Managing your employer branding online through sites such as Glassdoor is more critical than ever, but many HR teams are still unaware of how to tackle this head-on, writes Sheetal Gill

Recently I went to a recruitment event that focused on HR’s ability to influence company branding led by employer review site Glassdoor.

Many HR professionals are aware of Glassdoor, but for those of you who haven’t come across it, here’s a primer: its goal is to provide potential candidates with ‘inside’ information about what it is really like to work for a particular organisation, and other candidate recruitment experiences. A company’s profile can be set up by a member of the public (if one doesn’t exist already), and feedback is provided both through star ratings and written reviews.

The natural next question is: if an interview candidate or current employee provides feedback via one of these review sites, or social media, of a recruitment experience, how should a company respond? Because it’s a people issue, it’s likely the business will look to HR for guidance. But if they don’t, can HR proactively influence how these responses are managed?

With Glassdoor offering a job search facility – where applicants could be put off applying to organisations with poor reviews – it makes sense for businesses to manage their profile on this and any other website where people can leave feedback. If there is no response from an employer, what message does that send to potential applicants? That the business does not take candidates’ experiences seriously? With the support of HR, employers can look at ways to respond to feedback and maintain their brands in a positive light, so they are regarded as an employer of choice.

We cannot ignore that this feedback on social media can also come from employees. Most organisations now have social media policies and employees are aware of the potential repercussions – but some sites can be used anonymously, so there an employer branding issue can still loom.

If an internal matter is being discussed online rather than with managers or HR, that’s a clear sign that there has been a breakdown in communication. Good management, which acts on staff survey outcomes and deploys employee engagement initiatives, as well as holding regular informal discussions with employees, will help to mitigate any potential or current problems.

With the current UK productivity issues, the uncertainty of Brexit and its potential impact on future recruitment, employers will want to retain and attract the best employees to get ahead. One of the natural traits of the next demographic cohort (the ‘millennials’) is being savvy about social media and more likely to share thoughts and experiences through these channels.

So social media as a form of communication is not going away any time soon and, ultimately, we cannot stop employees or candidates from using it to share their work experiences. But are we HR professionals prepared to respond to this challenge? If not, perhaps we can initiate the internal dialogues necessary to bring the issue to the top of the agenda, and support companies to respond professionally, implement any actions needed and be an employer of choice?

While any reviews posted on Glassdoor are published without an expiration date, thankfully employers can manage their page and, once a response is provided, the matter can be considered closed. Recruiters such as Easyweb and Glassdoor offer guidance to employers on how to respond to social media feedback, and with such tools there is no reason why your employer brand cannot be managed properly online.

Sheetal Gill is an HR business partner at Gill HR Consultancy