Opower is a technology company that uses behavioral science, data management, and insightful analytics to transform the way utilities relate to their customers. Chrissy Glover, Opower’s employee brand manager and 2014
Glassdoor Talent Warrior, shares why Opower is a best place to work, according to employees.
How Opower became a Best Place to Work
The biggest factor was a simple one: getting people on Glassdoor in the first place. Opower has always been an awesome place to work, but before this year, we didn’t qualify for the Glassdoor award because we had only a handful of reviews.
That’s why we worked hard to encourage employees to start leaving more feedback. These were some of our tactics:
- Get recruiters to include a “check us out on Glassdoor” badge to their email signatures
- Ask new hires to submit reviews after their onboarding process
- Start responding to reviews! On average, Opower responds to more than 90% of reviews, both negative and positive
- Send a company-wide email from our SVP of People encouraging everyone to offer feedback
Of course, getting employees to share their thoughts was only the first step. The second was responding to them.
Here’s one story I love. As a growing company, one challenge we face is maintaining our culture across all of our global offices — including one in London. This year, an employee
left a review noting that although this individual loved working at Opower, he or she had two issues:
- The London office wasn’t getting enough swag (Opower loves swag!)
- Our review cycle wasn’t working well
Because this employee left feedback on Glassdoor, our People team jumped into action. We got a box of swag out the door straightaway (complete with a handwritten note), and we got to work on tailoring our review cycles for people working in different countries. It’s so important to make everyone at Opower feel included and valued, especially if they are thousands of miles away from HQ.
What we did —
and how we did it
Here are three things we do that can make any company stronger.
- Embrace transparency and open communication.
The days of one-way conversation marketing are long gone. The more transparent you are, the healthier your company culture will be.
In the past, businesses may have avoided Glassdoor because they didn’t want to confront their reputation or problems with their culture. They didn’t see it for what it really is: an open, transparent tool to help company leaders keep a pulse on employee satisfaction, share their own thoughts, and make better decisions.
It’s also a place people go to find jobs they love. Glassdoor has helped us attract candidates that thrive in our culture. And at the end of the day, that’s because they got to hear from real employees — not just marketing — about what it’s really like to work here, and whether it’s the perfect culture fit for them.
- Share what makes you unique!
Don’t be shy to post employee photos, upload videos, and take full advantage of status updates. Use Glassdoor and other social platforms as an opportunity to share your company culture — and the things and people you’re proud of.
- Get executive support.
Early in 2014, we started showing our executive team quarterly reports that summarized our activity on Glassdoor. We pointed out trends, good and bad, to help inform our action planning and identify places for improvement.
Then we took it a step further. Over the course of the year, our SVP of People started personally
responding to Glassdoor reviews — emphasizing to employees and potential hires that we aren’t just listening, but that we really care.
Looking forward: what this award means for 2015
We’re really proud to be a
Best Place to Work. It’s a wonderful sign that our employees — our best brand ambassadors — are excited about what they’re doing, and they want people to know about it.
Going forward, that’s going to help us keep attracting and retaining the very best talent. And it’s going to help all of us keep making Opower an even better place to work, one Oployee at a time.
