Hey there, Happy Wednesday and welcome to the 44 people who joined us over the last week!🎉🎊

In this week's newsletter — anonymous reviews and employee experience, a free 30-day trial of Empuls, new job postings from DoorDash, Amazon, and more in our PeopleOps job board, and some interesting articles about HR/TA and HR Tech. 

Have you checked out our new free course on calculating and presenting the ROI for new HR Tech tools? We cover topics like what's ROI and what's not, calculating it from cost-per-hire and cost-to-fill, how to get executive buy-in, and its impact on the bottom line. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can sign up here.

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

- Phil Strazzulla
  Founder, SSR

💭Thought Bubble: A Transparent Glassdoor? 

While we couldn't resist the wordplay, a recent California court ruling against Glassdoor is a clear reminder that the anonymity of reviews on the website isn't guaranteed.

Magistrate Judge Alex Tse of the US District Court in the Northern District of California has ordered Glassdoor to reveal the identities of those who left anonymous negative reviews about working at Zuru, a New Zealand toy company. This verdict was in response to Zuru subpoenaing that information with the intention of filing defamation lawsuits against the reviewers. 

The anonymous reviews that referred to Zuru as a "burnout factory" with a "toxic culture" and an "incompetent management team" has resulted in the company spending significant time, money, and resources in combatting the negative publicity and perception. You can read the full story here.

The reality is that free-speech principles and laws differ from state to state and country to country. Anonymity isn't guaranteed, despite Glassdoor's attempts and commitment to fight legal battles such as these head-on. This ruling underscores that people must exercise caution and use their best judgment when posting online, even on a website that strives to preserve user anonymity. 

On the other hand, not every company that has negative reviews will choose to enter a defamation trial as Zuru did. However, as firm believers in the saying, "Prevention is better than cure", we've put together a short list of initiatives that HR teams can undertake to gauge employee satisfaction, course correct, and avoid scathing criticism online. 

• Pulse Surveys: These are frequent, specific, and short surveys to gain critical employee feedback on leadership, work-life balance, internal communication, company culture, and more. Pulse surveys have an 85% average response rate compared to regular engagement surveys with a 30-40% response rate. If you're looking for some inspiration, here are a few examples. 
• Exit interviews: Exit interviews provide soon-to-be ex-employees an opportunity to be honest and candid about why they're leaving your company. What's left unsaid often ends up as a review on Glassdoor. By opening the doors of communication and encouraging employees to provide constructive criticism, you're not only allowing them to get their feelings off their chest but also gaining valuable insights on how you can do better. Here are some sample exit interview questions from Glassdoor.  
• Employee engagement: Employee engagement is probably the buzzword of the decade, and for good reason. Engaged employees are happier, more productive, stick around for longer, and are more likely to leave a positive review (anonymous or otherwise) - it's that simple.  Employee experience is what sets great companies apart.
  
  And that brings us to this week's sponsor... 

You can try Empuls free for 30 days by using this link. You can also book a demo by clicking on the button below. 

👨‍💻 People Jobs From Amazing Companies 

Here are some of the latest jobs on our job board for the next generation of People Leaders: 

• Chief People & Culture Officer at DOROT

• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Partner at DoorDash

• Head of Talent Acquisition at Metabolic Living

• HR Analytics Analyst at Amazon

📰 Interesting Reads From Around The Web

Here's what we're reading this week to get smarter about HR/TA and HR Tech:

• White House takes on cyber workforce gap through 120-day apprenticeship sprint

• Forget “hiring better” – what about “onboarding better”?

• Best HR Software for Small Businesses - 2022