Glassdoor facts for kids
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| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
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Type of site
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Job search engine, review site |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Founded | June 2007 |
| Headquarters | 50 Beale Street, San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Founder(s) |
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| Key people |
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| Industry | Internet |
| Services | Online employment |
| Parent | Recruit Holdings |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Current status | Active |
Glassdoor is an American website where people can share what it's like to work at different companies. Current and former employees can write reviews about their workplaces without saying their names.
In 2018, a Japanese company called Recruit Holdings bought Glassdoor for $1.2 billion. Glassdoor still operates on its own, but it is now part of Recruit Holdings, which also owns Indeed.
Contents
How Glassdoor Started
Glassdoor was created in 2007 by Tim Besse, Robert Hohman, and Expedia founder Rich Barton. The idea came from a conversation between Barton and Hohman. Barton once accidentally left employee survey results on a printer at Expedia. They thought, "What if this information was public? It could help people decide where to work!" This idea led to Glassdoor. The company's first main office was in Mill Valley, California.
What the Website Does
Glassdoor launched its website in June 2008. It collects company reviews and information about salaries from employees. This information is then shown anonymously to all members. The site takes the reported salaries and calculates averages. It also shares reviews about how companies are managed and what their work culture is like. This includes big tech companies like Google and Yahoo.
Users can also post photos of offices and other media. Each year, Glassdoor gives out "Employees’ Choice Awards," also known as the Best Places to Work Awards. These awards are based on the overall company ratings from reviews. Before July 2024, users only needed an email address to sign up and leave a review.
Glassdoor operates in many countries around the world, including:
- Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, South Africa, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Sweden, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, England, Scotland, Wales, and the USA.
The site also focuses on what it's like to work for different CEOs and in various jobs. Glassdoor checks the reviews that are submitted. The company has said that it rejects about 20% of entries after screening them. There are different rules for reviews of smaller companies to help keep people's identities private.
In 2010, Glassdoor started a program called "Enhanced Employer Profiles." This allows companies to add their own content to their Glassdoor pages. They can include things like information about their leaders, job listings, and links to their social media. The site also lets users share possible job interview questions that companies might ask. This helps people prepare for job applications.
In 2017, Glassdoor announced it would no longer post job advertisements that prevent people with criminal records from applying. The business magazine Entrepreneur praised this decision.
Glassdoor has made some changes to its team over the years. In May 2020, the company let go of about 300 people. In March 2023, another 140 people were laid off. After the COVID-19 pandemic started, employees began working fully from home in March 2020. The last remaining offices in Chicago and San Francisco closed in 2024.
After Glassdoor bought a work discussion app called Fishbowl, new and existing users now need to provide their full name, workplace, and job title. These details can be hidden, but it is not possible to delete names from accounts without contacting customer support.
Company Reports
Glassdoor creates reports using the information it collects from its users. These reports cover topics like work–life balance, how much CEOs are paid compared to other employees, and lists of the best places to work. Glassdoor also uses its own research to help shape its company policies. A study in the United Kingdom found that users trust Glassdoor more than career guides or official company documents.
Company Growth and Leadership
In May 2018, Recruit Holdings announced it would buy Glassdoor for $1.2 billion. The deal was completed in June 2018.
In September 2016, Glassdoor bought a Brazilian company called Love Mondays. This helped Glassdoor expand into Latin America.
By 2015, Glassdoor had 30 million users from 190 countries. About one-third of all Fortune 500 companies were also using Glassdoor's services. That year, Glassdoor also started creating websites and mobile apps for different countries, like Germany.
In February 2019, Christian Sutherland-Wong was promoted to President & COO of Glassdoor. In 2023, Glassdoor acquired the work-related social app Fishbowl.
Company Investments
Glassdoor received its first funding in 2008, getting $3 million before its website even launched. In 2012, Glassdoor received $20 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to $42.2 million. The next year, the company raised another $50 million. In 2015, Glassdoor raised an additional $70 million, led by Google Capital. This investment valued the company at almost $1 billion. By this point, the total investment was $160 million. In 2016, Glassdoor raised another $40 million from investors.
Keeping User Information Private
In November 2017, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Glassdoor might have to share the identities of anonymous users with prosecutors. This was only if investigators were looking into possible criminal actions by employers and needed to speak with reviewers who might have seen crimes. The court's decision did not mean Glassdoor had to share identities with employers.
In June 2022, Glassdoor lost a lawsuit in New Zealand. This meant it had to reveal the identity of users who left negative reviews about their former employer, a company called Zuru.
In 2024, Glassdoor changed its policy, requiring all users to confirm their identity. This meant that real names and other personal information were automatically added to user profiles. Glassdoor's rules state that this information comes from other companies and related services. While users can still leave anonymous reviews, some news sites have said this could make the service risky if there are data breaches or if legal orders (like subpoenas) require user data to be shared.
