How to Curb Negative Online Reviews of your Company

How to Curb Negative Online Reviews of your CompanyHow to Curb Negative Online Reviews of your CompanyHow to Curb Negative Online Reviews of your Company RossheimWhats better than a beautifully crafted response to public criticism of your company? A negative review that never happens because employees are satisfied at work or they feel free to express their dissatisfactionand binnenseek redress offline.Although it takes time and effort, successfully managing online reviews will help maintain your companys star rating. A recent pollreveals just how significant those stars can be to todays job seekers.Based on a five-star rating system, a majority (38%) of U.S. respondents would only apply to companies with at least a 3-star rating. The poll also found that a third of respondents would never apply to a company with bad employee reviews.Clearly, the task of managing negative reviews should bea critical component of youremployer brand managementstrategy. Read on for insights on how you canhead offnegative reviews as well as someremedies to use when all else fails.Head off public criticism with open internal communications. Human resources can serve as a back channel for employee complaints. Negative reviews can bring up legitimate issues, says Joseph Sullivan, a partner at law firm Taylor English in Atlanta. Its important for the HR department to have an open communication policy for employees who feel theyre not being respected, so they dont leave company and have an axe to grind.Make it a practice to conduct exit interviewswith departing employees to help bring closure to existing issues.Create a trusted forum for in-person feedback. Assume that employees will feel that their expressions of legitimate concerns might be used against them and do the hard work of changing that perception by creating a more open organization. When you build a safe space that encourages employees to speak their minds and share their perspectives, you can address feelings of dissati sfaction in real time and prevent frustrated individuals from venting about your company on an open forum, says Andre Lavoie, CEO of ClearCompany, which offers talent management software. Make them feel comfortable with addressing their concerns in person.Give reviewers other ways to contact the relevant people at your company. Offer a path for reviewers to provide additional feedback an email address, website or phone numbers as a way for reviewers to talk more about why they wrote the review they did. You might be able to stop a negative review in its tracks.Search for root causes of complaints. Employees likely wont tell the whole story of their experience with your company which might be a good thing. Use their remarks as a springboard for a deeper examination of the situation.Look into negative comments for the underlying issue that makes employees feel this way, says Lavoie. If you see many complaints on a given theme such as bullying, or lapses in employee communication use them to press leadership for needed changes.Act on legitimate employee criticism. Company reviews can also be useful for identifying more granular issues. Create a pipeline to float information from the employee feedbackto the right part of your business. Think about how youre bringing feedback to the line of business or to HR to take action. And consider how company leadership will see these reviews.Consider asking the employee to remove their negative review. Sometimes its possible to tie even an anonymous post to a specific employee. If you feel such comments are unfair, consider asking the employee to remove them. We usually recommend going directly to the employee and trying to get them to take down the negative review, says Sullivan.Ask the review site to remove over-the-line comments. When a review contains inaccurate statements, you can try seeking a remedy through the review site. If you believe the review is completely false, you can reach out to the company-review sit e to ask to have it removed, says Rebecca McClure, an associate with Axia Public Relations.Sometimes you have to prove the review false, sometimes the review site researches it. But beware of starting a game of whack-a-mole the complaining employee can probably repost similar comments on the same site or others under a different pseudonym.Defamation may warrant legal action. Perhaps as a last resort, consider getting legal counsel involved. Once in a while an ex-employee posts a defamatory statement and we issue a send a cease-and-desist letter, says Sullivan.

Infographic Old vs. New Workstyles

Infographic Old vs. New WorkstylesInfographic Old vs. New Workstyles4KCheck out this infographic on old vs. new workstylesThe infographic basically defines and illustrates what strives to do in terms of promoting new workstyles and work-life balance as the future of workand it does it so well. So, weve decided to shut up about it and just show you.

5 Ways to Regulate Your Emotions at Work

5 Ways to Regulate Yur Emotions at Work5 Ways to Regulate Your Emotions at Work Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a set of capabilities, that allows you to perceive and identify the emotions of other people, while becoming mora self-aware, and in control of your own emotions. Stphane Ct, Professor of Organizational Behavior says, that like all skill sets, emotional intelligence likely has some portion that is innate, but also that it can be developed to some extent with deliberate practice and development in others. In a simple framework , emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to recognize your own emotions, and the ability to use this awareness to manage your behaviors and relationships.While the research suggests that strong emotional intelligence can underpin much of our own success, many people still struggle, especially when it comes to regulating their own emotions. Ct attributes this to the fact that emotional intelligence, as a skill set, is ra rely formally taught in school, nor do people have the space to formally develop their emotional intelligence capabilities and receive corrective feedback in the workplace.There are many different things you can do to build a stronger sense of emotional self-regulation, especially at work1. Be mindful of the environments that trigger you. If you know a certain situation will cause you stress and an emotional reaction, try to avoid it if you can, and be selective whenever possible. Ct explains that your emotions will have a strong power over your thinking, so set yourself up for success by creating environments that support you.2. Optimize and calibrate your emotional state for the task at hand, so that your emotions are the appropriate ones. When people are more positive, they are also more creativity. So when you have to do creative work, if you can regulate and make your emotions more positive, youll be able to find more success. Ct explains that sometimes youll have to optimize y our emotional state downwards too. For example, if you need to follow guidelines, then you cant be too positive, because too much excitement and creativity could make you deviate. Sometimes, youll have to focus on emotional neutrality in the face of difficult challenges.3. Avoid bottling your emotions when possible. When people suppress their emotions, it can lead to long term burnout, which could negatively impact your career in the long run This does bedrngnis mean you should be spilling your guts out at the water cooler every day, rather, talk to someone you trust. Turn to trusted friends, coworkers, or even HR, and find ways not to keep it all inside, says Ct.4. Use re-appraisals to find a more positive meaning from events going on. A re-appraisal is a way to reframe an event in such a way that allows you to change your emotional response. For example, if you have to work with someone you consider to be difficult, rather than getting upset, try and see what you can gain from the situation. You might ask yourself questions like What difficult position might my boss be in? or How might I see the situation from their point of view? You could also benefit from telling yourself Its ok to feel anxious or overwhelmed that its a normal response. This can be hard to do, but consider how you can reframe problems as challenges that can be overcome.When you feel emotionally triggered, the reactive and emotional part of your brain can override the part of your brain that allows for deliberate thinking, and controlled decision making. To become self-aware of when this is happening, notice the physiological signs when you start seeing red. If youre feeling your heart rate speed up, youre feeling hot-headed, and you feel that sense of fight or flight, consider not responding to your colleagues email or request until youve cooled down and can respond in a way that you would not regret the next day Rather than give in to your knee-jerk reaction, slow down, and give yo ur calm brain a chance to catch up to your emotional brain. A few deep breaths and a walk around the block can go a long way.Emotional Intelligence is no longer a touchy-feely skill to be ignored. In fact, strong EQ can be just as important (if not more) than IQ in some jobs, and can be an important part of what moves certain people up the ladder, when their IQ and technical skills are roughly in line with their peersIf youre hoping to build a successful and sustainable career, dont overlook the power of your own emotions.