By Adam Turteltaub
adam.turteltaub@corporatecompliance.org
When I was in the seventh grade, a new boy arrived at my school. He was there, I later learned from him, not because his family had moved, but because he had failed seventh grade. The school district had changed his school so he could avoid the stigma of watching classmates move on, while he was left behind.
He had a new school and a fresh start. The only kids who knew about his past were those he told. Back then, putting your past behind you was relatively easy.
For businesses today, there is no such opportunity. The headlines last, and so does popular memory. Google remembers everything, but so, too, do other sites that job seekers and the public can go to.
So, in addition to telling employees to ask themselves, “How would your action look on the front page of the New York Times?” Also, ask them how would their actions look on these sites:
Glassdoor is filled with both job listings and reviews of what it’s like to work at that company. If employees think the culture is bad, they’ll let the world know.
Violation Tracker 2.0 is a searchable, and reportedly expanding, database of fines and settlements. The database is far from complete – for Siemens it doesn’t mention the FCPA settlement – but its sponsors appear dedicated to growing it.
Yelp isn’t just for restaurant reviews. As a dentist and hunter from Minnesota discovered the public can even use Yelp reviews to vent when they disagree with something that you did.
It’s all a good reminder that the world is watching, recording and commenting from more places than you might think.
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Thanks for the tip on Violation Tracker! Also, I have found Glassdoor an invaluable way to explore a company’s culture. It takes some time to really analyze the reviews, but the signs this provides gives a solid peak behind the curtain.
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