Surveys are a key component of most companies' employer branding strategies, but relying solely on annual or quarterly feedback leaves the door open for countless opportunities to learn what's really working (or not) from the driving force behind the company: employees. Instead of waiting months to find out which initiatives should be tweaked or retired, many companies turn to Glassdoor for a real-time perspective on the issues that employees and candidates care about most.
Successful employer brands then amplify employee voices to tell an authentic brand story that engages candidates and gives them the information they need to see the brand's true values.
Here are three ways a few employers are using Glassdoor to improve their approach to employer branding.
1. Gauging employee happiness around work arrangements
While many companies have experimented with flexible and hybrid schedules over the last decade, a global pandemic forced most industries to rethink their approach to the workday. As companies began announcing return-to-office policies, they faced pushback from staff, because they didn't have accurate internal data around employee attitudes toward working from home. Eighty percent of more than 1,000 bosses surveyed told workplace software firm Envoy that they would have taken a drastically different approach to returning to the office had they had a better grasp on their workplace data.
Frank conversations in Glassdoor Bowls™ illustrate that employees aren't all singing from the same song sheet when it comes to in-person, hybrid, or work-from-home preferences.
For Autodesk, a multinational software company, pairing internal feedback and data with these types of Glassdoor insights told a more complete story, showing that competitors' employees were exiting because of a lack of flexible work options. That comparison helped the company confirm that offering hybrid or remote work was a key differentiator in attracting and retaining talent.
2. Tapping into employee insights on DEI and salary transparency
DEI-focused roles had a nearly 40% churn rate at companies engaged in layoffs in 2022, compared to approximately 24% for non-DEI roles, but the elimination of positions doesn't align with employee attitudes toward the subject. A May 2023 Pew Research study - weighted to be representative of the American adult general population - found that roughly one-third of respondents feel it is extremely or very important to work somewhere with a mix of employees of different races and ethnicities or ages.
Trupanion, a leading pet insurance provider, learned through recruiter feedback from candidates and Glassdoor that DEI still matters greatly to employees. In response, and in contrast to what many companies have done since 2020, the company increased its commitment to diversity and belonging, leveraging its Glassdoor profile to highlight its efforts with DEI.
Trupanion practices salary transparency across all roles, addressing the "equity" in DEI. While the company is headquartered in Washington, where salary transparency is legally required, it extended the practice company-wide to include its UK and Canada teams. One benefit Trupanion discovered from that move is that it helps set expectations with candidates at the start of the hiring process.
3. Leveraging employee satisfaction measurement tools
Glassdoor feedback, through company reviews and Glassdoor Review Intelligence™, as well as Company Bowls™, gives leaders a chance to tout what's working and fix what's not to bolster their employer brand and attract top candidates
Ray Leung, the head of employer brand and talent marketing at Autodesk, noted that one of the company's biggest challenges in recruiting was brand awareness. "That's the theme that we're hearing from a lot of candidates and also recruiters," Leung said. "Once we get them in the interview process, they're amazed at what we can do, but it's getting them in the door."
A series of listening tours revealed that most candidates considered Glassdoor to be the one of most important job review platforms. It has become a critical channel for Autodesk's cross-functional brand awareness campaign.
"Our Glassdoor profile is actively monitored, and we regularly respond to and analyze reviews to better understand the market sentiment of Autodesk. Data-driven decision-making is core to what we do. When looking at the analytics, we focus on a variety of data points such as page views, the volume of reviews we're receiving, the volume of reviews we're responding to, impressions, CEO approval, and company rating. Those numbers are then reported to leadership on a quarterly and annual basis with QOQ and YOY trends."
The Autodesk talent team responds to reviews at least 2-3 times each week, and forwards feedback - both good and bad - to the HR executive aligned with that specific area.
"Responding to reviews…and trying to solve some of those problems ultimately supported our employer branding strategy."
Ray Leung, the head of employer brand and talent marketing at Autodesk
Through a collective effort across marketing, talent, brand, and PR teams, Autodesk established a cohesive, compelling narrative of the company's everyday impact on its candidates, both as a company and employer brand.
Capgemini, a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology, and engineering services, also saw success with a similar strategy - both in responding to reviews and identifying areas for improvement. Using Glassdoor's Review Intelligence™, the company was able to better align the lived Capgemini experience with the employee value proposition. That additional attention to employee experience increased the company's global rating by 25%.
Learn more about how Glassdoor data can help you make better decisions for your team and boost your employer brand. Join our next webinar.
