Bring up negative reviews on Glassdoor at interview?

[TurquoiseKiss]

I have a first-stage interview tomorrow with a big organisation (thousands of employees in 20+ countries). Some of the reviews on Glassdoor for their UK headquarters are awful. Lots of mentions of toxic management. Probably 3 negative reviews for every positive review. They date from 2016 and the most recent is from 2022.

I was considering bringing this up in the interview? I don't want them to have to be defensive on the spot, and I appreciate they may not know what specific reviews I'm referring to. Would this leave a bad impression of me?

Or, is this a question to ask if I'm actually offered a position there?

Glassdoor reviews are generally left by someone with an axe to grind. I wouldn’t pay any attention. Ask them the questions that matter to you about what it’s like to work there

Bad reviews are usually by people who have been sacked or had some other issue going on. I wouldn’t take any notice personally.

I don’t think there’s any point in a massive organisation - often culture is very specific to teams, and as PP says people who are perfectly happy are unlikely to bother with Glassdoor.

I would however ask questions about culture and working styles. Be as specific as you can with things that are important to you, or any themes that come up on Glassdoor.

How desperately are you job hunting? If you have an okay job and are only tentatively thinking about moving then ask away - you're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you, and their response will probably be quite informative!

If however you really need them more than they need you then it's probably better not to...

I had this exact dilemma recently for a final stage interview. I was presenting my idea for an action plan if I got the role. I decided not to mention the reviews, but focused my plan on being people centric instead and ensuring people get the support of they need in their role. I haven't heard back yet so don't know if I've got the job, but feel this was a more positive way of addressing the problem.

I did mention the poor Glassdoor reviews during my interview and I got the job. The funny thing was that a few days after I mentioned Glassdoor, there was a string of newly added positive reviews! I am guessing the Line Manager had the team write some positives. Sadly, some of the negative aspects I could definitely agree with after working there for a while.

If there's a number of them I'd believe them and seek a role elsewhere.

Definitely worth a mention. The company I work for (I am head of recruitment) had a string of bad reviews after an incident a few years ago. We are open about it and what massive changes were made to ensure we never ended up in that place again. A company worth its salt will talk to you about it, a red flag would be a company getting shitty if you bring it up.

Like TripAdvisor ignore the extremes. Either they have an axe to grind or they are planted

I disagree with previous comments just because of my experience.

I think if there is a large volume of bad reviews they are worth heeding or noticing. My previous job had a few of these and it turned out to be the worst job I've ever had and destroyed my mental health. I left a negative review last year and it's in good company with 12 other reviews to that effect.

In contrast im a lot happier in my current job 2 years on and the Glassdoor reviews were fairly accurate and there were no scary ones which is reflective of a decent place.

That sounds too many to be the usual axe to grind. I'd be raising it and even questioning why I was applying.

If there are several saying the same thing I would assume the reviews are true and consider whether you want to work there.
I would be careful about mentioning glasdoor as I think it might change the dynamics of the conversation but you can definitely ask about the issues raised, and a very defensive response will also give useful information.