Did you know that 3 in 5 (or 61 percent) of employees say realities on the job differ from the expectations set during the interview?
This data point, culled from a survey by my company Glassdoor, should concern everyone in human resources. It signifies that candidates are ending up at jobs that are not quite what they bargained for and that human resources leaders have room to improve when it comes to sharing information about the recruiting employer. This includes providing information about the company’s strengths and weaknesses and how it plans to do better.
If human resources professionals deliver on this, they will offer job candidates a clearer picture of what it’s really like to work at the firm. In so doing, they'll be providing what candidates want: workplace transparency.
On the heels of Glassdoor's debut yesterday of its OpenCompany program (recognizing employers who support and promote workplace transparency), it’s important to discuss how companies can take part in this conversation. Employers can begin to embrace transparency, in turn, helping their company’s recruiting and retention efforts. Here are three points for any HR pro to consider:
Related: Radical Transparency Can Re-Energize a Company's Culture and Deliver Results
1. Don’t be afraid of social media. Today’s job seekers are already connected 24/7, seeking out information via social media (from sites like Facebook and Twitter to company blogs and job sites) to gain the insights they need to make the most informed career decision possible.
For employers, this marks a turning point. Take a deep breath and understand that information about what it’s like to work at your company will become known and won’t be hidden. In fact, the genie is already out of the bottle. Instead of being afraid of transparency, see it as an opportunity -- as a new way to hire and retain today’s social media-savvy talent. Dozens of companies, including Glassdoor clients Cisco and Enterprise Rent-a-Car, have already found recruiting success as a result.
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2. Take the good with the bad. Just as no product reviewed on Amazon, restaurant critiqued on Yelp or hotel described on TripAdvisor is perfect, the same is true for companies: There's no perfect place to work and employees already understand this. Companies need to come to grips with this as well.
When considering your business brand, think about what’s most important to your organization: What should stand out as the best reasons to work at your company and what the things aren’t so perfect that you could live without their being widely known?