Umbrella Company Reviews – what to look for

What’s the first thing you do when you’re checking out a new restaurant, or insurance company, or employer even? Check what people are saying about it of course! 

Online reviews have become the digital equivalent of word-of -mouth. 61% of us read online reviews before purchasing or committing to a product or service, or choosing to work with a business. It’s literally shopping around without moving from your sofa. 

Umbrella company reviews

Usually, your recruitment agency will give you a pre-approved selection of umbrella companies they work with. But the choice is ultimately yours, and looking at online reviews is a great place to start. Most umbrella companies will have a Google business profile and may also be on impartial reviews platforms like Trustpilot or Reviews.io, so reviews won’t be hard to find. 

When you are evaluating an umbrella company (or any company for that matter) based on its reviews, there are a few points to bear in mind, to ensure you get a balanced and accurate view.

Read lots of reviews

This sounds obvious but you would be surprised how many people just look at overall average score instead of delving a bit deeper into what users have actually said. People have different preferences and priorities, so taking time to read through a larger sample size of reviews gives you a better overall perspective of what a particular umbrella company is actually like to work with. 

Check the dates

Recent reviews are often the most helpful. An umbrella company’s staff, business processes and service levels can change over time and you want to know what they are like to work with right now. Most reviews platforms allow you to change the sort order for “Most recent” so you get a better insight into customer experience.  However, there is some value in looking at older reviews as well, to see if the company has acted on reviewer feedback. 

Look for patterns

Of course reviews are entirely subjective, but when you read multiple reviews of a business, patterns may emerge which give you a reliable reflection of what you can expect. These can be either positive or negative –  look for consistent reports of great service, or alternatively the same mistakes or issues being flagged multiple times. 

Be wary of anonymous reviews

Reviewing anonymously allows anyone to be a keyboard warrior. That scathing review could be an ex-employee with a grudge, and on the other hand a gushing 5 star review could have been incentivised by the company. We’re not saying this is always the case, as some people genuinely prefer to post anonymously for reasons of security or data protection. However, pay more attention to detailed write-ups where the reviewer has left their name and it is obvious they have had a genuine customer experience. 

Right to reply

Another indicator of the calibre of the company you are dealing with is how they respond to their online reviews. We’ve all seen those restaurant reviews where the owner doesn’t pull any punches! 

Seriously though, a company’s reaction to reviews is a good indicator of their relationship with their customers. It speaks volumes if a company takes the time to say thanks for a positive review and, more importantly, to express regret and a desire to redress negative feedback. 

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We hope these tips have been useful, whether you are shopping around for an umbrella company, or anything else! 

Why not visit our Trustpilot page and see what people say about us, or to leave a review yourself.