Elevate your employer brand reputation: How to reply to employee reviews on Glassdoor

Crafting responses that are personal and identifiable facilitates perspective-taking, a crucial element of empathy, and serves to counteract the perception of being a faceless corporation, Lie Yan Tang, Head of Client Services, Maximum, notes.

This article is brought to you by Maximum.

75% of job seekers show a preference for employers who are proactive in managing their brand. An effective strategy on platforms like Glassdoor involves monitoring and, when appropriate, responding to employee reviews. This not only demonstrates that you’re an engaged and receptive employer but can also help mitigate the impact of negative feedback.

Effectively managing reviews is key to building trust and enhancing your credibility. An active Glassdoor profile can signal a responsive employer, making you more attractive as a potential workplace.

What’s more, a robust employer brand can slash hiring costs by up to 50%, while a negative one can inflate hiring costs by 10%. Companies with a formal engagement strategy are also 67% more likely to see revenue per full-time equivalent improve annually.

In this article, we're going to share some practical tips for engaging with reviews on Glassdoor.

General principles for reviewing employee reviews

Not all reviews were created equal. So, the first thing to do is make sense of the feedback you are receiving. When addressing reviews on Glassdoor and Indeed, keep these best practices in mind.

#1 Prioritise the bad
The ultimate goal is to reduce the quantity of negative reviews. A well-worded reply to a negative review can pre-empt similar complaints from others. So, put all your energy into addressing negative reviews.

#2 Reply promptly
Ignore old reviews. Prioritise recent reviews, to show that you're attentive and concerned with your employees' feedback. This can make employees feel their concerns are taken seriously.

#3 Be discerning
Categorise feedback — from fair to unfair, mild to urgent, and highly urgent. Don’t dignify rude or unfair comments with a reply. In fact, there is even evidence suggesting that rude and unfair reviews can build sympathy, because other site visitors recognise them as such.

#4 Tailor your replies
An open, thoughtful review customised response can significantly alter a person's view of your brand. Show you are paying attention. Detail any actions resulting from the feedback.

#5 Personalise replies
Crafting responses that are personal and identifiable facilitates perspective-taking, a crucial element of empathy, and serves to counteract the perception of being a faceless corporation.

#6 Use plain language
For the reviews you want to address, avoid long sentences and jargon. Use plain, generic language. Don’t use cookie-cutter replies — they will be seen as promotional, viewed as disingenuous, and may negatively harm future reviews.

Ok, so you’ve evaluated and prioritised your reviews and you’re ready to write. Here’s how to think about replying to reviews.

Step-by-step approach to replying to employee reviews

Here’s a structured response process to address employee grievances promptly and demonstrate your commitment to transparency as an employer.

Step 1: Acknowledge
Begin by thanking the author for leaving a review. Positive or negative, they took the time to voice a point of view. So, before you do anything else, acknowledge their choice to share feedback.

e.g., Thank you for taking the time to write a review.

Step 2: Address
Next, clearly state whether any actions or corrective measures are being taken as a result of the feedback. This addresses the ultimate outcome of the review up front.

e.g., We are not planning to update our compensation policy at this time.

Step 3: Elaborate
You’ve just stated an outcome. Now offer a short rationale for that outcome. Don’t apologise if it’s not the desired outcome. Instead, build empathy for your point of view. Explain in plain terms how and why the decision was made, and by whom.

e.g., Our <Dept> team is responsible for compensation. Adjustments are made annually on a team-by-team basis.

Step 4: Be transparent
Whenever possible, include specific details to support the decision-making process. Remember, you’re trying to build trust and empathy. The more open and transparent you can be, the better.

e.g., We track our policies against the market. Based on our evaluation, we believe that compensation is in line with median expectations for the industry. Our assessment corelates with data on online review sites Indeed and Payscale.

Step 5: Offer to follow up
Extend a personal invitation for further dialogue. Provide an opportunity for the reviewer to follow up directly, expressing openness to additional insights and a genuine interest in addressing any ongoing concerns.

e.g., If you’d like to discuss compensation in more detail, feel free to email us at…

In a nutshell
An active Glassdoor profile is a crucial component of successful employer branding. Since 75% of active job seekers are more likely to apply to companies managing their employer brand effectively, active review management becomes paramount.

Effective response practices like using generic language, prioritising negative feedback, replying promptly, and being selective contribute to successful review management. Tailoring responses to specific complaints can build empathy and enhance your company's reputation.

Maximum x Glassdoor + Indeed: Closing the gap between what you want to do and what you can do.
At Maximum, we recognise that for many employer brand teams, best practices and working reality are often at odds. Budget constraints, resource limitations, and the many complexities of life within a large organisation means that much of the time, it’s a question of balancing competing needs, prioritising, and making trade-offs. This is exactly why we have partnered with Glassdoor and Indeed. Together, we’re best placed to maximise the ROI of your investment. Focused insights. Targeted solutions. All delivered where it can make the most impact — two of the world’s leading job portals.

This article is written by Lie Yan Tang, Head of Client Services, Maximum.

---

ALSO READ: Forget your career site. The real employer branding is happening on Glassdoor and Indeed

---

Photos: Provided by Maximum