Our Commitment

The Independence Charter

Five structural commitments that define how The Hiring Index operates — stated publicly so that users, journalists, and the companies we track can hold us to them.

No payment changes what a company earns.

The Hiring Index does not offer paid placement, sponsored scores, or any product that lets a company purchase a higher grade, a removed report, or a preferred position in search results. Companies that earn a qualifying grade may pay to license a badge, certification, or award recognizing that grade — but the fee buys display rights, not the score itself. No payment of any kind alters a grade, a report, or what the data says. If a company's grade drops below a qualifying threshold, recognition tied to that grade is withdrawn regardless of any fee already paid. This is a structural rule with no exceptions. If that changes, we will say so publicly before the change takes effect.

Reports are not removed because a company complained.

An honest account of a hiring or separation experience — even a sharply negative one — is not grounds for removal. Companies may file a formal dispute only on four grounds: documented factual inaccuracy, a clear violation of community guidelines, no verifiable professional relationship between the reporter and the company, or mistaken identity. Every dispute is reviewed against the original submission. Complaint volume alone does not trigger action. See our dispute process for the full standard.

We do not build pay-to-respond products.

There is no subscription, program, or paid tier that gives a company privileged access to moderate, suppress, or respond to reviews in a way not available to all companies. Company responses to public reports are permitted at no cost and are clearly labeled. We will not build a tiered system where companies that pay get features that disadvantage unverified reports or displace critical content.

All scoring methodology is public and will remain public.

The complete explanation of how Ghost Scores, Process Scores, and Separation Scores are calculated — including weights, statistical adjustments, and confidence thresholds — is published at our methodology page and will remain publicly accessible without restriction. We will not move methodology behind a paywall or obscure the rules that govern how companies are ranked.

If this platform is acquired, user data is deleted first.

If The Hiring Index is sold or transferred to new ownership, all user-identifiable data — confirmed email addresses, session hash mappings, draft records, and account information — will be deleted or made permanently unrecoverable before the transfer is completed. Historical reports and aggregate scores are platform data; individual identity records are not ours to transfer.