When you hear the name “Glassdoor“, what comes to mind?

Employee reviews.

Unfiltered opinions on a particular employer.

Where you go to research a job before you accept it.

Right?

But, truth be told, the 2016 version of Glassdoor is a whole lot more.

It’s one of the primary places where companies craft “employer brands” online.

It’s a place to showcase your company culture to the world with real-life language from your existing and former employees.

And it has 30 million users. And, it’s still growing.

Up until recently, Glassdoor was a channel most likely managed by HR. Essentially, it’s an employer brand platform.

Except here’s the thing: I think there are huge benefits for communicators as well.

I’m not saying communicators need to get involved in managing the platform (although, in some cases, I believe that would help). What I AM saying is I think there a handful of powerful benefits to communicators paying close attention to Glassdoor on a regular basis.

Among them:

Want a true look at your culture? Look no further than Glassdoor

On the employee communications front, culture is a big piece of the puzzle. We’re constantly seeking to define it. We’re always looking for ways to capture it. And, we’re writing about it in an attempt to align and motivate employees. And sure, we have ideas on what the corporate culture *should* be–what we *want* it to be. But, is that true? Is it accurate? Glassdoor gives you an unfiltered look at how your employees talk about what it’s like to work at your company. In effect, much (all?) of what they say is truly, your company culture. Spend half an hour on your “Reviews” tab and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what employees think of your company culture.

Do you have a CEO issue?

All employee comms team have one big client: The CEO. And, for employee communicators, the CEO is often-times our primary internal spokesperson. We write executives messages from the CEO. We organize Town Halls featuring the CEO. We lead smaller discussion groups with employees and the CEO. But, we’re always wondering if he/she is doing a good job. If they are *effective* at communicating and leading the organization. Now, we do have some inputs here–employee surveys, feedback forms and the like. But, unfiltered employee feedback on Glassdoor should be another input. Your CEO has a “rating” right on your Glassdoor home page. Take a peek at that every quarter and see if it fluctuates based on what’s going on internally. And, look at the specific feedback employees have on your CEO. Is it hitting the mark? And, more importantly, can you do something with that feedback to improve your executive communications efforts?

Identify issues employees are afraid to share in an employee survey

Sometimes, employees don’t share every piece of feedback in an employee survey. Leary of technology, I think some employees believe they’ll be “discovered” or “identified” if they share negative feedback. But, on Glassdoor? Not so much. I think Glassdoor provides communicators with a tremendous opportunity to hear, first-hand the challenges within your organization. Now, you can choose to ignore that feedback. Or, you can choose to act on it. Up to you, but it’s there for the taking.

Now, many people will tell you Glassdoor is only a place for disgruntled former employees to vent their frustrations. While that may be true in spots, it’s definitely not true across the board. How else do you account for all the positive reviews companies receive on Glassdoor? How do you account for 90%+ CEO ratings on Glassdoor? No, current AND former employees are chiming in on Glassdoor every day.

You can choose to listen to their feedback and act on it.

Or, you can ignore it.

Up to you–but like I said, the information is there for your taking.

photo credit: peter bryan jenkins condo entrance pearl pdx via photopin (license)