Website Posts Peer Reviews Of Bosses, Workers
MIAMI (CBS4) - Think your new boss is a jerk? How about that one employee who always goes above and beyond to get the job done?
Now there's a new website which let workers post reviews about their bosses and co-workers and visa versa.
"I got an overall rating of three out of five stars," said Randy Farmer, a former Yahoo strategy analyst, who admitted he was shocked when he saw his online review.
"Personally I was upset. The person left a very low number rating but didn't leave any text," said Farmer.
Farmer was rated on Honestly.com where anyone with a Facebook account can rate just about anyone else.
"It's a place where people can go to see honest reviews of business professionals and also share their honest opinions about business professionals," said site co-founder Peter Kazanjy. "There really isn't a community contributed site for business professionals like reporters, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists."
Not everyone is sold on the idea. Critics say it would easy for disgruntled employees to write disparaging comments about their fellow employees or bosses which could lead to lawsuits. Marcia Hofmann with the Electronic Frontier Foundation said as long as the comments are accurate, they are legal.
"A comment that is truthful but unflattering, basically an opinion that's not a good one, is lawful speech and protected," said Hofmann.
Kazanjy said the reason for the site it to simply take everyday observations and make them more accessible.
"The idea is this conversation is already happening, we just want it to happen in a place where there is structure and rules," he said.
While there may be rules, Farmer doesn't necessarily like them. Ratings, good or bad, cannot be deleted and anonymous users don't have to leave a comment.
"Be careful who you make enemies with because they might sabotage your reputation," said Farmer.
Farmer said he found the best way to handle a negative review since you can't opt out of the site to respond to your own ratings.
