How CEOs Can Benefit From Glassdoor

In the old days, the only way CEOs found out what employees and candidates really thought about their company and their performance as CEO was if overheard a conversation at a cocktail party. Today, the “cocktail” party is going on 24/7 on Glassdoor. Here’s why that’s great news for progressive CEOs. Finding nuggets of gold in every post Every post on a company’s Glassdoor is an opportunity for the CEO to gain unfiltered feedback. When posting, most candidates and employees don’t hold back, which is a good thing, if you are committed to improving your workplace. However, you won’t be able to make continuous improvements if you are not frequently checking your Glassdoor. Of course it’s crazy to expect that a CEO has time to regularly check his or her company’s Glassdoor. That’s why I recommend you assign someone to monitor your company’s Glassdoor, as well as your profile, and request weekly updates be sent to you. When doing so, be specific as to those circumstances where you wish to be notified immediately of a posting. Pan through the postings on your page and look for those golden nuggets. These are the one or two items that you can do differently or more of, in order to greatly improve your company as well as your overall Glassdoor scores. Be home when someone knocks I’m a huge fan of sites where people can post their opinions. I usually take these opinions with a grain of salt, unless the company that people are speaking negatively about, doesn’t care enough to respond. We all know that companies make mistakes. It’s what they do about these mistakes that can make or break their reputation. CEOs should actively respond to reviews on Glassdoor. Acknowledging imperfections is a much better approach then being defensive. Begin your response by thanking the person for taking the time to post his or her comment. Whenever possible, provide specifics on what you plan to do or already have done to improve the situation. Resist the temptation to give the same stock answers over and over again. Employees and candidates are smart and they’ll quickly figure out that both you and your company are running on autopilot. Check your ego at the door I remind my CEO clients all the time that it’s better to be respected than loved. There are plenty of people in your organization who may not give you high scores on your CEO profile, based on your personality. If you are achieving results that allow these people to stay employed, and you are well respected by most, then don’t take every post to heart. However, if people are consistently reporting the same negative aspects about your leadership style, then it’s time to invest in an executive coach, who can hold up the mirror and can provide you with a clear view on what others on the opposite side of the door are seeing.