IT Recruiter Customer Reviews
When looking for help finding IT talent, whether you’re someone in an HR department or a hiring manager in IT, common searches on Google that many often do include checking for lists of things on the Internet like “best IT recruiters in Minneapolis,” or “top Minnesota IT recruiting firms.” Then, following that kind of Google search work, the next Google searches are often about checking on the ‘reputation’ of a short list of some specific recruiters or staffing agencies with some additional Google searches. The most common reputation checks include checking out:
- CLIENTS: Who they claim as their clients (sometimes listed on their website)
- ENDORSEMENTS: If they have any endorsements (Better Business Bureau, industry certifications, LinkedIn, endorsements, and the like), and
- CUSTOMER REVIEWS: What others are saying about them in on-line customer reviews and testimonials (found on their website, in Yelp, Google+, directory listings, and other such social media environments)
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews of IT recruiters, like customer reviews in most businesses, can be a great place to get a quick feel for the good things and the not-so-good things that people are saying about a particular staffing agency or recruiter.
Caution #1 – Only Positive Reviews Shown: Reviews can be so cherry picked by the business as to show only the most glowing, positive reviews that they’re able to secure.
GKA, on the other hand, is using an independent 3rd party service to collect reviews that maintains very strict public rules to ensure all reviews are posted (unless fraudulant, verbally offensive, etc.). There is a link to this service provider’s FAQ on this topic at the bottom of this blog posting.
Caution #2 – Reviews Edited Before Posting: Reviews on websites can be edited before posting. For example, researchers at Yale, Dartmouth, and USC have found evidence that hotel owners post fake reviews to boost their ratings on the site—and might even be posting negative reviews of nearby competitors.
GKA, on the other hand, is using an independent 3rd party service to collect reviews that maintains very strict public rules to ensure all reviews are posted exactly as written (unless fraudulant, verbally offensive, etc.). There is a link to this service provider’s FAQ on this topic at the bottom of this blog posting.
Caution #3 – Negative Reviews Fake or Malicious: The study just mentioned in Caution #2 also concluded that some are producing fake negative reviews for nearby competitors. And all too often, an angry customer or fired employee will be so emotionally upset that their negative comments are over the top.
Caution #4 – Reviews Requested by Company Directly: Just as doctors are not supposed to heal themselves and public companies require independent 3rd party financial audits, un-biased customer reviews are best requested and maintained by independent 3rd party companies to ensure strong trust.
GKA, on the other hand, is using an independent 3rd party service to collect reviews that maintains very strict public rules to ensure all reviews are legitimate and unbiased. There is a link to this service provider’s FAQ on this topic at the bottom of this blog posting.
What Customer Review Approaches Can You Best Trust?
Advice #1 – 3rd Party Review Solicitation: Reviews collected on behalf of a technical staffing agency, or any company for that matter, not collected directly by the company itself, are best because they are solicited from an independent 3rd with a strong reputation of its own.
Advice #2 – All Reviews Posted Whenever Possible – BUT: The goal should be to post all reviews. Numerous studies show bad reviews in with good can actually help a company’s reputation. That said, reviews need to be 1) validated to be a real customer, 2) allow a company to at least challenge reviews that are false, and 3) not posted if they contain obscenities or defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased/offensive, unlawfully threatening, or unlawfully harassing to any individual or corporation.
.Advice #3 – All Reviews Posted on an Independent Platform: Reviews are great on any website, but they should also be available off the website on a platform of trust.
Advice #4 – All Reviews Include a Policy Statement of Trust & Process: Just as websites have copyright and legal policy statements associated with them, it is recommended that published customer reviews should have a policy statement and even and FAQ associated with them to ensure both the posters of reviews and the readers of reviews know the rules.
At our IT staffing firm, we want our potential new clients to see what our past and existing customers have to say about us, and for others to fully trust the reviews posted. Click here to see our reviews on-lineand look to the bottom of the page for the Reviews FAQ.
Tags:
IT Recruiting Firm, IT Staffing Firm, IT Headhunter, IT Placement Services and Customer Reviews