Today, if we look, Online Reputation Management is very essential, as you won’t find a single recruiter looking out for an average employee. Every recruiter aims to hire the best candidate for their company. But aiming just doesn’t get results, to attract such outshining candidates, one needs to have a solid employer brand reputation that would reflect what they are looking for. As, just like recruiters, candidates are too looking to work for an organization that has a strong brand reputation.
It has been observed that candidates looking for a job are also keenly interested in working for certain employers who potentially have specific qualities, including, a strong market reputation, fair policies and protocols, good salary, in-house professional training, better leaves and encashment policies, pickup and drop facility, accommodation benefits and much more.
It has also been observed that talented individuals consider things like job experience and intangible qualities when considering a job. As a matter of fact, one in three candidates turned down their job offers just because the company had a bad online reputation. This certainly emphasizes why having a strong online reputation is important for any organization.
And for this getting help from the best online reputation management agency is the top choice to make. Only with the finest ORM services, one can save their organization’s online reputation from getting damaged.
Introduction to Online Reputation & Branding:
Before delving into online reputation, let’s discuss brand reputation. Essentially, it’s what people, whether they’re associated with your organization or not, perceive about your company.
This is where people form their opinions about your employees and stakeholders based on how they act and communicate within the organization. What’s intriguing is that your online reputation is just a component of this larger picture.
Basically, it’s about what others publicly say about your organization. Nowadays, people freely express their opinions about products, services, and companies. Whatever they say can be easily found when people search for your company online, possibly affecting your organization’s reputation, especially on the first page of Google search results.
Your brand’s reputation and online image should ideally be the same, but they’re not always. For example, a business might be well-liked locally and have happy customers and staff, yet have little online presence. If one employee leaves a negative review online, it could show up prominently in Google search results, even if it’s just one person’s opinion. This could make the company seem like a bad place to work, despite it being generally well-regarded.
Let’s see another example, just imagine a former employee suing the company, and this lawsuit appears in the brand’s search results. Now, the truth might be that the employee wasn’t performing well and was let go for valid reasons. But, even if the case is dropped later, the negative news could still show up on the first page of Google search results.
How Online Reputation Affects Recruitment:
When a company has negative stuff online, like bad reviews from employees, it becomes a difficult situation for recruiters to hire new employees. And, possibly, only fewer people might want to work there as they see the negative information. But it’s not just about fewer people applying for jobs.
When companies start with their hiring process, there are many steps involved, like posting job ads and making offers. Here, any negative online information about the company can make candidates change their minds, even after going through the interview rounds. In certain situations, companies have to spend more money on ads, longer interviews, and possibly offer higher pay to convince people to join.
Also, if a company stands with a bad reputation, they might end up hiring candidates that weren’t accepted by other companies. So, these hired candidates may not care as much and possibly could leave sooner. This situation can even cost a company even more money.
It has been observed that a damaged reputation makes it hard to find relevant candidates. So, the hiring time gets lengthier. This delay can hurt the company’s operations, dealings, and brand image.
Dealing with Negative Reviews and Improving Your Online Reputation:
A company’s online reputation can impact its hiring process, but there are different ways to fix it. Know that, there is a solution for every problem, and in this case, you can fix this issue by hiring the best ORM services that can manage your business’s reputation.
By that time, we can discuss what possibly needs to be done.
When you are dealing with a bad reputation, it’s important for you to know the core issue. Speaking of any company’s reputation, it is always its ex-employees, who were either laid off due to certain reasons or were unhappy with the company’s internal work policies. It could be anything. You know the reality, and so, you must address negative employee reviews and take proactive steps to improve your online image.
By following certain measures, you can safeguard your company’s reputation. To guide you, we will be taking the example of a Glassdoor platform, which is the most preferred choice for employees to share their thoughts about the company they have worked for or are still working for.
If there happens to be any negative remarks about your company on a platform like Glassdoor, possibly, you can do the following:
Reporting Negative Reviews on Glassdoor:
If you see a fake negative review about your company on Glassdoor, you can try to get it taken down. But remember, Glassdoor has strict rules for this. You must have strong evidence that the review is fake. To report a bad review, just click the flag icon next to it and pick a reason from the menu. But keep in mind, that most bad reviews on Glassdoor follow the rules, so you can’t just report them all. Only use this if you’re sure the review is fake.
Improving Your Online Image to Hide Bad Glassdoor Reviews:
When you’re dealing with or removing negative Glassdoor reviews, your only aim is to push them down in Google search results. But, most people only check the first page, so if you can bury the negative comments deeper, and so, even when you do the needful, still fewer people can see it. Understand that this process is not an easy one, it’s time-consuming and requires patience. You will have to create ample content and optimize it for search engines.
Also, we have a few tips to share with you that might help you lower those negative results:
- You can make use of Social Media, just be active on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. They rank well in searches and can reduce negative content. Most companies do follow this method.
- Also, you can feature employee reviews on your company website. By doing this people can see the positive side of the company, and how employees are satisfied working with your organization. When you control the content, you can shape your image.
- Get on with blogs, and focus more on your company’s in-house culture. Optimize it for your brand’s name to boost its visibility on Google.
- Claim profiles on various review sites, not just Glassdoor. Sites like Indeed, and a few others. This can also help you in improving your search results.
If you’re worried about your company’s online reputation and are struggling with the recruitment process due to a weak reputation, you can consider getting help from a trusted firm like IBRANDtech. They’re experts in digital marketing, web design, and development, and hold a solid account of success. Their team is well experienced and offers customized solutions depending on every business’s preferences.
We don’t mean to force you on this decision, just a fair piece of advice that you can count on. As we understand, every company has the right to stand strong with its online reputation, and this can be achievable with the help of ORM expert agencies. Their expertise could boost your online reputation on sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and many others. So, we hope this advice helps improve your company’s online presence.
