RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – How important are employees’ opinions about places where they work? Even CEOs at tech giants such as Cisco keep a close eye on what their workforces are saying via Glassdoor and other sites that track worker opinion.
“We obviously watch Glassdoor where we’re above 4.0 [out of 5] and all those kinds of things,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said in a recent conference call with Wall Street Analysts.. “So we’re working very hard on it.”
Why?
“We think it’s important … because when your employees are happy, they actually do a much better job and help the overall results.”
Worst and best places to work in Triangle’s tech hub? Employees have their say …
Robbins, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, replaced John Chambers as CEO 2015 and has invested heavily in retooling the tech giant which employs some 5,000 people in RTP alone – one of its largest corporate campuses outside its California home base. He is aware that how employees rate their employers also is crucial in recruiting new talent.
According to a recent report by Forbes, 70 percent of Generation Z job seekers read employee company reviews online. The popular online job and recruiting site Glassdoor reports that 69 percent of U.S. job seekers will not consider working for a company with a negative online reputation.
This story and accompanying list of 15 firms reviewed in the Triangle is the first report about workplace rankings.
Open jobs, talent war
In Cary, privately held Epic Games – creator of international hit Fortnite – recently confirmed it is seeking to fill 200 open positions after an an online story detailed an intense work environment where a 70-plus work week is common. Last week, the company confirmed that it would close for two weeks for summer vacation. It would not confirm if the closure was related to the issues detailed in the story first featured in Polygon.
The number of open positions is not uncommon for a company growing as quickly as Epic Games. With unemployment in North Carolina just over four percent and well under that across the high-tech Triangle, how does a company attract new employees? According to Forbes.com and leading HR professionals, a company’s online brand is critical when it is competing for the best talent.
Today, employees post their opinions about companies they either work with or interview with on sites such as Indeed and Glassdoor. For instance, each month more than 67 million unique users visit Glassdoor to read reviews about a company’s work environment and CEO and to find out salary ranges and perks. The site currently features 49 million employee reviews.
This trend is not lost on companies and CEOs. Each year Glassdoor announces the winners of its Employees’ Choice Awards, based entirely on employee feedback, that recognize the Best Places to Work and Top CEOs. Winners announce these awards on websites and press releases in an effort to build a strong online employer brand. Of Glassdoor’s Employees Choice Top 100 CEOs, two with a major presence in the Triangle made the top 50:
- Robbins at number 40
- Google’s Sindar Pichai at No. 46
Attracting Talent in the Triangle
Epic Games is not the only company in the Triangle competing for talent. As a result, companies across the region are building their own employer brand. A look at Glassdoor shows that companies in RTP are viewed differently by their employees in areas ranging from the likability of the CEO to salaries and perks offered.
Employees are also invited to share their thoughts. Says one Cisco employee who gave the company five out of five stars, “You are given the freedom to explore your talents and the managers and team encourage you to excel. You can be yourself and people respect you for that. It really is an amazing place to work.”
Bandwidth.com’s CEO David Morken receives a 97 percent approval rating from his employees, with Glassdoor noting that more than 20 reviews include the phrases, “Great benefits, good culture overall, amazing CEO.”
Workers at Pendo a fast-growing tech startup which is looking to add 500 jobs, gave CEO Todd Olsen a 96 approval score.
Not all employee reviews are flattering. Burlington-based LabCorp’s CEO, Dave King, receives a 53 percent approval while the company’s overall rating is three out of five stars.
“Long hours, management expects a lot from the workers,” notes one employee.
The process
According to Glassdoor, it has a multi-tiered process in place to ensure reviews adhere to the site’s guidelines.
“Our multi-tier content moderation process includes technological and/or human review to ensure reviews are within our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use,” added Murphy. “Users can flag a review for additional moderation once it is posted to Glassdoor and our team will reevaluate the review under the same rules as the initial review.”
According to Glassdoor, companies are permitted to encourage their employees to participate on its platform.
“Glassdoor allows any employer to encourage their employees to share honest and authentic reviews on Glassdoor at any time throughout the year in compliance with our Community Guidelines and Terms of Use,” said Tyler Murphy, a company spokesman. “Employers can encourage fair and balanced reviews, but not incentivize or coerce reviews.”
