“You should encourage employers to write more reviews about workers!”
I get this suggestion a lot.
And I understand why you want it.
But I still say NO.
Why? A couple of reasons:
- Because reviews encourage short term work.
- Because 90% of our customers are successful entrepreneurs or small-business owners who understand the cost of turnover in a business.
Let me explain.
People who hire short-term help on a regular basis are running a short-term business. That means they’re either:
- failing, or
- they’re going to fail soon.
Short-term help means employee turnover. Regular turnover in a business means death.
When someone comes to OnlineJobs.ph to hire someone, they’re looking to hire long-term help. When a business owner goes to OnlineJobs.ph, they’re hoping that worker is good.
Yes, by good I mean talented. But good also means they know how to maintain a great working relationship. The business owner won’t want to let them go and hire someone else.
Because hiring someone new and training them every few weeks is painful, not to mention a waste of time.
If a worker and the employer have a good working relationship, then it all works out! There’s no reason to leave a review because the employer will never want their rockstar VA to work for someone else.
Imagine if a business owner wrote the following review:
“I hired Jack, and he is just wonderful. He’s super talented, follows through on projects, and gets stuff done on time. I’m posting this review on his profile in hopes of helping another employer hire him, even though he’s already working for me full-time.”
Yeah, this doesn’t happen.
What do you think other business owners will do once they see that review? 9 times out of 10, they’ll look for Jack in the database and try to poach him!
On the other hand, if a hire doesn’t work out, the employer is upset. He’s going to write a negative review. He’ll want to warn the world about how it’s all the worker’s fault. (Even though in my experience it’s actually the employer’s fault more than 90% of the time).
What I’m getting at here is that if we were to emphasize reviews, they would almost all be negative and wouldn’t be helpful.
What’s your takeaway?
On sites like upwork.com or freelancer.com, you’ll find a ton of workers with a ton of reviews. These sites are designed for short-term hires. Workers on these sites have no choice but to do a lot of jobs for as many employers as possible to get enough reviews. The whole system is flawed because it’s designed to have one worker doing short-term work for a bunch of employers at the same time.
If you want to build a long-term, stable business, you have to hire long-term, stable workers.
If you want to leave a review, please go ahead. But make sure they’re honest and objective. Know that the best Online Filipino Specialists don’t often get reviews because they rarely have to look for jobs. And once you hire a great OFS, you won’t need to leave a review. Because it’s more likely that you and your rockstar OFS would be working together for years to come.
About John Jonas
John Jonas is a long-time outsourcing expert and the creator of OnlineJobs.ph.
Since 2005, John has taught hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs how to profitably delegate to VAs in the Philippines (and get their lives back in the process).
With help from his own VAs based in the Philippines, John has created an outsourcing empire that allows him to work 17 hours/week and to spend most of his time with his wife and 5 kids.
Find John at JohnJonas.com and Facebook.
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So if you guys want to leave a review, please go ahead. But make sure they’re honest and objective. And know that the best Filipino virtual assistants don’t often get reviews because they rarely have to look for jobs. And once you hire a great virtual assistant, you won’t need to leave a review. Because it’s more likely that you and your rockstar VA would be working together for years to come.
I agree!
is there a possible way as a VA we can defend ourselves from bad reviews? The work was just 2 days and I am new to it I did my job for 10 hrs straight per day but the client doesn’t agree with my pee breaks! I am only human I am not robot sitting for 10 hrs. He wrote a bad reviews after I told him I did my best to a wrong person which is true. He did not gave me time to prove myself since it was my first 2 days and he was accusing me if something which I did not do.
Hi Angel,
You can contest a bad review by emailing our support (support@onlinejobs.ph)
In the first place, how do us employees are able to know if any of our previous employers have given us bad reviews? I don’t think we have access to the reviews left by current or previous employers, do we?
I actually got a client from you guys ranting that he’ll leave me a bad review. Ive stick wih you guys, getting clients for my entire career and never have I got this kind of a person. Anyway, you’re right it was his fault because he has no patience for my final report with the explanation, detaila, and all and just demand the list – that I’d bet he wont understand. And yes, he didnt understand and didnt want to listen or wait for the final report and just rant and fire me. Lol. Anyway, just saying. How can we be successful if you’re having this trust issues, impatient, and have this anger – I think he has issues. Some employers think they’re smarter than us too because we’re from a 3rd world country. Anyway, thanks onlinejobs for being around and all the blessings you sent to my way… Which I cant count how many
How can i view the review on my profile?
To view a review on your profile, please email support@onlinejobs.ph
Hi!
I’m planning to register on this site soon and was just wondering how the review system works. Will anyone who has spoken with the employee during the hiring stage be at risk of bad reviews in the event that the “recruiting” process doesn’t work out? Or are only the employees listed employers who have really worked with them be the only ones who can do this?
Thanks!
At this point, any employer can leave a review but you can contest the review. We are also in the process of reviewing that policy so that only listed employers (those who had experience working with you) can leave a review.
Hi, wondering what the update is on this. Have you updated how the system works, meaning only listed employers can leave a review? Or is it still any employer who has access to the site and your profile? Will appreciate a response as I’m thinking of signing up here too.
Thank you for your thoughtful review. You made some excellent points. I chose this site to look for longer-term staff, rather than short-term contractors. Through habit, using other freelance sites, for one-off projects, I am used to looking at reviews. But I agree with your take. I don’t ignore candidates without reviews although a single review is welcome. Instead we administer our own tests prior to interview to indicate ability. Interestingly of late a few disappeared once we explained every new hire must show proof of ID, address and qualifications and verify work history. These are normal hiring criteria in professional service firms in the West.
I have been using Online jobs for over a year now. I have had mostly great VA’s both for business and personal. I think it is a great service, and at work has changed the way staff members view getting jobs done through working with VA’s who get the job done. Keep up the good work guys!
Hi Jodie, thanks very much for the feedback, it is much appreciated
I’m agree