Most career decisions are shaped by people and perspectives beyond ourselves. We speak to friends, seniors, and ex-colleagues. We Google. We read. And almost always, we look for one thing: other people's experiences.

When someone considers joining a company, they aren't just evaluating a role or a salary. They are trying to answer quieter, harder questions: Will I grow here? Will this place work for me? Are people like me doing well here?

For many people considering Meesho, that journey consistently led to one place: Glassdoor. What they found there mattered more than we initially realized.

The Gap We Discovered

When we studied our standard hiring funnel closely, one pattern that stood out was Meesho had a strong visibility across tech, business, and leadership talent. Interest was present, and the brand was already familiar to many, But that familiarity didn't translate into a clear understanding of what working at Meesho was actually like.

The disconnect became clearer as we dug deeper. People were looking for insights into everyday work at Meesho - how teams operated routinely, how managers supported their teams, how learning and career progression unfolded, and how workload priorities were managed across the business. These critical details were largely missing from the public narrative.

Our talent brand study quantified this gap: approximately 40% of respondents said they didn't have enough insight into Meesho's culture to form a clear opinion, and 31% explicitly relied on Glassdoor as their primary source when researching employers. This data made one thing crystal clear: Glassdoor wasn't just another platform to monitor - it was the factual medium shaping the perception of our top target talent.

Understanding the Asymmetry

This realization prompted us to dive deep into Glassdoor itself. We spent time analyzing review patterns, reading through hundreds of comments, and tracking sentiment across different time periods. What emerged was clear: the picture was fundamentally incomplete.

By mid-2024, Meesho's Glassdoor rating sat at 3.7 across roughly 800 reviews consistent with the industry average. On paper, nothing alarming. But averages hide the story. When we looked beyond the aggregate number, we found that reviews disproportionately highlighted workplace challenges in a fast paced environment, while positive day-to-day experiences remained underrepresented.

This led us to a deeper question: Why?

The answer lies in human behavior. Negative experiences naturally drive people to speak up, while positive, everyday work often goes unmentioned unless it feels exceptional. Over time, this creates a one-sided narrative not because the negative experiences aren't real, but because they're disproportionately represented. When candidates researched Meesho, they found critical experiences visible and frequent, while routine wins and steady progress were largely missing.

We saw this pattern clearly: Glassdoor had become a signal of where context was absent and where the employee experience needed to be better reflected externally. But we also recognized an opportunity. Rather than treating Glassdoor as merely a problem to manage, we could use it as a structured listening channel integrating its honest feedback with internal surveys and observations to identify gaps and convert them into concrete operational actions to make Meesho a better place to work.

This imbalance demanded a response not through reputation management, but through genuine listening and action.

Listen or Die: Putting Employees First

To address this, we applied LODs - Listen or Die, which reflects Meesho's standard "user-first" mindset, putting employee voices at the center of decisions that shape daily work.

We approached over ~700+ employees across the organization as part of our regular internal pulse checks to hear their experiences and surface the context missing from public reviews. At the same time, we engaged with employees at naturally reflective moments - promotions, recognition awards, work anniversaries, and team milestones - when people tend to share honest, nuanced perspectives about their journey.

We intentionally focused on those who had spent considerable time at Meesho, many having navigated multiple phases of the company's evolution. Their longevity gave them a perspective that newer employees would organically take some time to develop. They had seen how teams evolved, how challenges were resolved, and how careers actually progressed over time. This wasn't about cherry-picking positive voices - it was about ensuring we captured the depth and texture of the holistic Meesho experience. This approach gave us both sides of the story: the friction points that needed fixing and the positive experiences that deserved visibility.

Capturing these signals showed us both where the experience worked well and where context was missing. This provided a fuller, more accurate reflection of Meesho - one that went beyond simplistic ratings to reveal the reality of working here.

Focusing on What Actually Mattered

With richer routine listening in place, we needed to identify where to take action. Our focus areas emerged from structured listening, not assumptions. We cross-referenced recurring themes from employee conversations, internal forums, and Glassdoor reviews to find the patterns that truly needed attention.

Four consistent signals stood out:

  • New hires needed clearer onboarding and early context
  • Teams emphasized the importance of leadership communication during change
  • Career discussions revealed a desire for more visible growth paths
  • Day-to-day feedback highlighted workload balance as key to long-term sustainability

These insights drove our prioritization. Rather than chasing every piece of feedback, we targeted areas that directly affected how employees experienced their roles, growth, and communication-addressing root realities rather than just perceptions.

The Results: Both Numbers and Trust

The impact of this work became visible across multiple dimensions. Over the last ~1.5 years, the overall Glassdoor rating rose from 3.7 to 4.3, while review volume nearly doubled to over 1,500, reflecting broader participation across the organization.

To put this in perspective, we compared our trajectory against industry benchmarks. Where most companies in our space still continue to hover around the 3.5 - 3.8 range, Meesho now consistently outperforms the industry average of 3.74 placing us not just above the benchmark, but among the top-rated workplaces in the Indian tech ecosystem.

Specific metrics told an even more encouraging story. Career opportunities climbed to 4.2 - 4.3, recommendation rates reached 85–87%, and CEO approval exceeded 90%. These factual data points weren't just numbers improving on a dashboard; they represented real shifts in how employees experienced and talked about Meesho.

But we also maintained our commitment to honesty. Work-life balance still fluctuates around 3.8, especially during peak periods and we're addressing it through better planning systems, manager training on realistic goal-setting, and early-warning forums that surface bandwidth concerns before burnout.

The real validation came in hiring. Candidates began referencing specific reviews during interviews, and this transparency helped the right candidates say yes for the right reasons.

With a 4.3 rating and 85-87% recommendation rate, Meesho now stands among the best companies to work for in India on Glassdoor. But more than the number itself, it's what the number represents: a workplace where honest feedback drives real change, where employee voices shape decisions, and where transparency builds trust rather than erodes it.

The Lesson That Lasts

This journey fundamentally reshaped our approach to employer branding. We learned that it's not about projecting a flawless image-it's about ensuring the image is accurate, current, and complete.

Authenticity isn't built through campaigns or one-time initiatives. It's sustained by systems of consistent listening, thoughtful interpretation, and visible action over time. The practices we developed around Glassdoor are transferable across platforms and geographies, creating a foundation of honest employer branding that scales routinely.

Glassdoor helped us see ourselves clearly during a critical phase of organizational evolution. By listening carefully and acting deliberately, we didn't just improve a number, we built deeper trust with current and prospective employees. And that trust continues to fuel Meesho's culture, one authentic conversation at a time.

But we're not done. A 4.3 rating places us among the best, but our ambition is to become India's best company to work for. Not through shortcuts or superficial fixes, but by staying true to what got us here: active listening, acting with urgency, and maintaining the honesty that employees and prospective candidates now count on. The journey continues, and we are committed to earning that trust every single day.