From FIRED to HIRED ??

We live in an age where Chinese whispers and gossip hold a digital footprint, with most of us using social media to communicate with people, more so since COVID-19 where we all became accustomed to life behind a screen. Even WhatsApp is a form of social media, part of the Meta family and 3.6 Billion of us use it, that’s nearly half of the world’s population. Sometimes, this gives people ammunition for the past to creep up and bite you in the bum but also, allows the traditional playground bully this from the safety of a screen with a VPN gang. We’re all aware of the implications trolling can have on a person’s personal brand! So, what could this do to the EMPLOYER.

With apps like Glassdoor , just like Tripadvisor , it’s become easier than ever for current or ex-employees to leave a negative review. Just like the annual employee survey?is used by Human Resources to gain feedback and gauge employee’s engagement, so is Glassdoor. They provide a comprehensive report on a number of different organisational topics that affect employee’s engagement to hopefully give a true reflection of what a business is really like.

Or do you?

Just like our EES we hope to see lots of positive remarks and comments made by our current people in the organisation, providing clear insight to what a fantastic place our business is to work, striving for that number 1 spot on the Top companies to work for.

So, let’s have a look at the top 3 businesses as reported by BusinessLive at the beginning of this year:

1. Bain & Company

Working at 贝恩公司 - 4.7

Genuinely some of the finest people to work with, smart and empathetic in spades

2. ServiceNow

Working at ServiceNow - 4.7

Exceptional innovation and world-class service, committed to diversity, sustainability, and employee welfare.

3. Boston Consulting Group

Working at 波士顿谘询公司 - 4.7

Opportunity to travel, interesting work, smart colleagues with exemplary credentials.

These are the top 3 ranking companies on Glassdoor and their ratings are impressive with a 4.7/5. As we say, there’s always room for improvement and with keywords such as “committed” “empathetic” and “opportunity” it really does seem like, they listen to their feedback and implement this into their people strategies.

One connection can change a life but one bad employee can through a whole business off course. Lets look at NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration for example; some of you may heard of one of the oldest space missions and spacecrafts being lost over 12 billion miles away travelling through interstellar space, with it’s mother mission almost 15 billion miles away. How did we lose contact with Voyager 2 you might be wondering? Well, with the stroke of a finger!

Yes, that’s all it took, the incorrect coordinates inputted manually by a human which caused NASA too loose contact with it’s oldest and most successful mission, billions of miles away. Luckily, they’ve heard a heartbeat transmission and are hoping to regain contact however, it’s taking time- and time is MONEY. So lets think of that from branding perspective et voila, you’ve lost contact with your passive market.

I recently joined a new 2esLGBTQQIA+ professional networking group which evidently, is supporting me to develop my own personal brand, just like everyone else. We discuss certain topics that effect our community in the workplace, so I thought, why not raise this question.

Is it okay for ex-employees to give negative reviews of a business?

A whopping 84% of people who voted agreed that FEEDBACK IS ENCOURAGED which initiated some interesting conversations around toxic employees and more so, how to manage them. We’re all aware that there are some bad businesses out there which aren’t committed to things like diversity, inclusion or even gender equalities as we witnessed in 2017 when the Gender Pay Gap reporting came into effect for any voluntary, private, and public sector employers with 250 or more employees, which really highlighted the importance of being data led, in my opinion. So do we need a kick up the bum, to really bring on change? Well, the answer is YES! If we look back historically for example, the women vote, HIV medications or even the Health & Safety at Work Act – people had to die and fight for what’s rights before changes were agreed at Parliament and processes also known as legislation were created and enforced. Now I’m not asking for people to die in the workplace, nor am I asking for people to trash organisations however, constructively providing feedback whether that being in the Employee Engagement Survey, Exit Interviews or via a social channel is the only way to bring change.

Or is it?

Here’s some basic things a business can do to move in the right direction; showing COMMITMENT to their people and objectives, EMPATHY to what their people are going through or have gone through in their lives and creating a safe space providing their people with the OPPORTUNITY to develop, grow and have a voice.

1. VALUES: Revisit you value just like we reflect on our own. In life, we all make mistakes, and you would hope the best of learn from them. Businesses are run by people, so businesses make mistakes, whether we like it or not. At the end of every recruitment campaign, I coordinate I like to hold a lesson learned with the collaborators in the process. That way, we are constantly reviewing the way we work.
2. BEHAVIOURS: No, I don’t mean popping a dunce hat on the naughty employee who isn’t meeting their deadlines however, I do encourage difficult conversations, should they need to be had. Just like Dorothy, we all need a yellow brick road. How do you expect your people to be on your journey with you without knowing where they were going, how they were going to get there, or why they were travelling.
3. BRANDING: Someone recently said to me: "Not all businesses have the luxury of having their brand on point unfortunately." I replied, "It should be a priority for businesses as that's how you attract the best people and remove the risk of toxic people." Your business is your brand, your people are your brand, and your story is your brand. 3 things that are in arms reach and to be honest, don’t really cost you a penny.
4. INVESTING: Just like we take risks on the markets, take risks on your employees, and help them to upskill. You don’t need to invest in fancy apps and software, you can do most things on a very tight budget, believe me I know. However, if you invest in your people, whether that be with a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP) also known as a benefits package, commit to flexible working, have a range of EMPLOYEE LEAD forums giving people a safe space to talk and really listening to the feedback, like really listening, I’m sure your people will invest their time and deliver the best results, consistently. This also goes for your future people. An employee journey really does begin before you even meet them, when they first stumble across your glass door review. So invest your time into the improvement of your processes, do look at that data and ways you can bring diversity to your future workforce and ensure you maintain the BEST candidate experience, because first impressions, really do count!

Please feel free to open the conversation with any comments or feedback on this piece.

Aspire with Alan.