Learn to distinguish fake from real reviews
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 8:13 am
Employer rating portals :
Kununu : The German-language employer evaluation platform is particularly well represented in the DACH region and, in addition to the core function, also offers a question-and-answer section and a function for evaluating application processes.
Glassdoor : The US company Glassdoor is the second largest platform in Germany – but still has a smaller market share than Kununu. Internationally, however, Glassdoor is the significantly larger platform.
Portals with employer rating function:
Indeed : The self-proclaimed “#1 job site in the world” has, in addition to salary data and its core business of job search, more than 100 million employer reviews that have been submitted there.
Stepstone : Stepstone, the job board which is very prominent in the German market, also offers its users the possibility of employer ratings in addition to its core business of job search.
Forums & social networks: There are also a number of forums (such as wiwi-online.de) in which employers are discussed and in which employers are usually rated in a rather unstructured manner. The same applies to social networks. There, too, people discuss and comment on employers. If you want to get an overview, I recommend so-called social listening tools, such as Echobot.
What can you do as an employer to improve your online reputation?
There are several ways to improve your online reputation. I will present a few options here.
1. Set internal trigger:
The easiest way to improve your online reputation is to encourage employees to rate your company online. However, there are three things to keep in mind to ensure the highest possible probability of success:
a) Use existing communication, such as annual reviews, probationary period reviews, etc.
b) Don't force it. As soon as the employee feels that it is not within his or her control, this will come back to haunt him and negative reviews will follow at some point. It would also be problematic in terms of employment law.
c) Actively address primarily those who are really satisfied. Otherwise, the result will most likely be the opposite of what you want.
2. Interact
There is often an opportunity for employers to respond to reviews or comments. You should always do this because if you pay attention to a few things, you can only win.
a) Be appreciative. No matter how cheeky a review is, handle it professionally. Every bad review - as long as it doesn't contain lies - offers the opportunity to take a stand and steer the communication in a positive direction.
b) Don't justify yourself. As with any feedback: take the feedback on board, perhaps clarify a few things, but don't start a discussion.
c) Always provide the opportunity to contact the person to discuss further details. It is rarely used, but when it is used, very interesting insights emerge.
We know in e-commerce that wherever there are reviews, they have a strong influence hong kong telegram data on purchasing behavior and the building of trust in companies or products. It is therefore only logical that there are not only honest, genuine reviews, but also fake reviews that only aim to influence the result of the review. Both positively and negatively. What is reality in e-commerce is often not so far from reality in recruiting either.
Not every review, not every forum entry, not every opinion about an employer is actually from a former or current employee. A few tips can help you identify potential fakes - even if there is never 100% certainty, only a probability.
Excessively good or bad ratings: Realistic ratings are always differentiating. Anyone who only gives the minimum or maximum rating everywhere is conspicuous and unusual. Probably a fake.
Noticeably unspecific: Some reviews are written so unspecifically that you could write them for many other companies without the content being more or less appropriate. There's a reason for that: they're probably fake.
Incorrect terms: Every company has a variety of company-specific terms and designations. These may not always be understandable to external people, but every employee knows them. If completely different terms are used than what you would normally expect from an employee, then you should be skeptical. It's probably a fake.
Other abnormalities: Otherwise, it happens from time to time that something unusual is noticed when looking at several reviews. Similar writing style, the same spelling mistakes, a noticeable number of reviews in a row: all of these are also indications of fake reviews.
If you implement these three tips, you will improve your online reputation and be able to classify it better. At the same time, you will gradually become more aware of which content is relevant and which is not.
Kununu : The German-language employer evaluation platform is particularly well represented in the DACH region and, in addition to the core function, also offers a question-and-answer section and a function for evaluating application processes.
Glassdoor : The US company Glassdoor is the second largest platform in Germany – but still has a smaller market share than Kununu. Internationally, however, Glassdoor is the significantly larger platform.
Portals with employer rating function:
Indeed : The self-proclaimed “#1 job site in the world” has, in addition to salary data and its core business of job search, more than 100 million employer reviews that have been submitted there.
Stepstone : Stepstone, the job board which is very prominent in the German market, also offers its users the possibility of employer ratings in addition to its core business of job search.
Forums & social networks: There are also a number of forums (such as wiwi-online.de) in which employers are discussed and in which employers are usually rated in a rather unstructured manner. The same applies to social networks. There, too, people discuss and comment on employers. If you want to get an overview, I recommend so-called social listening tools, such as Echobot.
What can you do as an employer to improve your online reputation?
There are several ways to improve your online reputation. I will present a few options here.
1. Set internal trigger:
The easiest way to improve your online reputation is to encourage employees to rate your company online. However, there are three things to keep in mind to ensure the highest possible probability of success:
a) Use existing communication, such as annual reviews, probationary period reviews, etc.
b) Don't force it. As soon as the employee feels that it is not within his or her control, this will come back to haunt him and negative reviews will follow at some point. It would also be problematic in terms of employment law.
c) Actively address primarily those who are really satisfied. Otherwise, the result will most likely be the opposite of what you want.
2. Interact
There is often an opportunity for employers to respond to reviews or comments. You should always do this because if you pay attention to a few things, you can only win.
a) Be appreciative. No matter how cheeky a review is, handle it professionally. Every bad review - as long as it doesn't contain lies - offers the opportunity to take a stand and steer the communication in a positive direction.
b) Don't justify yourself. As with any feedback: take the feedback on board, perhaps clarify a few things, but don't start a discussion.
c) Always provide the opportunity to contact the person to discuss further details. It is rarely used, but when it is used, very interesting insights emerge.
We know in e-commerce that wherever there are reviews, they have a strong influence hong kong telegram data on purchasing behavior and the building of trust in companies or products. It is therefore only logical that there are not only honest, genuine reviews, but also fake reviews that only aim to influence the result of the review. Both positively and negatively. What is reality in e-commerce is often not so far from reality in recruiting either.
Not every review, not every forum entry, not every opinion about an employer is actually from a former or current employee. A few tips can help you identify potential fakes - even if there is never 100% certainty, only a probability.
Excessively good or bad ratings: Realistic ratings are always differentiating. Anyone who only gives the minimum or maximum rating everywhere is conspicuous and unusual. Probably a fake.
Noticeably unspecific: Some reviews are written so unspecifically that you could write them for many other companies without the content being more or less appropriate. There's a reason for that: they're probably fake.
Incorrect terms: Every company has a variety of company-specific terms and designations. These may not always be understandable to external people, but every employee knows them. If completely different terms are used than what you would normally expect from an employee, then you should be skeptical. It's probably a fake.
Other abnormalities: Otherwise, it happens from time to time that something unusual is noticed when looking at several reviews. Similar writing style, the same spelling mistakes, a noticeable number of reviews in a row: all of these are also indications of fake reviews.
If you implement these three tips, you will improve your online reputation and be able to classify it better. At the same time, you will gradually become more aware of which content is relevant and which is not.