Online Reputation Often Overlooked, but Plays Big Role in Attracting/Repelling Talent

A growing number of companies, like GlassDoor.com, have sprung up over the past few years to offer job seekers unprecedented exposure to the experiences of current and past employees at a huge variety of companies. In some cases, disgruntled employees, or even competitors, make fraudulent claims that equate to real damage to a company’s reputation. Negative reviews are making it especially difficult for recruiters to attract the best talent, despite the difficult job market.

“Bringing in high-quality talent is what’s going to sustain your business and what’s going to drive your business into future successes,” says Cliff Stein, CEO of ReputationChanger.com. “These are tight times as far as the economy is concerned, but even though it’s a tough job market, qualified candidates are selective about where they’ll go to work. When they see negative reviews online, they’re going to be skeptical as to whether they want to make the leap to this company that’s made them a good offer on paper.”

Negative reviews can also affect current employees who may experience decreased morale as they read negative comments about their company alongside positive reviews about competitors. To combat this emerging problem, Stein suggests HR departments implement an online reputation management campaign to identify online criticisms and suppress their effects.

The bottom line is having negative reviews on the first few pages of the Web – whether it’s in regards to recruiting new talent or bringing in new clients – will do nothing but hurt you,” Stein says.

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