Article summary

• First comprehensive qualitative assessment of employer brand communication on Indeed and Glassdoor in Singapore's financial sector
• Analysis of 41 leading BFSI employers across 39 best practice metrics
• 43% of employers score below average in digital reputation management
• Moderate reviews generate more trust than extreme positive ratings
• 86% of jobseekers consult review sites before making career decisions

Beyond employer rankings

The concept of employer brand indexing is not exactly new. But we think it is underdeveloped. There are rankings, and social listening-based research — and the UK and US enjoy industry awards. Those have their place. But none of them really offer a substantive qualitative assessment. The highly actionable, practical recommendations we make to clients.

Why review sites matter

Indeed and Glassdoor were a great platforms on which to focus. Glassdoor is by far and away the leading employee review platform. Over half a million new reviews are added each day. And just about every employer you can think of has a presence. There aren’t (m)any other platforms where candidates, employees, and employers converge organically at that scale. That offers a unique public dataset.

Platform evolution

Both platforms are evolving, each expanding beyond their original focus. Indeed, traditionally jobs-focused, and Glassdoor, historically review-oriented, now offer overlapping features:

• Company Profile pages
• Job Descriptions
• Employee reviews
• Content updates

But what would good look like for each of those features?

Our approach

We identified 39 specific best practices across those four features, and developed a qualitative assessment rubric for each. We then used that to evaluate the last six months of data for 41 of Singapore’s leading Banking, Financial Services and Insurance employers.

What we found

The key findings are illuminating. In addition to learning about how employees use the platforms, we also found a fascinating gap between what is and could be.
Some companies got it spot on. They’re having conversations, not just broadcasting. They’re disclosing salaries (imagine!), responding thoughtfully to reviews (even the bad ones), and generally acting like real humans online. But many (43%) are missing out on opportunities to shape their reputation on two of the platforms where it is most being discussed. Remember, 86% of jobseekers say they check out sites like these to guide their career decision making.

We’ve put together this report not to point fingers, but because we’ve see what works. And surprisingly often, it’s not fancy or elaborate stuff —it’s just about being present, being honest, showing you’re paying attention — and sometimes acknowledging that things might be less than perfect.

What you’ll find in this report

• A detailed assessment of 39 communication best practices across Indeed and Glassdoor’s four core reputation management features.
• Clear benchmarks showing exactly how 41 of Singapore’s leading BFSI employers stand
• Specific actions and recommendations you can put into practice.
• Examples of what good looks like.

Final thought

Research shows that moderate reviews are more trusted than extreme reviews. So this isn’t about perfect scores. It’s about how and what you communicate to the people who matter — the ones working for you now, and the ones who might in the future.