Company review sites aren't just a tool for prospective employees to gain insight into a company's pay, benefits and workplace culture. They also allow employers to determine where they might be going wrong and allows them to publicly respond to complaints and suggestions. These sites can also help employers weed out not-so-worthy acquisition candidates. What may have started as an employee review tool has evolved into much more, and it pays to know who's watching.
Job Seekers
Websites like Glassdoor, Indeed and Vault give individuals the opportunity to anonymously post reviews about companies they currently work for or worked for in the past. This can help prospective employees choose a company that best suits their lifestyle, according to Glassdoor, which has reviews listed for over 700,000 companies all over the world. Glassdoor even has awards that highlight the best places to work and highest-rated CEOs. For 2017, that CEO is Benno Dorer from The Clorox Company, who has a 99 percent rating. The two best places to work are Bain & Company, with a 4.6 out of 5 rating for large companies, and Greenhouse Software, with a 4.9 out of 5 rating for small and medium companies.
CEOs and Top Management
CEOs are also spending time on these company review sites, looking at what their former and current employees think of them, evaluating their workplace policies and responding to what people have to say. Due to the popularity of these company review sites, CEOs and top management can no longer sit on the sidelines and ignore possible negative press. They've got to take the time to respond to complaints, make changes where they can and investigate issues further. CEOs often don't have the ear of lower-level employees, and these sites give them the opportunity to hear those voices and do something about it.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Those in the area of corporate finance, management and strategy who deal with mergers and acquisitions also look at company review sites to gain further knowledge about acquisition targets. A company may look great on paper, and the acquisition may make strategic sense, but if it has an excessive number of negative reviews, the acquiring company may decide to walk away or take more time to do further investigation of the company's internal workings. Company review sites like Glassdoor are a treasure trove of information because they not only include company reviews but they also give acquiring companies details about jobs, salaries, interviews, benefits and company photos.
People looking for a job find company review sites an extremely helpful resource for a behind-the-scenes look at a company, but they're not the only ones taking a peek. CEOs and top management, as well as those interested in purchasing a company or buying its stock, also have a vested interest in how a company runs its business, and they're going to use all the resources possible to get an inside view.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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