I just read a wonderfully written article from The New Yorker by Lizzie Widdecombe. I recommend you read it as well. (Hat tip to Tom Peters)

Widdecombe shares the story of Glassdoor’s genesis as a company and its impact–not only on job searches–but on workplace cultures. One quote in particular stood out to me.

Last fall, Dawn Lyon, Glassdoor’s chief reputation officer (and now a consultant), told me that bosses often feel wronged by Glassdoor: “People say, ‘I have a Glassdoor problem.’ We deal with that all the time. The question is, do you really have a Glassdoor problem, or is it a reflection of something going on inside the company?”

Improving Workplace Culture, One Review at a Time, The New Yorker

Workplace issues can be a huge challenge. We continue to read about low employee engagement and its impact on the bottom line, and the cost of employee turnover is climbing. The thorniness of these issues and the ambiguity around their solutions make it more likely leaders will address symptoms instead of the root cause.

When leadership thinks they have a “Glassdoor problem,” they are focused on the symptom, not the cause. A simple way to get to the root cause is by asking “Why?” at least five times. The Five Whys is a Six Sigma technique that was developed at Toyota.

Here’s how it would work.

Our Glassdoor ratings are really low.

1. Why are the ratings so low?

Mostly because employees don’t feel like we value our people.

2. Why do they feel that way?

Because we don’t invest in training and we don’t give regular feedback.

3. Let’s focus on one issue at a time. Why don’t we invest in training?

Because it takes a lot of time to develop the training.

4. Why does it take a lot of time?

Because we don’t have our processes and procedures documented.

5. Why don’t we have this documentation?

Because we have never prioritized it. There’s always something more urgent.

When you dig a little deeper, you can find the root of the issue. The lack of regular feedback may also be because it has never been a priority. People feel like other things are more urgent and they don’t have time for a 1-on-1 with each of the folks who report to them. In general, tasks are consistently given higher priority than people, hence the employees don’t feel valued.

Or you can go on believing the reviews themselves are the problem. You can assume a few “bad apples” are the ones spoiling the batch of reviews after they were let go from the company. You can label the reviewers as stupid and disregard their feedback. You can blame the whole thing on millennials or a culture obsessed with social media tools. But if you don’t address the root problem, then talent will continue to leave.

And the Glassdoor will hit YOU on their way out.