding

Do you think your prospects don’t judge your online ratings and reviews? Do you think your existing reviews don’t affect your employer branding strategy? Think again.

From Facebook and Twitter to Glassdoor and Google, every employer is being reviewed across a multitude of platforms every single day. There are millions of job seekers are judging potential employers every minute based on those reviews and ratings.

The internet has changed the fundamentals of recruiting with more than 80% of job seekers relying on employer reviews before making a career move. While most people post positive reviews, it is really unfortunate that only the negative ones get all the attention. This adversely impact your company’s reputation.

Employer Branding and Negative Reviews

If you still feel that employer ratings won’t affect your employer branding strategy, here are 10 more reasons to rethink:

• The recent years have witnessed a significant rise in the number of employer review sites. These sites encourage both former and current employees to review their employers.
• In mere minutes, employee reviews reveal everything from company culture and compensation to work-life balance and opportunities for growth. This means that your prospect will make an informed decision based on an anonymous review from a past or present employee.
• According to 80% jobseekers, review websites are highly reliable and provide useful insights into the employee attitudes towards their employer
• Review sites allow anonymous reviews which include both pros and cons of working for a company
• More than 76% of candidates search jobs using a variety of sources and employee review sites form a major chunk of their search
• A majority of job seekers now actively look for reviews before making their final decision
• All review sites rate companies on the basis of their culture, work-life balance, compensation, management, and growth opportunities.
• More than 40% of job seekers say that before applying to any company, they check for at least a 3-star rating on a credible review site like Glassdoor.
• Disgruntled and unhappy employees have several forums for airing their grievances when employers don’t address them on time – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, Indeed and more.
• 46% of job seekers have stated that they accept a job offer only if the employer has positive reviews. If not they simply move on to the next offer.

In a competitive job market, negative reviews can easily discourage potential employees from applying. While you have no control over what people post about your company, you can definitely look great as an employer by relaying your values and culture through social media. Smart companies are already using this to their advantage and marketing their culture to attract top industry talent.

If you don’t want negative posts to reflect poorly on your brand, here are a few steps you can take:

• Sell your company culture by posting videos and images depicting a good work environment on your careers site.
• Set up alerts that instantly notify you whenever your brand is mentioned on a social platform or a review is posted. This will help you address issues immediately and prevent them from becoming big and going viral.
• If you come across negative reviews, address the grievances gracefully.
• Invite your own employees to post reviews on social media or any preferred and popular review sites. Turning your talented team members into brand ambassadors can give your employer brand an instant boost.
• Use your career site to convey what your prospects want to see. It is the best way to leave a lasting first impression on your prospective candidates.
• Ask your existing employees to inform the HR department if they come across any toxic posts on social media. When found, kindly have them removed. If you can’t remove them don’t resort to arguments. Try and refute the problems raised in the post.
• Conduct an exit interview to identify problem areas that lead to separations and improvise your existing employee policies if needed. This will also keep them from complaining online.

This should be an ongoing process if you want your existing employees to have a positive perception of their work life. You must reshape your recruiting strategies if needed. Ensure an excellent candidate experience when hiring candidates for your jobs.

Using recruiting software can be a major help when revamping your online presence. It allows you to showcase your talent brand effectively and attracts job seekers through a professional feel. In addition to this, it also allows you to customize the application process to make it fast and easy to follow. It has incredible features that allow you to make the most of the social media and boost your brand identity. Use it to your advantage and offer a seamless application experience that drives top talent to your interview table.