COVID-19 has changed the way we work: offices were closed, business meetings moved from boardrooms to living rooms, and candidates began engaging remotely. Even in a downturn, top talent is watching how employers respond to fast-changing circumstances.
We sat down with Stephen Stewart, Talent Brand Director at RingCentral, to hear specifics on how they protected their employer brand during this turbulent time and how Glassdoor helped achieve results.
GD: Why is employer brand awareness important, even in a downturn?
SS: We see many organizations cutting back on their employer brand investment in this global pandemic mode - and, of course, everyone has to do what is right for them. But at RingCentral, we understand the importance of keeping our employer brand strong - or even bolstering it during this unprecedented time. It's really important for us to continue letting top talent know what we are working on, what opportunities we offer, what our culture is like, and why we value collaboration. As a collaboration software provider, the demand for our product is high, and we are actively hiring to ensure we deliver for our customers.
With Brand Spotlight Ads, RingCentral raised candidate awareness by 6X (based on brand views on Glassdoor)
GD: Why is Glassdoor an important solution for building your employer brand?
SS: Glassdoor is a great channel for both active job seekers who know exactly what role and company they want, as well as passive candidates who come to explore and learn more about us. The approximately 800 reviews that we have on Glassdoor are very insightful and valuable for people looking to get a pulse check on our culture and opportunities.
Read more: How to Build an Employer Brand
GD: The Glassdoor team calls RingCentral an exemplary customer when building a mutually beneficial relationship. How do you maximize value through the relationship?
Stephan Stewart responded with the following list:
- First, we set recurring meetings with the Glassdoor team to ensure we don't neglect the channel.
- Second, it's important to keep the profile updated. If you don't have fresh, timely content on Glassdoor, candidates will notice.
- Also, we make sure to monitor reviews. We are fortunate that the majority of our reviews are positive, but every so often we get a negative or even wildly inaccurate review. We always respond to reviews like that, but never take it personally. Glassdoor is a social listening tool for us. It's a feedback mechanism. Everyone loves positive feedback, but to be honest, constructive criticism is really where we grow, make our culture better, and drive engagement with new talent.
- We check analytics on Glassdoor, which gives us a valuable perspective on how things evolve over time, such as our rating or monthly page views.
- Finally, we establish collaboration with our colleagues across talent acquisition, human resources, marketing, and public relations to manage our Glassdoor profile successfully.
Read more: Responding to Negative Glassdoor Reviews: FAQs
GD: In the past few years, your Glassdoor rating has increased to an impressive 4.6 (the average rating is 3.4 based on a 5-point scale). How did you achieve it?
SS: I'd say the secret is our investment in a strong culture. People like working with each other here. Good people attract other good people and that ultimately contributes to more positive employee engagement. It's a virtuous circle that keeps going, and one of the results is a higher score on Glassdoor. Turns out, happy and engaged employees build a more successful business. Although we have a great score on Glassdoor, we always challenge ourselves to be better. Even if we see that people are pretty happy, we want to know how to increase that happiness and continue to build a culture of winning together.
Since partnering with Glassdoor, RingCentral increased its employee engagement and satisfaction rating by 44%, from 3.2 to 4.6 on a 5-point scale.
GD: How has the focus of your people teams changed in light of COVID-19?
SS: Going through a 100% digital collaboration is a change for us. As we continue to bring new talent onboard, our hiring and onboarding process has totally shifted. It's now entirely virtual and our focus is on bringing people into our culture via entirely digital experiences. Fortunately, we have an instant messaging platform and many of the groups there, like RC Spirit and our Life@ groups, give a very authentic, often hilarious view into the personalities who work at RingCentral. As we evolve our tools, we'll develop more ways to express our culture digitally.
We also had to decide whether we should proceed with or cancel our internship program, and we decided to do our first all-virtual internship. Interns are a long-time investment: I can tell you that many of our top performers today started as interns. So despite the challenges, we know it's important to always keep our long-term success in mind.
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