Glassdoor CEO: Acquisition of Fishbowl will be good for job seekers and employers

3 years ago 307

The pandemic brought a full caller request for connectivity done the 2 platforms, helium said. Now occupation seekers tin get adjacent much answers to their questions astir companies.

TechRepublic's Karen Roby spoke with Christian Sutherland-Wong, CEO of Glassdoor, astir his company's acquisition of Fishbowl. The pursuing is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: We're excited to denote the acquisition of Fishbowl, which is simply a fast-growing societal web for moving professionals, wherever radical tin travel and person existent candid and meaningful conversations with different professionals. These are radical who could beryllium your colleagues oregon radical successful the aforesaid manufacture arsenic you.

SEE: IT disbursal reimbursement policy (TechRepublic Premium)

The bosom of what Fishbowl does is it creates workplace transparency, get those questions you wanted to answered and what's going connected successful your company, oregon what's going connected successful different companies. And this has been the bosom and halfway of what we bash astatine Glassdoor for implicit a decennary now. And truthful with this acquisition, we're excited to beryllium penning the adjacent section successful workplace transparency.

Karen Roby: And however did it travel about, Christian? Why Fishbowl? What were the reasons that it conscionable made sense?

Christian Sutherland-Wong: First of all, we're ever connected the lookout for truly absorbing apps that are retired there. And truthful we're looking crossed the marketplace and Fishbowl came onto our radar a mates of years ago. And I was truly impressed erstwhile I got to conscionable the squad and the founders, Matt [Subulli] and Loren [Appin], however aligned our missions were of what we wanted to bash successful the world, and however aligned our values were connected creating candid and constructive opportunities for radical to link unneurotic and speech astir workplace topics.

And past erstwhile we saw with COVID that the full satellite changed, and we each started moving from location each of a sudden, and there's this deficiency of connectivity betwixt people. And we asked people, and much than fractional of radical speech astir feeling isolated during COVID.

What Fishbowl saw was they saw a monolithic summation successful users, 3X summation successful radical coming to Fishbowl. Now much than a cardinal radical are utilizing the Fishbowl app, and they're getting the connectivity done the app. And that's what excited america and wherefore present felt similar the close time.

SEE: The Great Resignation of 2021: Are 30% of workers truly going to quit? (TechRepublic)

Karen Roby: When we look astatine the bigger picture, Christian, at, let's accidental archetypal from the position of an employee, conscionable an mean worker retired there, let's conscionable accidental successful the United States. When you look astatine their acquisition arsenic a full implicit the last, let's telephone it 18 months. How has it been? I cognize you mentioned immoderate of them feeling isolated, astir apt a lot, really with radical astatine home. But COVID has truly changed us. It's truly changed the mode we deliberation astir things and we attack work, and beauteous overmuch everything.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: You're right. I mean, I deliberation a batch of the changes we've seen successful COVID are not going to alteration adjacent aft COVID is down us. In the aforesaid survey, we learned that astir fractional of workers expect to beryllium distant successful immoderate signifier station pandemic. So that could beryllium a hybrid situation, oregon it could beryllium permanently retired of the office. And that's a monolithic alteration for however the satellite of enactment worked anterior to COVID.

And truthful again, what we expect is that with this, there's going to beryllium this full caller request astatine a full caller level for connectivity with radical successful your workplace erstwhile you're not physically together. And there's going to beryllium a request for resources. How bash you get your questions answered erstwhile you're not coming successful the office, oregon erstwhile you're not physically successful the aforesaid determination of radical successful your industry? You're successful these caller locations wherever you whitethorn not person a batch of connectivity with radical who enactment successful the aforesaid types of places.

And truthful it truly conscionable elevates the worth of the Glassdoor level successful answering occupation seekers and employees' questions. And besides the powerfulness of bringing Glassdoor and Fishbowl together.

Karen Roby: How has, let's conscionable accidental COVID present and again, back, telephone it 18 months ago. Some days it feels similar it was yesterday erstwhile the shutdown started, different days I consciousness similar it's been six years.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: Totally.

Karen Roby: It's each benignant of moving unneurotic now. But from an employer's perspective, too, what are you seeing from their end?

SEE: Ireland gave each employees a close to disconnect. Now UK workers privation one, too (TechRepublic)

Christian Sutherland-Wong: One of the astir almighty things of the mode Glassdoor works is not lone bash we make this large worth for occupation seekers and for employees, but we tin past bundle this accusation and walk it to employers and to truly place what their employees think.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: Now 1 happening we learned precise aboriginal successful the pandemic was that employers who enactment the wellness and wellbeing of their workers archetypal got large reviews, got large ratings. And each twelvemonth we make a database of the champion places to work. And this twelvemonth was truly dominated by employers who are precise forward-thinking successful putting the wellness and wellbeing of their workers first.

Now, the different happening that I deliberation employers are seeing connected our level close present and conscionable seeing crossed the occupation market, is this monolithic tendency to prosecute workers. And yet still, successful galore industries, workers are dilatory to travel back. But we are seeing connected our platform, it is expanding implicit time, that much and much we're seeing much enactment of radical wanting to power jobs and this large resignation is really happening arsenic we speak. And we expect this to proceed for a small portion longer.

And past the past happening is, I deliberation everyone inactive has nary thought truly erstwhile we're getting backmost successful the office. Many conscionable thought was benignant of implicit a fewer months agone and past things changed. And truthful we're inactive successful a presumption wherever the microorganism is inactive precise overmuch successful the driver's seat.

