Reply to: How genuine are Glassdoor company reviews?

[BlasterBates]

If you use Glassdoor regularly it will force you to write a review, so it does mean you can rely on the fact that a lot of the reviews written are probably genuine, unlike Amazon where most people wouldn't bother.

[unixman]

If nothing else, Glassdoor has photos of the office environment, so there is that. At least you get an idea of whether the office is reasonable. I'd not base a decision on that though.

[CatOnMat]

Why does the review of a company matter to a contractor?

What use is a job search to a contractor?

Gotta change your thinking fella.

Glassdoor also includes reviews of the organisations from contractors & freelancers, which are worth having a look at in to get a feel for how good/bad/mature they are in dealing with non-permies, for example. This can include being made aware of clientcos terminating contracts early or generally messing around...

Also one of the reasons I went contract was to have a greater say over my working arrangements and environment wherever possible, so looking at the permie reviews is also potentially useful as given a choice I'd probably rather work somewhere where there was an indication of happy people / interesting environment / nice company rather than than a complete "car crash" of a site (two extremes I know).

In my experience the reviews look genuine enough (I'm sure some sycophantic-looking ones are posted by internal HR but you can sometimes spot those), as they have tended to bear out my experience of the organisation once I've got to know it. I also know that at my last place HR took it so seriously that one of the internal recruiters was tasked with monitoring the site and responding to critical reviews (and where warranted following up further internally).

There is also interview feedback which although rarer for contractor engagements can still give a useful indication of things one might be asked at that stage.

[Zylon]

A few replies here centre around why bad companies might have more need for contractors. While I agree with this, I don't think it's relevant really as the OP is presumably considering the contracts already on offer, from a mix of well rated and poorly rated companies.

I would personally still far prefer the company with a good environment, even to the point of a moderately lower rate. There are many reasons why good companies also need to bring in contractors, particularly if they're small or if it's a niche, stopgap or time-limited role.

I would distinguish between a company that may be backward technically and seeking to modernise - who are receptive to change, and with generally amicable staff, vs a company who are backward because of politics, bureaucracy and luddites - I would try to avoid the latter as even a good rate is not worth it if I can't do my job and my skills slip as a result.

[saptastic]

- Glassdoor also have commercial relationships with employers to advertise so there is a conflict
- One experience good or bad can not always be reflective - often there are good teams and bad teams
- As is clear on trustpilot can you really trust an anonymous online view?

Also is it relevant for contractors.

[northernladuk]

I was looking at a DevOps role at a certain F1 team in Surrey last week, but their Glassdoor reviews were so bad I did not bother.

I'd have guessed a setup like that would have negative reviews due to the pressure...but likely to be many peoples dream job. Each to their own.

[tvr450]

I was looking at a DevOps role at a certain F1 team in Surrey last week, but their Glassdoor reviews were so bad I did not bother.

[MyUserName]

Where I work there is at least one fake review there. It is very negative but the generic comments do not actually apply to what we do here and the job title they claim to have had for 10 years is not one we actually have.

I have also seem highly posititve reviews pop up for a ghastly place that I used to work at.

Very hard to tell which ones are real and which ones are not unless you already know the place.

[sal]

That's not true, even with the exceptions caveat.

What is low. Some companies with offices not in city centres pay less even if they are only 30 mins out. It means employees locally based save a hell of a lot of money and time. Some put benefits over cash. Events, pension, offers, holidays etc. These are all things that could mean lower salaries, but some employees value them more.

What else, perhaps the company likes to promote internally and train their staff. This usually means people are "lower paid" according to the market, but generally more satisfied because they are actually moving up the ladder, earning skills and experience.

One of places I worked in had a fantastic internal promotion policy. They were relatively dynamic too, so staff had the flexibility in a lot of cases to pick the tech they wanted to use. Also meant they could look at cutting edge. The staff were relatively lower paid. They weren't a small place either.

Salary isn't everything for permies. For us, it is more important obviously. That's one of the main reasons we moved to contracting (calling bs on anyone who says it wasn't a factor).

Like I mentioned in my first post in that specific case the low salary was coupled with general poor responses from people that worked there. So it wasn't your suburban utopia. Not sure what kind of permies you are in contact with, but for most of my permie friends and the people I work with, the salary size is very high on the list. I never did say it's the only factor.

As for the last bit - you can call BS as much as you like. I didn't move to contracting for mainly for the money, but for the flexibility and more or less immunity to office politics.

[l35kee]

There are exceptions to every rule, but generally paying low salary means the employer doesn't care much about the staff, which means that they usually don't care much about their tech, which means old neglected tech to work with.

That's not true, even with the exceptions caveat.

What is low. Some companies with offices not in city centres pay less even if they are only 30 mins out. It means employees locally based save a hell of a lot of money and time. Some put benefits over cash. Events, pension, offers, holidays etc. These are all things that could mean lower salaries, but some employees value them more.

What else, perhaps the company likes to promote internally and train their staff. This usually means people are "lower paid" according to the market, but generally more satisfied because they are actually moving up the ladder, earning skills and experience.

One of places I worked in had a fantastic internal promotion policy. They were relatively dynamic too, so staff had the flexibility in a lot of cases to pick the tech they wanted to use. Also meant they could look at cutting edge. The staff were relatively lower paid. They weren't a small place either.

Salary isn't everything for permies. For us, it is more important obviously. That's one of the main reasons we moved to contracting (calling bs on anyone who says it wasn't a factor).

[l35kee]

Like every review site out there, the people who have bad experiences are more likely to rant about it than those who have a good experience.

[sal]

Must have been towards the more identical if you looking at (and believing) the reviews of employees at a client helped your decision which contract to take. Personally this would be way way down my list of critera for a decision but each to their own. The best gig I've had was at a company that appeared to be a bit of a mare for employees (and wasn't when you got there).

It was way down my list as well and wasn't the sole deciding factor, just one more item on the pros/cons list. I wouldn't turn down a contract based on glassdoor reviews...

Salary in itself is not necessarily a motivating factor - for example, some charities pay quite poorly (relatively) but still attract good, happy staff.

High personnel turnover and low skill level seems perfect for bringing in a freelance consultant to help improve that situation.

There are exceptions to every rule, but generally paying low salary means the employer doesn't care much about the staff, which means that they usually don't care much about their tech, which means old neglected tech to work with.

Unhappy permies are hard to work with unless you are working on an isolated bubbled project you will have to rely on them for your work. It might be good for long lasting invoicing, but not good for my mind. But to each their own.

[CoolCat]

Like anything else they can be gamed

So need taking with a dose of reality

[TheFaQQer]

Looking at glassdoor reviews indicated that one of the ClientCo treated their employees poorly, offering low pay - this means low morale, high personnel turnover and low skill level overall.

Salary in itself is not necessarily a motivating factor - for example, some charities pay quite poorly (relatively) but still attract good, happy staff.

High personnel turnover and low skill level seems perfect for bringing in a freelance consultant to help improve that situation.

[northernladuk]

It had helped me decide between 2 other wise more or less identical contract - same rate, commute, role

Looking at glassdoor reviews indicated that one of the ClientCo treated their employees poorly, offering low pay - this means low morale, high personnel turnover and low skill level overall. And this information affected my choice. Although as a contractor you are not directly affected by this, the atmosphere at the office makes a difference.

@OP As in any other review site - it's mix of real and fake reviews, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Must have been towards the more identical if you looking at (and believing) the reviews of employees at a client helped your decision which contract to take. Personally this would be way way down my list of critera for a decision but each to their own. The best gig I've had was at a company that appeared to be a bit of a mare for employees (and wasn't when you got there).