Looking Through a Glassdoor: What are Food & Beverage Candidates Reading about Your Organization?

June 2, 2014 in HR Best Practices

 

 

Over the past few years, consulting online reviews has become a critical step in consumers’ decision-making processes. Today, people rely on sites like Yelp and Angie’s List to buy everything from pizza to plumbers.

In fact, a 2013 study by Bright Local indicates that 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends.

So, it should come as little surprise that online review sites like Glassdoor are now becoming a critical step in the food & beverage job-search process. Job seekers use these websites to “peek into” life at various food & beverage processors to:

  • understand what it’s like to work at a company;
  • look up salary ranges, employee satisfaction levels and career growth opportunities;
  • help decide whether or not they will accept a job with an employer.

Glassdoor, in particular, is dramatically transforming employment research and decision-making. A recent poll of 4,600 U.S. workers by SoftwareAdvice.com shows that:

  • Nearly half of Glassdoor visitors use the site to narrow their search before applying for jobs.
  • 48% of survey respondents use Glassdoor as part of their job search.
  • About 15% of respondents use Glassdoor reviews to decide whether or not to accept a position that’s been offered to them.

What can food & beverage candidates read about your organization on Glassdoor?

Quite a bit, actually. Current and former employees can rate your organization using a scale of one to five stars on the following factors:

  • Culture/values
  • Work/life balance
  • Senior management
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Career opportunities

In addition, users can also leave open-ended feedback about their interview and/or employment experiences.

Given its rapid adoption, are Glassdoor reviews important to food & beverage recruiting?

Every employer and recruiting situation is unique. To determine how important employee reviews are to your company and brand, keep the following points in mind:

  • Of all the rating factors, positive reviews about a company’s compensation and benefits are the top driver of job applications.
  • Negative reviews about a company’s compensation and benefits are the primary reasons why applicants decide not to apply.
  • Reviews have a relatively short “shelf life” – almost half of job seekers look only at reviews that are six months old or less.
  • The majority of job seekers using Glassdoor are mature, urban individuals earning between $25,000 and $50,000. If you hire primarily outside these demographics, you have less to fear or gain from reviews.
  • Feedback on Glassdoor is anonymous. This lack of accountability means that reviews may not be totally trustworthy.

So if you are a large, well-known food & beverage company that recruits mature individuals for middle-income positions, Glassdoor can significantly impact your employer brand – and your ability to recruit and retain the best talent. Keep tabs on feedback and don’t let the occasional negative rating concern you too much.

If you notice consistently low scores in one aspect of your business (especially compensation and benefits), however, take the feedback to heart. In addition to deterring good candidates, chronically low Glassdoor ratings can indicate organizational problems that may drive your best employees out the door.

Need help attracting top talent?

Trust a leading, national executive food & beverage recruiter – Kinsa Group. With a vast talent network, and a 25-year track record of success in serving clients throughout the country, we can help you quickly and cost-effectively find the great people you need. Contact Kinsa today to learn more about our contingency, priority and retained search services.