eBossWatch Knows if You’ve Been Bad or Good, So Be Good for Goodness Sake

ebosswatchYou better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I’m tellin’ you why: eBossWatch is comin’ to town.

Are you the boss who likes to dish it out, but can’t take it? Are you the kind of boss who just loves performance reviews so that you can “really give it” to your people? Could you be a case study in Robert Suttton’s bestseller? Then you better watch out, because eBossWatch is all along the watchtower.

Nobody Should Have to Work with a Jerk
“We developed eBossWatch because of a personal experience I had,” said Asher Adelman, creator of eBossWatch, in an interview last week. “I interviewed for a job with a CEO who seemed like a nice guy,” he said. “But when I started it was too late, and the CEO was a nightmare. He threw things and was abusive.”

eBossWatch’s motto is “Nobody should work for a jerk.” In these days of transparency, that goes double. “I know that employees don’t want to work for an abusive boss,” said Mr. Adelman. “That’s why we wanted to hold managers accountable.”

360 Degree Feedback: It’s Not Just for HR Anymore
Sure, 360 degree feedback is a start. But what happens with that information? Is it just stored in some HR vault and acted on weakly, or not at all? And how does 360 degree feedback work in a small group, or with a raging jerk? Do you think people are willing to write that down? eBossWatch makes it a much cleaner and more painless process:

Help alert others about a nightmare boss, or recommend a great boss. The survey takes only about a minute to complete, and you remain completely anonymous.

Open Information for Everyone
“It’s not just to get bad managers,” said Mr. Adelman. “Somebody who’s been an excellent manager — people will want to know about that, too.” Yep, be good for goodness sake. Then you can get a good rating on eBossWatch.

A 6-Question Set Keeps eBossWatch from Libelous Comments
“We limit our survey to a 6-question set,” said Mr. Adelman. “That keeps the site professional and clear-cut.” eBossWatch also uses IP tracking to keep a level playing field. “We want open information, and one person gets only one vote on a boss.”

The six questions in the survey use a set of radio buttons ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Brian Moore of the New York Post writes, “The process is caveman-easy.” Simple makes eBoss Watch work easily with these questions:

  1. I feel like there is open and honest communication between my boss and me.
  2. I feel like my boss cares about me as a person.
  3. I feel like my boss cares about my career development.
  4. I trust and respect my boss.
  5. I like working for my boss.
  6. I recommend this person as a good boss to work for.

The site allows users to search for “bosses” by name, company, or state. I think I might just go ahead and add a couple of names to the site. (One really good, and another not quite so.)

The HR lesson here is that there’s real transparency out there, folks. HR needs to get out in front of this stuff or risk waking up one day with their names on HRAintSoGreat.com.

Posted on July 5, 2007 by Frank Roche 
Filed Under Management, Technology

Comments

Viewing 10 Comments

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    I love this idea! The only thing I'd like to see in your question list is something about how well the team functions. I think that people in charge of groups have two responsibilities: to accomplish the mission and to care for the people. Over the last few decades I've asked supervisors in every class to identify a time when it was great to come to work. In class we used that to define the characteristics of a great working environment. One thing that's always mentioned is that the team was doing a good job. They were productive. The best bosses create environments where there is BOTH high productivity and high morale.
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    I visited the site and discovered that I've got some serious reservations.

    The most important one is that people who rate a boss are totally anonymous. In my experience, that's a call to mischief.

    There doesn't seem to be a way to challenge an evaluation.

    And if you want to see a report on a boss it costs $4.

    So far there' s not much to see. A search for "Smith" in both California and New York yielded only a single hit.
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    Wally, good points. I think the site is only a couple of weeks old, so it's in its infancy. They are just getting the word out now.

    As far anonymous input goes, I don't see any other way of doing it. What they are doing at eBossWatch is to limit to one IP address, one vote. In other words, no one can game the system and keep hammering a single boss.

    Yes, I think Asher will read your comment here and he might want to take the part about "response" under advisement. It would be good for a boss to be able to defend himself. Even write a profile of his management style.

    As far as your first comment, really super point: The best bosses create environments where there is BOTH high productivity and high morale.
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    Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your input, and I like the idea about a feature that would enable the bosses to respond to how they've been rated. This might be a great feature to add to the site.
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    I don't agree with the above suggestions in allowing bosses to respond. Let me tell you why. First and foremost, there's no legal recourse for a victim of workplace bullying, and as such, this site is an invaluable tool in preventing future victims. In most cases, managerial bullies are clever enough to paint themselves as caring individuals who are being maligned by disgruntled employees/coworkers or sick enough to not even see themselves as they truly are.

    How do I know? I was a victim two years ago and finally there is a forum available to get a sober word out on these individuals.

    If they find themselves listed as a noxious boss on eBossWatch, maybe it's time for them to either get a clue or change their evil ways. Believe me, if after discovery they're still bent on spreading their miseries, all they need to do is vote themselves in a better light and have their cohorts do likewise. Hence, rendering this site only as the next best thing to passing the Healthy Workplace Bill.

    The rest of you suggesting to the contrary, are either bleeding hearts with no real intimate experience with this social ill or are those Bullies wanting free reins to prey on unsuspecting victims!
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    Hi Chew,

    I'm sorry it was so long before I commented back...I wanted to think about this for a while. And I think you're right, when a sociopath is allowed to defend himself, then that can ruin the idea of watching bosses. Bosses, and especially the bad ones, have the upper hand all the time, and maybe this isn't the place to allow that.

    I'm sorry about your personal experience. No one should ever have to put up with that. I hope you're in a good situation now.

    Cheers.
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    Greetings Frank Roche,
    Wow! That was like a breath of fresh air. Thanks for hearing and "getting it". Most people are deceived into believing that bullying only happens to the "weak". Don't we all have our faults and weaknesses? Unlike truly caring people, these folks study their prospects and home in with the intent to do injury, or rather, torture. Do they work alone? Sometimes. But more times than not, they recruit. It's vicious and I have zero tolerance to the indifferent as well. As a result of my personal experience, you could say I'm an advocate for anti-bullying of sorts. Gossip falls on deaf ears here, which is what mobbing feeds on, so I do not partake. Yes, I am most definitely in a better place - emotionally as well as physically.
    Working for myself is empowering and healing. Remember, Nobody Should Have To Work For A Jerk! Again, thanks for your time, goodwill and, yes, cheers :)
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    On the contrary, the weak are not bullied because insecure, unprofessional managers feel like they have job security when surrounded by weak employees. The targets are normally those who are efficient and qualified to perhaps perform their bosses job better.

    Bring on the the healthy workplace bill so we can weed out the incompetent managers in today's world. Remove the politics and bring back normalcy to the workplace.
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    Yes, let's rally on!
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    To reiterate...targets are not the weak and challenged. If the intent is honorable, it would be prudent to approach the situation from a proactive stance. In other words, a target is inherently at a disadvantage when the bully is in a position of authority (this is what makes a bully a bully), especially when supported or even encouraged, which is oftentimes the case, by unspoken corporate policy (called mobbing). Shall the spouse return to an abuser...a dog to his own vomit? This is why we so desperately need the Healthy Workplace Bill in place. Whether amongst bullies of the managerial kind, or the employers who groom them, all will be held accountable. This would be the ultimate deterrent, and where monies would be most appropriately gained? Are not all created in His image, and hence, deserving of the right to work in dignity?

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