External & Internal Employee Feedback Loops

Don’t be naive. It could cost you. Just like today’s consumers, job seekers and employees are more sophisticated than ever before. They know where to find your employer ratings and reviews, which are directly shaping their opinions of you, for better or worse. If you’re not proactively managing employee feedback, both inside and outside your organization, you may be bleeding top talent, struggling to backfill positions and fulfilling the stereotype that HR is just a cost-burden to the company. You don’t have to live like this. Take control by implementing proactive external and internal employee feedback loops. That means asking for and using employee feedback, both inside your company, and publicly online. Here’s a brief overview to get you started.

1. Your employer ratings and reviews are an external feedback loop

Your company's online ratings matter. They function as a public feedback loop. Are you listening to what is shared there? Are you asking for feedback there? Whether you care or not, it’s these online reviews that are shaping behaviors of job seekers, employees and even your customers. People don’t see your internal survey data, but they see your star ratings. Are you proud of them?

On sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, Comparably, InHerSight, and more, those 5 stars can significantly impact your ability to attract top talent. Just like we all reference online ratings and reviews to decide what products we buy and what restaurants we visit, job seekers will choose to apply or not apply to your posted positions based on your employer ratings. By proactively managing your online reputation and asking employees for reviews, you can enhance your employer brand and attract more qualified candidates.

Leverage Automated SaaS Solutions:
Utilize automated SaaS solutions like Mobrium to streamline the process of collecting and responding to employee reviews. This helps you overcome the conflict of interest that is present when HR asks employees for reviews. Since Mobrium is a 3rd party, when we send review requests to Glassdoor and other sites on your behalf, anonymity stays in check and we see the quality and quantity of reviews go up. Our tools also help you centralize management of all components of managing your employer reviews across the top employer review sites from one single location.

Encourage Employee Reviews:
Foster a culture of open communication and encourage employees to share their honest feedback on Glassdoor, Indeed and other sites. By actively soliciting reviews, you can demonstrate your commitment to transparency and employee well-being. Just don’t ask all your employees to leave reviews at the same time. Although it’s not illegal, this can trigger moderation flags and disqualify you from best-place-to-work awards. The best practice is to spread our review requests out across the year in smaller batches. And remember, employees can leave a new review once per year, so it’s important to track when you’ve asked each employee so you know when they can be asked again in 12 months.

Mobrium does this automatically, and evenly spreads your review requests throughout the year and across the top review sites. That saves you time and maximizes the number of possible reviews you can collect.

Respond Promptly to Reviews:
Respond to both positive and negative reviews in a timely and professional manner, but don’t respond to all of them. Our research has shown that responding to about 40 percent of reviews is where you achieve the highest positive impact. To get there, respond to all negative reviews, all reviews with questions that could benefit from a clarifying response, and a few positives.

Thank employees for their positive feedback and address negative reviews constructively. This shows potential candidates that you value employee input and are committed to resolving issues. Mobrium offers the best-in-industry training for responding publicly to employee reviews as part of our SHRM PDC-eligible training and certification program- Mobrium Academy. Learn more here: mobrium.com/mobrium-academy

2. What should be included in your internal employee feedback loop

Gathering and acting on employee feedback is essential for understanding your employees' preferences, needs and improving their overall experience. By prioritizing employee feedback, you can create a more engaged and productive workforce. Analyze employee feedback and take action to address any issues or concerns. This demonstrates your commitment to employee well-being and can boost morale and retention. At Mobrium, we’ve seen the winning internal employee feedback programs include the following components:

Annual Employee Engagement Surveys:
This once-per-year longer form survey covers all major areas of employee experience and is reported on by many demographic filters. Mobrium offers full professional administration of engagement surveys and is one of the only providers to include white-glove analytics and executive debriefing on results, all for a flat fee at a fraction of the cost of other providers like Lattice, FifteenFive and Qualtrics.

Our research-based question set focuses on measuring relationship health in the workplace from peer to peer, manager to direct report, and more. With demographic reporting for age, gender, tenure and more, you’ll be able to pinpoint where your culture is strong and specifically where it could use a boost.

Anonymous Suggestion Box:
Asking your team to wait for the once-per-year engagement survey to share feedback has huge risks. What if a top employee has a concern and they feel uncomfortable sharing it with their manager or HR? They quit. Much voluntary turnover comes from this scenario. That’s why Mobrium offers a truly anonymous way for your team to share feedback 24/7, 365 days a year.

Through our encrypted suggestion box, you can receive your team member’s feedback AND reply directly to address concerns, all while keeping feedback 100% anonymous. This lowers preventable turnover, reduces the spread of negativity internally and acts as a legal reputation insulator for you. What feedback are you missing out on? Find out with your suggestion box.

1:1’s:
The personal touch can never be underestimated. When people leaders schedule time to meet with direct reports regularly to discuss performance and connect on a personal level, team members feel cared for and supported. The best companies also prioritize these regular meetings between managers and team members.

Want to see how you can win with Mobrium?

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