More than a quarter of employers have experienced negative publicity, see a ripple effect on hiring
With increased awareness that negative publicity can damage a company's brand, employers find it hits home when it comes to a companies ability to recruit talent.
According to the latest CareerBuilder survey, 71% of US workers stated they would not apply to a company experiencing negative press. Further, female workers are much more likely not to apply to a company experiencing negative press than their male counterparts, 79% compared to 61% respectively.
The national survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 24 to June 16, 2017, included representative samples of 2,369 full-time employers and 3,462 full-time U.S. workers across industries and company sizes in the private sector.
"It's easier than ever before for job seekers to research potential employers,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “Maintaining a good reputation can be a challenge with employers valuing transparency and taking a proactive approach to issues or complaints."
The survey also suggest that bad publicity can also have a ripple effect across companies. More than a quarter of employers (26%) say their company has experienced negative publicity, resulting in a hit to their hiring process.
Additionally, 61% of these employers reported fewer job offers being accepted, candidate referrals from employees and job applications as a result of the negative publicity. Other negative impacts to the business included lower employee morale, higher voluntary employee turnover and a decline in sales.
Bad publicity may turn off candidates from applying – but it rarely deters current workers from leaving their jobs. Less than one in ten workers (6%) have left a company because of negative publicity.
While negative news travels faster in our social world, companies should share their positive news to strengthen their company overall. Nearly four in five employers who have experienced positive press have seen beneficial impacts such as higher morale among employees (42%). Employees were most likely to share positive things about the company on social channels (36%), boost in sales (36%), more job applications (32%), more job candidate referrals from employees (22%), more job offers being accepted (21%) and lower voluntary employee turnover (19%).
This survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,369 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) and 3,462 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between May 24 and June 16, 2017.