Glass ceilings and revolving doors?

I’ve just stumbled upon a new website, called Glassdoor.com, an American website which allows employees to post (anonymously) what they really think about the company they work for on the web. It is looking to expand globally and claims to have reports from 11,000 employees in 80 countries. It allows you to compare your salary against competitors, provided you post, again anonymously, your own salary or review on where you currently work.  It’s free to access and the only commitment you need to make is, apparently, to post your own review. 

 

On the home page you’ll find the inside track on Accenture and JP Morgan Chase, with some detailed reviews of each company and an analysis of satisfaction levels based on the reviews filed.  JP Morgan Chase gets a rating of 3.5 out of 5 based on 111 reviews filed – pretty middling really. Whilst the attractions of the site are obvious to a prospective employee deciding whether to accept an offer of employment from a featured company, they may not be immediately apparent to an employer. The website tries to reassure employers that the site is of benefit to them because it will enable them to review themselves properly on the basis of the reviews and put their house in order if necessary.  It may also cause businesses to review their remuneration structures if the postings show them to be out of line.  Undoubtedly employers will get nervous about this, especially as discussions about salary and bonus between employees are frequently prohibited in contracts of employment (although this will be made illegal if the Equality Bill becomes law). 

 

The founders of the site say they called it “Glassdoor” to allow people to see right into a company and to get an idea what it is really like. In doing so, it may highlight the glass ceilings that exist in some companies and increase traffic through the doors.  In the end anything that gives more information to employees about the place where they work has to be a good thing.      

 

This article will appear in the “Docklands” and “Peninsula” newspapers week commencing 1st September 2008