In recent years, rating portals have become increasingly important for a company’s image – especially as an employer. How employees, former employees and applicants have rated a company as an employer has become an indispensable source of information for potential applicants. The ratings can be submitted anonymously and free of charge and can be accessed worldwide and permanently. Rating portals thus create enormous market transparency and have a considerable influence on whether and how a company is perceived as an attractive employer. The ratings of one’s own company on the various online platforms have a strong signal effect in the environment of potential applicants and customers.
Reputation as an employer: Why rating portals are relevant for applicants
Rating portals currently play an important role in attracting and retaining qualified specialists, new talents and junior staff in the long term.
- They create transparency and build trust: Evaluation portals create an open space for employee evaluations. Here, employees of a company or applicants can share their experiences they have had with the company. This gives potential applicants an insight into the company: What are the working conditions and the working atmosphere like? What benefits does the company offer? What is the corporate culture like?
- They convey authenticity and make company promises credible: The image of a company can be communicated very credibly – but a testimonial written by an applicant, employee or former employee is in most cases perceived as far more credible than the information provided by a company itself.
- They provide relevant information for decision-making: What does the company have to offer? Where are the weak points? Evaluations are an important basis for potential applicants to decide whether the company meets their expectations and suits them – or not. For rated companies, they are therefore always double-edged: if they are positive, this can attract many applicants. If they are negative, however, this can have a deterrent effect on potential applicants and negative consequences for the recruiting process. In turn, an active response to negative reviews by the employer gives an impression of how feedback is dealt with and also shows the employer’s view of a criticised aspect.
Rating portals as a marketing tool
Companies can use rating portals in a very targeted way to …
… increase their visibility and reach – potential applicants who search for a suitable employer on rating portals become aware of the company.
… secure a competitive advantage – if the reviews are positive, medium-sized companies also have the chance to compete with large companies in the recruiting process and to be attractive for qualified specialists. Companies can also use positive evaluations very effectively for their marketing on other channels and link to the positive overall rating on their website or in the newsletter. The same applies to the company’s responses to less positive feedback.
… improve their corporate culture – rating portals are a valuable feedback tool that can be used specifically to improve corporate culture, various processes and areas.
Online reputation has a significant influence on how a company is perceived by potential applicants. Reviews can have a positive or negative impact on a company’s image. Not all reviews are objective or authentic, and misinformation or deliberate damage to reputation can occur. In order to avert possible negative effects, it is important to proceed with foresight and systematically when it comes to evaluation portals.
Successful online reputation management: proactively using rating portals
THE MAK`ED TEAM develops an employer branding strategy for its clients that systematically sets up the individual processes to manage reputation in a focused manner and minimise the risks of negative effects on the employer brand.
In order to create a suitable basis, the evaluation portals are systematically analysed: Which areas and topics of the company are covered here? What relevance do the various evaluation portals have for the company?
With our interdisciplinary team, we develop an individual strategy for medium-sized companies: Starting with monitoring and analysis, through a suitable response strategy, to online reputation management. This gives companies all the tools they need to proactively monitor the relevant rating portals, identify trends and react. In our view, it is particularly important to react appropriately to negative feedback in order to prevent possible damage to a company’s image. If necessary, THE MAK`ED TEAM conducts special training sessions with employees to teach them how to deal with reviews appropriately and to the benefit of the company and how to contribute to building a positive online reputation.
Overall, the reviews can provide the company with valuable feedback that helps to optimise its own structures and processes. Positive reviews can also be promoted in a targeted manner – for example, by actively soliciting feedback or conducting a positive dialogue on review portals. THE MAK`ED TEAM develops an individual employer branding strategy that supports the company in actively seizing the opportunities that assessment portals offer – and in successfully mastering the challenges.
