Rating Employers & Corporate Media Relations

Here are a couple of helpful links:

Rate My Employer Canada - As it states, individuals can go on and anonymously rate their employer and organization. There are a number of categories and they are rated by stars:

Business model, vision and strategy
Management's skills
Values and corporate culture
Internal communication
Feedback
Recognition
Pride
Engagement
Work space (layout)
Atmosphere
Recruitment, development, retention
Tasks and responsibilities
Teamwork and cooperation
Organization of work
Compensation and benefits
Schedule, work load and holidays
Stress
Work/family life balance
Advancement
Recommendable

This is like the popular "Rate my MD" which allows you to comment on a physician. It's very interesting to read some of the comments and see how every person can have quite a diverse experience with a doctor, or employer.

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6 Ways to Utilize Human Resource Public Relations and Reinforce Your Employer Image
Stacey Havel, (April 24th 2008). HR Voice.

An interesting & concise article that gives 6 methods for employers and organizations to enhance their image with potential staff and perhaps clients.

The 6 ways are:

Media Coverage, Corporate Social Responsibility, Relationship Marketing
Workplace Awards, Employer Branding Projects, Training

It's really not enough to just use the PR Spin Machine though, as a recent article in the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Monitor points out, if companies and corporations are jumping on the "corporate responsibility" bandwagon and their commitment is hollow, entirely self-serving and simply spin, this can create a backlash against the company, tarnishing its' image, both amongst it's current employees and those it may be trying to recruit, as well as clients, or potential clients. Younger generations are much more savvy to media spin, much more cynical and as some of the comments for certain employers on Rate My Employer suggest, if real corporate life doesn't live up to the hype about values of the organization, younger workers and others will simply take what they can get and plan their exit strategy taking whatever experience and training they've been able to obtain from the organization and go somewhere else. And, as other comments on the site make clear, these critical, and/or beleagured employees will tell anyone who will listen about a crappy employer, especially if they were bought and sold spin and then feel betrayed by reality. That will not enhance an organizations image to current, or future employees. And, as many of us know, with the changes in the labour market, the ability to recruit and retain staff is truly going to become a matter of life, or death for many organizations.

Reference

Worth, J. (March 2008). Corporate Responsibility hides corporate irresponsibility.
The CCPA Monitor, 14 (9), 8-10.