Day in and day out, people are making choices about what to eat, where to shop, what to watch and so much more. When the answers aren’t immediately obvious, we frequently turn to others for guidance. Fortunately, in the digital world, a simple internet search surfaces consumer reviews about nearly anything, which help shape our decisions and impressions of businesses and brands.

Glassdoor houses over 70 million reviews and insights on over one million companies, helping people make one of the most important decisions we can make for ourselves: where to work.

Given that 86% of job seekers are likely to research Glassdoor company reviews and ratings before applying, it’s critical for businesses to engage with that community and actively put their best employer brand forward. Sprout Social helps power that effort with our Glassdoor integration. It’s baked into our Reviews tool so social media managers, human resources and business leaders can unify their employer branding efforts with ease.

Check out these 10 clever ways to leverage the integration, improve your Glassdoor presence and create a better place to work.

1. Regularly monitor Glassdoor company reviews

You wouldn’t let your other social media platforms go unmonitored and unchecked, and Glassdoor should be no different.

Reading Glassdoor reviews is mutually beneficial for both job seekers and companies. The former group gets the inside scoop through first-hand employee experiences. The latter gets honest, constructive insights that they can use to further shape their employer branding strategy. Once brands connect their Glassdoor profiles in Sprout, they can evaluate their ratings and reviews with ease and collect feedback alongside other business reviews from Google My Business, TripAdvisor, Facebook Reviews.

Glassdoor Reviews in Sprout

2. Quickly respond to employee reviews

It’s not enough to just read your brand’s reviews. You need to respond to them too. When Glassdoor users see that an employer responds to reviews, 80% of them agree that it improves their perception of that company. Additionally, they’re more likely to apply to an open job if the employer is active on Glassdoor.

As Glassdoor’s Lead Product Marketing Manager Sophia Fox says, “The conversation that is shaping your employer brand perception is happening on Glassdoor with or without you, so you might as well join it.” When your brand responds to reviews, both negative and positive, you actively demonstrate that you are engaged, listening and invested in being transparent about what it’s like to work at your company. When reviews are critical, responding gives your company a chance to address how you will correct issues, clarify any misunderstandings and amplify the positives.

Similar to Sprout’s Smart Inbox capabilities, our Glassdoor integration streamlines engagement and powers quicker response times, which people have come to expect.

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3. Embrace constructive feedback

Glassdoor reviews are paired with star ratings which act as a sort of grading system. The average of those ratings is prominently displayed in the reviews tab, giving users an immediate impression before they even start reading further.

Improving that rating comes down to understanding and reacting to the good, the bad and the ugly. Within Sprout, users can filter reviews by star ratings to see trends in both negative and positive reviews.

While it might be tempting to just revel in the five-star reviews, it’s equally important to dig into areas for improvement. Yes, people often express their experiences on Glassdoor to inform and help job seekers or support their company, but also consider that sometimes, the platform is an outlet where employees feel more comfortable expressing frustrations because they can remain anonymous. Hone in on one to two-star ratings, embrace the feedback and use those insights to create a path for change.

4. Tag reviews to track key topics and themes

As reviews come through on Sprout, users can apply tags that relate to particular topics to each message. Let’s say you’ve recently changed your work from home policy. As Glassdoor users leave reviews relating to that, add a tag. Then, use Sprout’s Tag Report to evaluate those review trends and gauge the overall sentiment around your offerings. Users can also export the Tag Report so they can share the results with leaders and other teammates with a stake in employer branding.

If you want to cut through the noise and get straight to the topics you care most about, you can also use the inbox search functionality in Sprout to find specific messages. As you search, consider that people may use different spellings or variations to describe something like “work from home,” such as, “remote work,” “WFH,” and more. Applying tags to messages that use those kinds of variations will help keep those reviews organized.

5. Save the dates

Occurrences like COVID-19, layoffs or newly announced benefits might spark a flurry of incoming reviews. In those circumstances, Sprout users can filter reviews by dates and do an A/B test of sorts.

For example, let’s say your company switched insurance providers. You could compare reviews before and after the change, monitor the changes in sentiment and further refine your plans based on the feedback you receive.

6. Share feedback across departments

Glassdoor provides reviewers a level of anonymity so they feel freer to be candid, but many users do choose to display their role. In that case, you may want to apply a tag indicating the employee’s department so that you can later share feedback with managers, especially if the review includes complaints or compliments on department processes, leadership and internal changes.

Many Glassdoor users might want or expect HR representatives to be the ones to address their review, but company leaders and managers may be the better choice in some cases. As you respond to Glassdoor reviews in Sprout, you can choose who you want to attribute as the author. This will give the reviewer more confidence that they are being heard by people who they work with directly and make decisions on behalf of their team.

7. Act with urgency

Our jobs are our livelihood, so it’s understandable that if things go awry for an employee, they may use Glassdoor to express those feelings and frustrations. Those reviews aren’t necessarily a good look for a company but brands cannot delete reviews on Glassdoor unless they violate community guidelines. This protects transparency and the integrity of the platform.

The sensitive and potentially damaging nature of these kinds of reviews may require additional input and oversight from leadership, HR and/or your legal department. Fortunately, Sprout users can email these types of reviews directly to the necessary people within the app. Each email message also brings in additional metadata with the review so they get the full story.

8. Store responses in the asset library

As you uncover recurring topics, experiences or call-outs on Glassdoor, it’s helpful to build out a library of responses, similar to how you might for FAQs. Social media marketers have tons of experience responding and engaging with online communities, company managers know their teams inside and out and human resources professionals have a wealth of knowledge on hiring, benefits, policies and more. Together, they can build a powerful response strategy.

Sprout users can then store those approved responses in the Asset Library so that anyone who’s responding can easily use them as a template. This strategy will help keep brand voice intact. Keep in mind that best practice is to use these responses as jumping-off points and then customize from there, especially if a Glassdoor user provides an in-depth review.

9. Drive workplace transparency and equity for underrepresented groups

One thing that we all crave is a sense of belonging and acceptance. When we feel that at work, we produce better work. More than 76% of employees and job seekers agree that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating companies and job offers. Unfortunately though, underrepresented groups still experience inequity and bias in the workplace.

To help people better understand the current state of diversity equity, and inclusion at a company, Glassdoor has introduced three new product features, including a diversity and inclusion rating, diversity FAQs and the option for reviewers to provide demographic information.

“We have a responsibility as a platform and employer to bridge the information gap that’s blocking the path to equity in and out of the workplace. By increasing transparency around diversity and inclusion within companies, we can help create more equitable companies and more equitable society, too,” said Glassdoor Chief Executive Officer Christian Sutherland-Wong.

Pay special attention to the reviews that highlight your company’s diversity and inclusion efforts or shortcomings, and use responses as an opportunity to articulate your commitment or plans for the future.

10. Use key insights from reviews to develop content centered around employer brand

The insights your company gains from monitoring, organizing and reporting on Glassdoor reviews should be actively applied to your employer branding strategy. Use the “pros” in reviews to reinforce your strategy and inspire new employer brand content.

If your rating is skewing toward the lower end of the scale, hone in on the “cons” in reviews to determine where you need to improve. Then, consider using the common themes to develop an internal survey to investigate further and gain a more holistic understanding of how your employees perceive company culture.

Get your foot in the (Glass)door

Glassdoor is more than a review site. It’s also a branding platform, a resource for job seekers and an opportunity for businesses to create a better, more transparent company culture. Help your company become one of the best places to work. Get started with a Sprout demo today!