For business managers with better things to do, dealing with the employer-rating website Glassdoor can feel like a waste of precious time. Yet little could be further from the truth.

Glassdoor is one of today’s loudest voices when it comes to the reputation of companies, their processes and management. Over thirty million job seekers use Glassdoor each month to try to find work and 61% of Glassdoor’s users turn to the site for information on an employer before applying for a job. In addition to this, nearly 70% say they’re more likely to apply to your company if you’ve a track record of addressing complaints made publically against you.

So what should you do if you find that you’ve been negatively reviewed on the site? Well, the first thing is to establish a company profile. There are many advantages to doing this:

• You can access analytics on your reviews
• You can attract quality candidates with targeted advertising
• You will establish your company as an engaged and professional outfit.

While you shouldn’t force your employees to write positive reviews about you (readers can tell when they’re fake, and you might just make your employee more likely to publish something negative when they leave) it is a good idea to encourage colleagues to post their honest thoughts in the form of constructive feedback. 

On reading negative feedback, it is important to:

• Stay calm
• Sleep on it
• Review the criticisms objectively.

If there is an issue that may go deeper, investigate it fully before addressing it in public; meanwhile, you might want to leave a message acknowledging the review, saying that you are looking into the issues, so it doesn’t look like you’re ignoring your reviewer.

For a full step-by-step guide on how to write your response, try working through this infographic from Headway Capital – because Glassdoor is more than an idle distraction, it’s the window through which many in your industry will glance the inner workings of your business.