Should I make a life choice based on Glass Door information?

[DinoDinner]

I've been offered a position in a charity and the reviews on Glass Door are SHOCKING!!

I always take reviews with a pinch of salt, whether they're holiday or restaurant reviews.

But you can normally get a common theme from reviews and usually I find them informative.

But what about GlassDoor? Do people use it to see if they could work there? The reviews are really putting me off working there and don't know whether to accept the position!!

Am I being unreasonable to take these reviews into account when making my decision?

People only post on there to complain, so usually you see overwhelmingly negative reviews and not much positive, it's not at all balanced.

However it's worth wondering why so many people are so driven to complain about the company at all?

Many factors here

Have any particular concerns been raised that you would discuss with them?

Not unreasonable at all. I always check Glass door before I move, and the third sector is known for being awful to work in (with a few exceptions) so I’d investigate further.

I don't know. I had a temp job once with an IT/media company with really, really terrible reviews on glassdoor.

From an outsiders point of view, whilst the young CEO had obvious favourites and it caused cultural issues, it wasn't that bad (not brilliant but not terrible). The hours were reasonable, the pay good, nice soft perks, it was OK.

But, I think they had lots of graduates who quite frankly didn't have any other paid work experience to compare to with. When they left, they left poor reviews, they were read by the remaining workforce, and when others moved on, they then followed the trend of leaving reviews on glassdoor. It was a bit of a vicious cycle.

Before declining an offer, I think I would speak to the recruiting manager and share your concerns and listen carefully to their answers.

I would take them seriously and be cautious, but not as an absolute fact. It also depends on your current situation. Leaving a good position for a small step-up is a different risk / reward situation than leaving an unhappy job or going for a big career advancement.

I’ve worked in a couple of places with terrible Glassdoor reviews (including a large National children’s charity) I wish I’d taken them seriously!

People are usually honest on Glassdoor. They don’t bother to review their employer unless they’re really bad and they want to warn others. So a lot of negative reviews means there’s a lot of people who feel strongly enough to want to warn others.

I agree @Spedder

I wouldn't not take the job based on Glassdoor alone but would share your concerns with the hiring manager and ask what they've done / are doing to act on the feedback. Then you can make your decision following that.

I'd believe them. The charity sector can be a complete nightmare.

What are the common themes of the negative reviews? Did you see any evidence for or against them, or red flags, at interview?

If the reviews are lucid and have consistent negative themes, I'd take them seriously, yes. You could speak to the hiring manager and say you'd like to meet a member of the team and ask them more about what it's like to work there.

I think that people are more likely to post negative than positive reviews. I would give them due consideration.

A few things to consider:-

1.Are the more recent reviews more positive or negative - may indicate a trend?

1. How many reviews are there, relegate to the number of staff I.e. if there's only 50 staff but 200 reviews, turnover is high, retention clearly an issue

1. Check length of service also as it gives more onsite

1. Check if the negativity is departmental. Where I work, it's generally good and the negative reviews relate mainly to one department & I would never work there but the rest is fine

If multiple reviews keep listing the same issues I take them seriously

Are the reviews quite recent? And is it a big charity? The bad reviews could be about a different department /team and if its a big org then you might not even be affected. If its very small and there are reviews that bad, I'd possibly steer clear as it's likely the whole organisation is badly run.

Were there any red flags in the interview? And do you know why the person before you left?

Hmmm thanks for all the feedback.

Yes third sector is pretty awful wot work for, but saying that I've seen some amazing GlassDoor reviews for some charities.

It's definitely an employees market at the moment, Charity employers just can not get positions recruited!

Yes this charity is a large military charity, and seems to have just gone through a shakeup of a specific department, which is where a lot of the negative reviews are coming from.

However there is a common theme going through, bullying, mismanagement. It has 120 reviews and a score of 3.

There looks like there is more redundancies coming too, so not sure why they are recruiting!

I'm not sure what good talking to HR would be, they're not going to agree that yes they're is a def bullying culture here.

It's a difficult one as I love the charity and what it stands for, as do most of the reviews. But the reviews are pretty overwhelming.

Thanks for all your different thoughts.

Yes all the reviews are recent, very recent.

OP "I'm not sure what good talking to HR would be, they're not going to agree that yes they're is a def bullying culture here. "

Again, so many variables, what are you leaving etc
Is it worth saying "I have concerns about what I have read" so you've set your boundaries? I'd probably say it on my first day but if you're senior you might want to use it as leverage to improve the offer.

One of the best salaries I've had was with a charity who had a really bad rep. Drove it up twice in a year because people kept leaving.

DH has always found them pretty accurate.

Why don't you search for people who used to work there on Linked in and message them asking what it's like.

A conversation or two, rather than an anonymous internet rant, will give you more of an idea.

I refused an interview on the back of Glassdoor reviews. Amd later found out that they were entirely accurate and the CEO was a sociopath and there’s was a s hiking culture of bullying there.
Am glad I

I would
Listen to recent reviews.

A military charity with recent reviews of bullying and mismanagement. I’d avoid it. Charities have lost a lot of income during the pandemic. The top people are under a lot of pressure to squeeze every penny out. I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. I say that as an ex finance manager of three charities.

Glass door was spot on about my dh's latest place of work. Thankfully he got out before they managed to sink his mental health to rock bottom.
If you go for it, think about giving it a limited amount of time and no longer before jumping ship if it's not right and try to have a rough plan b.

Personally i'd take heed.

If its the usual "i wasn't paid enough" "the hours are really long boo hoo" - crack on.

Reading between the lines this sounds like its not its... toxic workplace, bullying, line management horror stories, systematic issues, gross incompetency being covered up, people going on sick leave with stress... if so, run don't walk

I ignored bad reviews on there once and really regretted it

I had the same quandary earlier this year. Also a charity. I was excited about the opportunity I’d been offered, then saw the reviews..
I told my potential manager I had concerns and why and also the person in recruitment who offered me the job. The woman in recruitment hinted that the department I would be working for was not the area being described in the reviews as well as telling me that there was change happening in the organisation as a whole.
In the end I decided to take the job and decide for myself, I could always leave if it was that bad. Fine so far, the usual bullshit you find in charities but that’s the nature of the beast and they already know I won’t engage in it. I’m glad I raised the concerns before I decided, as pp said, it sets the boundaries. They know I’ll speak up and not put up with poor treatment of myself or others