How to Respond to Negative Employee Reviews Online

An ex-employee company review can be beneficial or detrimental to your organization, which is why many ignore them or don’t publish them at all. However, according to a recent report, not including or responding to negative employee reviews at all can reflect even more poorly. 

iHire's recently released 2023 State of Online Recruiting report revealed that 38.5% of job seekers are interested in reading testimonials from current and former employees on job boards. Another 29.4% said they always read employee reviews before applying. Despite this, only 7.2% of companies said publishing employee testimonials was important to them – the second-lowest employer priority for recruiting platforms. 

Continue reading to learn how to respond in these challenging situations, including examples of responding to negative employee reviews.

Why Responding to Negative Employee Reviews Is Important

The 2023 State of Online Recruiting Report spotlights the importance of having an open and genuine public image on job boards, which can be complicated when dealing with negative reviews. The 29% of job seekers who read testimonials likely won't bother applying if they see predominantly negative comments about your company. Giving a genuine and professional response – the kind of communication that's part of a healthy company culture – might encourage high-quality candidates to apply regardless. 

The report also revealed that job seekers’ biggest challenge is applying and not hearing back from employers. This lack of communication stresses the need for employers to be responsive on job boards, including by responding to employee reviews. 

How to Respond to a Negative Employee Review

Responding to negative employee reviews is now considered crucial to protecting your company's brand, though how you respond is arguably more important. Word choice, tone, and several other factors contribute to how future candidates perceive your company and must be considered before posting.

Use Time and Teamwork to Craft the Message

Whether you get feedback from others or co-write it, your response should be a group effort. Responding to negative employee reviews is tricky and hinges entirely on word choice. The wrong phrasing could cast your organization in a negative light and "prove the reviews right" to candidates. 

Make numerous drafts of your response, and don't type within the comment section itself to avoid posting prematurely. Passing the message through multiple hands within your company will help identify typos, potential misconceptions, emotionally charged phrases, and branding mistakes. You should also show the response to a third party, such as your human resources department, for unbiased feedback.

Acknowledge Their Grievance

Negative testimonials can range from genuine concerns to complaints by ex-employees who simply weren't good fits. Most candidates understand that there are two sides to each story and know how to separate disgruntled comments from the issues they care about. That said, applicants' previous negative experiences, workplace changes, and biases can make even emotionally charged and uneven reviews look like red flags about major problems at your company.

Acknowledging grievances in your responses informs candidates that your company is communicative and open to change. Most likely care more about your decisions and actions moving forward than the mistakes you've already corrected. 

How specifically you acknowledge negative comments may depend on their gravity, though you should take responsibility where possible. For example, a three-star review citing previous scheduling policies is an easy opportunity to comment directly on the grievance and explain how the problem has been corrected. 

However, there are limitations to how much you can acknowledge. Always check with leadership and legal teams before posting any non-broad apologies, and take care not to create a worse issue with your response. In some cases, it's better not to acknowledge the concern or respond at all.

Only Respond on the Review Site

If you suspect who is behind an anonymous testimonial, you may be tempted to confront them about it – especially if they're a current employee. However, the review site should be the only place you respond to negative comments. On the site, you can offer them the opportunity to contact you to investigate the issue, such as by providing a company email. Whether reviewers make contact outside the platform is their choice. 

Emailing, calling, or personally asking reviewers to remove their comments is unprofessional and could land your organization in legal trouble. Additionally, confronting a previous or current employee about the review could break the job board's policies and get your organization removed from the platform.

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Responding to Negative Employee Reviews Examples

How you write out your response should depend on the company review. To keep your brand feeling personal, you should avoid repeating the same responses and be sure to acknowledge specific questions and comments. 

Making statements present and future-oriented can significantly impact their perception. For instance, instead of responding, “We are sorry that you felt undervalued,” you could write, “As a company, we aim to make all of our employees feel valued and apologize that you did not have that experience.”

Below are a few phrasing examples for responding to negative employee reviews:

• "We're sorry you had a negative experience."
• "We are sorry your time with our company did not meet our standards."
• "Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention."
• “We appreciate you taking the time to share feedback with us.”
• "We are committed to change."
• "Your comments will help us be more attentive and proactive in the future."
• "Please reach out so we can discuss this issue further."

Learn More About the Changing Recruitment Market

Candidates' preferences and needs are changing and becoming more important in 2023 and beyond. As a result, employers and hiring managers must keep up with the evolving market to learn what candidates look for, from job descriptions to ex-employee company reviews. The 2023 State of Online Recruiting Report highlights some of the most significant changes as employer and employee needs continue to shift – view the full report today.