Employer Transparency Read: Who Scores Highest and Lowest

The Baseline Across Graded Employers

The hiring process remains largely opaque, but tracking real employer data gives job seekers a clearer view of where companies stand. Across 118 graded US employers on the JobCop ledger, the average transparency score currently sits at 65.6 out of 100. Over the past seven days, zero anonymous candidate reports were filed, and zero cases were opened with Dep.

A score of 65.6 indicates an industry baseline that leaves substantial room for improvement. While some companies maintain functional candidate communication, many operate near the lower margin of responsiveness and reliability. Tracking these metrics helps separate organizations that respect applicant time from those that leave candidates without updates.

Employers Setting the Higher Standard

A distinct group of tracked organizations manages to push well above the 65.6 average score. At the top of the current ledger ranks, Defenseunicorns leads all 118 graded employers with a score of 76 out of 100.

Close behind Defenseunicorns are four companies tied at a transparency score of 74 out of 100: Pindropsecurity, Imafinancialgroup, Gruve, and 2k. Rounding out this top cluster is Bitwarden, which scores 73 out of 100.

These top-tier employers represent diverse sectors including defense technology, software security, financial services, and digital entertainment. Their higher scores indicate stronger performance across core metrics compared to the broader cohort of graded companies.

Where Candidate Experience Lags Behind

At the opposite end of the ledger, several employers fall significantly below the average. The lowest-graded employer currently tracked is Picktrace, which posts a transparency score of 50 out of 100.

Slightly above Picktrace sits Epsilon3 with a score of 52 out of 100, followed by both Cority and Clickhouse at 53 out of 100. Osedea scores 54 out of 100, while Project Healthy Minds records a score of 55 out of 100.

When employers score between 50 and 55, it highlights notable weaknesses in candidate experience metrics. Applicants considering roles at these companies should remain mindful of the lower historical ratings recorded on the ledger.

HR Tech Platforms and Recruitment Metrics

Even platforms that build hiring software or host career tools show mixed transparency scores within the dataset.

Livecareer leads this group with a 65 out of 100 overall score. Its pillar metrics show an Activity score of 81.2 and a Hygiene score of 78.1, alongside a Reliability score of 65, a Transparency pillar score of 57.7, a Responsiveness score of 56, and a Sentiment score of 50.

Ziprecruiter scores 61 out of 100 overall. It records an Activity pillar score of 83, Hygiene at 60.3, Transparency pillar at 60.8, Reliability at 57.8, Responsiveness at 56, and Sentiment at 50.

Smartrecruiters and Glassdoor both remain unrated overall on the ledger. Smartrecruiters posts Responsiveness at 56, Reliability at 55, and Sentiment at 50. Glassdoor reflects identical scores in those pillars: Responsiveness at 56, Reliability at 55, and Sentiment at 50. All four HR-focused platforms utilize Greenhouse as their applicant tracking system (ATS).

Sector Read Takeaways for Candidates

• The average transparency score across 118 graded US employers is 65.6 out of 100.
• Defenseunicorns holds the highest score at 76 out of 100, followed by Pindropsecurity, Imafinancialgroup, Gruve, 2k (all at 74), and Bitwarden (73).
• The lowest-rated group is led by Picktrace at 50, Epsilon3 at 52, Cority and Clickhouse at 53, Osedea at 54, and Project Healthy Minds at 55.
• Major HR tech brands hover near or below the 65.6 average, with two remaining unrated.

Check the latest data on the Live Transparency Ledger at https://jobcop.app/ledger and file a report on your experience at https://jobcop.app/patrol.