Joel Cheesman, founder of Ratedly.com and one half of The Chad & Cheese Podcast (a recruiting and HR-themed show), joined PracticeLink in March for a webinar on employment brand management for physician recruiters. Here’s an overview of the wisdom he shared.

In 2018, transparency rules the day, especially to young people. When choosing a spot for lunch, they’re less concerned with the photos or menu on a restaurant’s website and more concerned with the ratings it receives on Yelp. What do the actual eaters say? What does the food look like in the pictures they post? How many stars do the patrons think it deserves?

Job-seekers, especially young physicians, are increasingly treating their job searches the same way. They’re less concerned with what the CEO or recruiter says about a hospital’s culture and more concerned with the experiences of the providers themselves. What do other physicians and advanced practitioners think of working at your organization? Physician candidates weigh this feedback heavily—choosing the right job is much more important than choosing the right sandwich shop.

For this reason, the number of employer-rating options on the web continues to grow. Here are the mainstays and the up-and-comers that physician recruiters should be aware of:

1. Glassdoor

Still the 800-pound gorilla in the space, Glassdoor is not only the most well-known employer review site but also has the most reviews. It requires employees to list a pro and a con about their employer, and unlike some sites, it gives employers the opportunity to respond to ratings.

2. Indeed

Indeed is closing the gap on Glassdoor in the number of reviews. This site allow employees to leave comments and star ratings, and though they allow employers to engage with reviews, they don’t typically get as much engagement as Glassdoor.

3. kununu

A partner of job site Monster.com, kununu is receiving increasing numbers of reviews, which are also made on a five-star scale.

4. CareerBliss

One of the older players, this site is important because it performs well on Google. If you Google “jobs at [your organization],” there’s a strong chance CareerBliss rankings will come up, alongside the previous three.

5.  Fairygodboss

This is more of a niche employer review site, enabling women to write about their experiences as females within their organizations.

6. Reddit

Though not specifically an employer review site, the sheer traffic to this site (300 million visits per month) and the conversations it fosters online make it a hub of discussion among employees about their experiences with different employers.

7. Comparably

The new kid on the block, Comparably uses charts, graphs and text reviews in place of a five-star scale. It lets employees anonymously rate their workplaces and provides salary insights.

8. Twitter

As in the case of Reddit, Twitter is not a review site but still becomes a place for conversation about jobs and employers. Searching Twitter can provide a wealth of information about what people say about working for your organization.

9. Blind

An anonymous discussion app in the vein of Yik Yak, Blind allows employees to join the site with their work email address and then comment and converse about their workplace with anonymity.

10. Quora

Quora allows people to ask questions or answer those of others. By searching “work [your organization]” or “employee [your organization],” you can find the conversations happening about your organization.

With so many places for physicians and advanced practitioners to discuss their experiences at your organization, it’s important that you become part of the conversation. The most pressing thing for you to do is engage with and respond to current reviews. In your responses, accentuate the positive notes in people’s reviews, but also be specific about the complaints. If a physician notes a specific frustration about too much call or lack of support staff, for instance, mention the ways in which you’re trying to improve these areas. Make sure that you maintain a professional tone—don’t get emotional.

The worst thing you can do is put your head in the sand and hope for negative reviews to go away. These reviews are not just a factor in your candidates’ decision-making. They’re also an opportunity for your organization to identify and make needed changes, and they must be taken seriously.   

Another way to be part of the conversation about our employment brand and culture is to add your own relevant content to the web. Create a YouTube video called “working at [organization name],” add relevant keywords to the description, share it with employees and ask them to give it a thumbs up. Add a page to your website with the same name, and include the relevant keywords in your header tags and body copy. Link to it from elsewhere to improve its authority in the eyes of Google. Additionally, make sure that you’re making the most of your profile pages. PracticeLink, for example, lets you create profile pages for your recruiters, your organization and your facilities. These carry great SEO value and give you a place to share your organization’s story and culture.

It’s also important that you put some strategies in place to boost your number of positive reviews. Invite new physicians who’ve had positive onboarding experiences to review your organization right away. You can also set reminders to invite new hires to review your organization after their first 90 days or six months. Ask department heads to reach out to their happiest physicians and request reviews on a variety of sites. You can also use internal marketing—signs in the lounge or on cork boards—to invite your providers to go on Glassdoor or any other of these sites and leave positive reviews.

More than anything, see these review sites as an opportunity rather than a threat. When managed correctly and taken seriously, they can help you attract candidates and improve your organization’s culture.

Want to read more about employer branding for physician recruiters? Download our free ebook, Building Your Employer Brand.