How Can Better.com Restore Its Reputation?

Better.com’s CEO Vishal Garg just issued the mea culpa of 2021.  

On December 1, Garg brought down the wrath of the Internet upon himself and his company when it was reported that he’d laid off 900 people (9 percent of the company’s employees) via one Zoom call. Leaked footage quickly went viral. Among those fired were the diversity, equity and inclusion recruiting team.  

The bigger the story became, the worse it got. It turns out that even though Garg blamed difficult market conditions for the layoffs, the company had just recently gotten a $750 million cash infusion. And news reports surfaced that he’d issued a toxic email rife with abusive language to employees. Then Fortune reported that after laying off employees, he accused them of “stealing” from their colleagues and customers by being unproductive, and Vice published an equally unflattering portrayal.

As a result: 

• Better.com has suffered a major blow to its reputation. Aside from getting negative news coverage and a social media tongue lashing, Better.co is getting crushed on Glassdoor.  
• The company’s PR, communications, and marketing heads have resigned at a time when Garg sorely needs help in all those areas. 
• Better.com has delayed a public listing planned for the fourth quarter of 2021. 

Since then, Garg has issued an apology to employees, which the company published on its website. “I own the decision to do the layoffs,” he wrote, “but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.” 

This kind of news would have been bad enough at any time, but it’s especially damaging now because: 

• Employees are leaving companies in unprecedented numbers amid a tight labor market. To say the least, Better.com has created a major recruitment problem.  
• Companies are becoming more sensitive to the reality that their public brand must be aligned with their employee brand. Customers, job seekers, investors, and job seekers are demanding that the public face of the company be an authentic reflection of its internal culture. Clearly, Better.com’s internal and public brand are not aligned, and it will take some time restore a sense of harmony. The admission in Garg’s apology that “I embarrassed you” seems to acknowledge the reality that a company’s internal actions and external brand are intertwined. 
• Businesses are operating in a new era of transparency. They are being watched closely from the inside and outside, especially for evidence that the company’s behavior is consistent with its words. Those actions are subject to being shared with the entire world even if they’re supposed to be “for internal audiences” – especially if something negative happens. Social media is a tremendous launching pad for sharing that news. 
• Eliminating the diversity, equity, and inclusion team sends the wrong message at a time when businesses are a placing a heavy premium on these issues. 

Now what should the company do to re-build trust? 

Here are some suggestions for Vishal Garg: 

• Invest in rebuilding the company’s culture. The apology was a start. From there, he will need to communicate transparently with employees about steps he will personally take to improve the Better.com culture, starting with any changes he will make to his own management and communications style. After that, it will be essential for him to report back to his employees as often as possible about concrete steps the company has taken; and steps he has taken to improve. It will certainly be essential that he discuss how the company intends to address diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
• Give employees a voice. And listen to them. Meet with many as possible (whether online or in person depending on the company’s ground rules for working in the office right now) and give them an open forum to share what’s on their minds as the company moves forward from a massive layoff. Unfortunately, the fallout of the layoff-by-Zoom has distracted attention from how employees might be reeling from the layoff itself. In short, he needs to listen. 
• Communicate the broader story about Better.com. The Better.com website contains three blog posts since May 2021. One of them is the CEO’s apology. Another is news about its public listing. A third is a ranking of mortgage firms. There is no sense of a company discussing steps it takes to make its workforce better and its customer happy. There are no stories about Better.com’s contributions to society. All this needs to change. Better.com needs to change the story about itself. 
• Rebuild the CEO narrative. This is a job best left to seasoned PR pros who understand the nuances of personal branding and reputation building. Right now, Better.com’s CEO Is associated with toxic management. But what does he do exceptionally well? Is he a visionary? Does he give to his community? His complete story is not being told. 

Better.com has its work cut out for it, but rebuilding trust is achievable with time, communication, and action. Contact IDX to learn how we can help your business build its brand authentically. 

Contact IDX  

IDX helps businesses build trust with all their audiences through an approach known as ConnectedContent, in which we align all aspects of a brand’s narrative with its values and culture. To learn more, contact us.