For the most part, workplace rants lack a proper forum, and rarely get a fair hearing. Hence, WorkplaceFit.com.au, a place where disgruntled employees can, perhaps, throw a fit — anonymously.
The brand new Australian employer review website is offering a voice and a platform for past and present employees to air their deepest feelings and honest opinions, based on their experiences.
“Prior to WorkplaceFit, employees had no way to preview a workplace and its culture, except from discussions directly with employers and recruiters, who naturally have biased views,” said WorkplaceFit co-founder Keryn Donald, who still works for the Swedish telecom firm Ericsson as a migration specialist.
“People need to know they can talk about their workplace without fear of reprisal, and WorkplaceFit provides this by keeping things anonymous,” she added.
WorkplaceFit is the result of the personal experiences and motivations of its founders — Donald and Fabian Mendes, an IT consultant. Both, separately, discovered in unnamed jobs that the “workplace cultures were not what we had expected, resulting in a frustrating and un-motivating working experience.” This inspired the duo to create an “unbiased information source on Australian companies and workplace culture, to help others avoid the same experience.”
The site, of course, is not intended merely as a forum for rants. Donald expects it to provide anonymous reviews — both good and bad — of Australian companies by former and current employees. You could consider it the equivalent of GlassDoor.com, though this American site focuses quite a bit on salaries.
WorkplaceFit allows employees to rate any company on their benefits, work culture, job security, management and other important issues. Ultimately, the site is intended to be a source for future employees to find out about the current culture and employee benefits at a workplace they may be looking to move to, according to Donald.
This is important, considering the fact that people, typically, change jobs more frequently than in the past.
“Being a part of a labor force that changes employers approximately every two years, we feel transparency regarding workplaces and their cultures is a necessary tool for job seekers,” said Donald, who has previously worked for Rio Tinto and Boeing, among others. “With today’s technology and level of social interaction, the days of whispers over the water cooler are over, and the time to start sharing our workplace experiences, in a safe environment, is here.”
From the employers’ point of view, WorkplaceFit may serve as a good sounding board, helping management understand if they are loved or hated — and why.