Karen Roby: Yeah, it surely is. Unfortunately, we didn't deliberation we'd inactive beryllium successful this position. That is for sure, Christian. When you look ahead, let's say, and again, we don't person a crystal shot truthful we don't cognize erstwhile this is going to beryllium successful the rear-view mirror, but things person changed truthful overmuch and we're evolving successful antithetic ways present than we ever thought that we would successful the occupation marketplace and everything else.

SEE: With hybrid enactment schedules, worker equity is an expanding concern (TechRepublic)

So erstwhile you look down the enactment and present with Fishbowl being unneurotic here, what volition an acquisition for an employee, a idiosyncratic who's possibly looking to alteration jobs oregon looking for accusation oregon connection. I mean, springiness america a small thought of what this looks similar for them, navigating this present that you guys are successful this caller presumption here.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: One of the large things we're announcing, successful summation to the announcement of the acquisition and that our companies are coming together, we've besides launched a acceptable of integrations that commencement to bring the powerfulness of what you tin bash connected Fishbowl and what you tin bash connected Glassdoor into the 1 place.

One of the halfway and premier pieces of Glassdoor today, the experience, is that radical travel to the institution pages connected Glassdoor to bash their probe connected companies, similar what's that institution rated oregon what's the reviews of that company. So present they tin spot not conscionable the ratings and reviews from the Glassdoor platform, but we're besides bringing Fishbowl contented into these pages. Where we're getting, what are employees astatine that institution saying astir that institution connected Fishbowl and bring those conversations connected to our platform.

And this is conscionable portion this imaginativeness of the mode radical volition find accusation successful the future, we deliberation there's going to beryllium a relation for the structured contented of what you get connected Glassdoor of ratings, reviews and wage information.

There's besides this monolithic accidental to make workplace transparency. If we tin pat into conversations, oregon if a idiosyncratic tin conscionable spell into a assemblage and inquire their question and get idiosyncratic who's an adept oregon idiosyncratic who truly understands that, whether that beryllium an existing worker oregon a erstwhile employee, and tin inquire their question. It's conscionable truthful almighty for however you tin assistance occupation seekers and employers alike retired successful driving workplace transparency.

Karen Roby: And the thought of things being transparent. I mean, years agone that wasn't an enactment for people. I mean, companies could fell immoderate they wanted to hide. And if you were fortunate capable to cognize idiosyncratic who knew someone's relative that worked there, you mightiness get immoderate information. But present it's each retired determination for people, oregon it tin be.

SEE: Tech skills gaps continue: Bootcamps tin assistance those looking for a caller career (TechRepublic)

Do you deliberation that companies successful wide are truly starting to clasp and recognize being transparent and pursuing up connected things and making definite you're watching however you dainty your employees and travel up, that that volition person specified an interaction connected who you tin and can't prosecute successful the future.

Christian Sutherland-Wong: Absolutely. And that's been the acquisition of Glassdoor successful the past 13 years. Since we've been around. When Glassdoor was archetypal launched, it was bringing caller transparency to places that person ne'er been transparent before. And it was a daze for a batch of companies: How bash you woody with this? But implicit the people of time, the champion companies person learned that the champion strategy is to prosecute with a level similar Glassdoor. Because you cognize that extremity of the day, this is wherever radical are going to get their information.

And the aforesaid happening is happening connected Fishbowl. And we're already seeing, adjacent successful the Fishbowl community, the champion employees are engaging with the Fishbowl assemblage and uncovering large worth retired of the conversations that are happening successful their backstage institution bowls, wherever it's conscionable verified employees. Or adjacent going, tapping into the broader manufacture conversations, which tin beryllium great, not lone to larn what perceptions are astir you, but besides for you to trade your leader marque and enlistee large talent.

I deliberation it's played retired beauteous good wrong the Glassdoor platform. We expect it to proceed to play retired besides arsenic Fishbowl grows arsenic well.

Karen Roby: All right, Christian, fto maine inquire you earlier I fto you spell here. When you look astatine the colonisation of radical that thin to travel into Glassdoor and prosecute and volition with Fishbowl arsenic well, is that audience, those employees, bash they thin to beryllium chiefly conscionable the younger ones? Or bash you deliberation radical that person been successful the workforce for 20 positive years are they realizing, "No, no, no. I request to beryllium portion of this. And this is simply a spot for maine arsenic well."

Christian Sutherland-Wong: We've been astir a while, and radical forget, we've been astir for 13 years. And truthful we've grown up with galore of our users. And truthful erstwhile we look astatine our demographic assemblage today, it truly represents the full workforce. So it's not conscionable young workers that's here, it's mature-age workers arsenic well. Similar demographics by gender, by ethnicity, arsenic well.

It is simply a beauteous bully mix, and I expect the aforesaid to hap connected Fishbowl. I deliberation these conversations are applicable for everybody. I deliberation for immoderate worker, they privation to cognize what's going connected successful their workplace. If they're looking for a caller job, they privation to beryllium capable to get the close accusation connected what's it similar to enactment astatine different institution and get that wrong group. So, I deliberation Glassdoor and Fishbowl are applicable for all.

Executive Briefing Newsletter

Discover the secrets to IT enactment occurrence with these tips connected task management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays