I love Glassdoor. I’m not sure if Glassdoor is a Job Board, a Career Advice column, or a salary survey. Perhaps it’s all three. If you don’t know about Glassdoor, it’s a company with ten years of history through its website designed for several career-advancing purposes. Visiting Glassdoor (www.glassdoor.com ) you can find economic data on different cities. You can use a salary calculator and determine your value in your field of employment. Or, you can simply search for a new job. These services are also available on many other employment websites, but what makes Glassdoor unique is that it’s become the home court for people to complain bitterly about the company they work(ed) for…anonymously.
o why do I love Glassdoor? Why would a CEO love reading a list of former employees’ deepest frustrations with his company? Isn’t reading negative comments about your company gluttonous? Over the years I’ve suffered through some real doozies.
“They preach Core Values but all I saw were words,” one former employee wrote.
Another current employee offered, “Benefits stink.”
One of my all-time favorites from a really honest (but departed) employee who wrote, “Don’t make me pay money for being late. I’m not paid for being early. In fact, I’m not paid enough...” This last one made us rethink our policy of charging $1 to Team members who showed up late for work. At the time, we required a donation to our monthly charitable giving.
No, my love for Glassdoor is rather simple. Glassdoor affects organizational change for me. Do I want to read bad stuff about my company? No, but I don’t like losing money either and a recent article from CareerBuilder shows that losing a good employee costs me $143,750. Further, at its purest level, Glassdoor serves as truth serum for CEOs and HR Executives. I read with interest how the United States Soccer Federation and its President Carlos Cordeiro, suffering through turnover blamed on a toxic work environment, utilized Glassdoor comments left by departing employees as a wake up call to get serious about its facilities and corporate policies.
We are a small company, but the comments from current and former employees show patterns that force me to confront tough issues on benefits, Human Resources, remote work, commission structures and more. For example, the employee who wrote about being “charged for tardiness” above showed me a totally different side to a corporate policy. We decided to find a different path to make sure employees showed up to work on time.
Glassdoor sparks honest conversations in the Board room. I’m sure Glassdoor offers far more value than the free services we use it for, but I do appreciate the forum for anonymity.
