By Jessica Ayre
Online reviews from employees provide valuable insight into your work culture, management style, and overall employee satisfaction—which is crucial for recruiting new applicants.
Businesses like yours need plenty of reviews to attract new hires. Here’s why they’re so important, and how you can get them.
1. The more reviews you have, the higher you’ll rank in prospective employees’ online searches
Earning more reviews on sites such as Google, Facebook, and Glassdoor helps you rank higher in search results. You rank higher because Google and other search engines interpret having more reviews as being authoritative. That results in more screen cover and traffic for your business, so potential employees will come to you instead of others.
Outshine your competitors on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) by ensuring that you have an abundance of reviews across your review platforms. The more reviews you have, the more likely you are to show up at the top of the SERP.
So how does each platform stack up?
- Google Reviews show up prominently in search engine results, making it easier for potential employees to find you
- Glassdoor is specifically designed for employee reviews and insights, making it the go-to resource for candidates researching your company
- Facebook has a massive user base, making it an effective platform for reaching a wide audience and growing brand exposure
Ensuring you have an ample number of reviews across these platforms—and others that may be relevant to your specific industry—positions you as a top choice.
2. Prospective employees want to know what it’s like to work with you
Your online reputation is a crucial part of your image, especially when you’re trying to attract top talent. Job seekers typically research a company’s reputation before applying, and online reviews factor heavily into their decision to work for a company.
While it’s normal to have a healthy mix of positive and negative feedback, potential employees tend to avoid applying to companies that have a high number of negative online reviews. It’s in your best interest to manage your online reputation to mitigate negative feedback by:
- Responding to every review, both positive and negative
- Acknowledging an employee’s negative experience and offering a resolution
- Being active on social media platforms and engaging with your audience
When it comes to addressing complaints, be intentional about responding internally. Sometimes you just need to explain why things are done the way they are, especially regarding processes that employees don’t have a full understanding of.
You can’t always control what people have to say about your business, but you can control the way you respond and how willing you are to resolve someone’s frustration. That speaks lengths about your commitment to taking feedback — which future employees will appreciate.
3. Current employee feedback is just as important as customer reviews
The most valuable feedback is going to come from former and current employees on websites like Glassdoor and Google Reviews. Asking for feedback on these websites is key to attracting new hires.
Make it easy for employees to give you feedback, by texting internal review links to your Glassdoor listing. Email works similarly, and asking in person is always a personable approach that people appreciate.
Existing employees will be happy to give you positive Glassdoor reviews when you treat them well and demonstrate you care about what they have to say. A lot of awards for best places to work or best work cultures are given based on platform reviews. So if you have happy employees who want to help the company, that can be part of your pitch.
4. Actively encouraging feedback on social media platforms draws candidates in
Building and maintaining your social media presence is another crucial facet of your online reputation. A platform like Facebook is a great place to showcase your company culture, your victories, and to gather reviews from customers.
Once you get the reviews you need, share them on your other social media channels to draw in potential candidates the positive impact your company makes. You can do this by:
- Creating a graphic with a quote from a happy employee or customer review
- Sharing Glassdoor ratings next to your hiring posts
- Taking time to respond to any comments left by customers or employees
You need to be active on social media presence anyway. Then when you’re ready to post about hiring, you’ll get more traction.
Engaging happy customers and employees on social media is a key part of getting them to spread the good word to your audience, as well as their professional and personal circles. Use social media as a tool to highlight their positive reviews to potential hires.
How to get more employee reviews
Here’s how you can start asking for them through email:
- Send personalized, brief emails to your team, and explain why reviews are important to your organization
- Provide examples of the kind of feedback you’re looking for
- Include a clear, direct link in the email to your preferred review platform, such as Google or Glassdoor
You can also use a text messaging reputation management tool to send out similar review requests to your team. With a high open rate, reaching your employees via SMS is a sure way to get your review request seen almost instantly. Both options are a conversational approach to gathering reviews for your business, and you’re more likely to get a response since people use their phones constantly.
Attract top talent with reviews and internal feedback
Employee reviews are a powerful tool for recruiting top talent. By treating your workforce well and asking for feedback, you’ll be able to earn those reviews and bring in key employees.
Ready to earn more reviews within your organization? Find a reputation management software that’s right for you.
Jessica Ayre is a content marketing specialist at Text Request, a business texting solution. If your business wants to start texting with your audience and earning more high-quality reviews, Text Request can give you all the tools and resources you need to create a successful strategy.
