Why is transparency so crucial for the future of work?

In a world where there is a growing importance given on the stamp of being a “great place to work”, particularly in current hybrid or remote first organizations, there is an increasing emphasis being given to certain aspects of organizational culture, one of them being transparency.

But what is organizational transparency? And why is it so important?

Organizational transparency is a management style that focuses on open governance (Boiser, 2019). It means that there is no information being withheld from employees (whether it is negative or positive), and that there are processes implemented in order to make information more easily accessible and shared.

Building a culture of transparency implies that the organization: trusts them and wants them to be involved in the growth of the company; gives them a higher sense of security and psychological safety: validates their role and importance; increases morale and creativity which results in higher levels of engagement.

But its importance goes beyond this, according to Salam (2019) and Hearn (2020) organizational transparency:

Establishes Trust: transparency leads to higher engagement and commitment from the employees to the vision of the organization, because they will be able to fully understand the mission and will feel that their ideas and inputs are welcomed by management. This happens by consistently showing employees that the organization trusts him/her with their vision and business model.

Expands Relationships: “Solid relationships with strong foundations are built from being transparent” (Salam, 2019). Relationships build based upon transparency and openness are relationships that last. it is important to build an environment where people will feel like they can share ideas without judgment. Organizations should always keep an open line of communication so that meaningful conversations that build not only trust but strong relationships can occur, particularly the not so easy ones.

Increases Productivity: If employees don’t feel the organization is being transparent towards them their level of commitment will drop resulting in not applying their full potential towards the job. When employees are fully committed to the organization they will commit themselves as a team to achieve its goals.

Strengthens Innovation: in a culture of transparency, employees will feel more invested in helping the organization deal with any problems it may be facing. As “two heads are better than one”, if more people are trying to find a solution for the same problem, it is more likely they will find it faster and more efficiently. Transparency will stimulate employees’ creativity and innovation, particularly helpful in key and/or critical times of the organisational life cycle .

Is good for recruitment & retention: transparency will transform an organization into a more desirable place to work, attracting more competent and suitable candidates when recruiting. More importantly, transparency is key for retaining talent.

According to an article from Forbes (2018) a transparent organization can be identified by these five characteristics:

1. Communication of the organization’s vision and mission statement: When a mission statement is clear and very straightforward communicates the organization’s vision, it will help employees have a clear understanding of financial and business goals, and not only promote it amongst themselves but also to prospective clients.
2. They tell the whole truth: communication should be built on a basis of transparency; organizations should keep their employees on the loop of what’s going on inside and outside: communicate not only the good news but also the not so good; trusting employees with sensitive and confidential information.
3. They don’t delay dispensing information: keeping employees on the loop regarding multiple subjects is important so that they don’t get surprised when hearing information by others that should have been communicated by the organization. “Transparent companies stay on top of information and make sure employees are informed as soon as possible through official company announcements” (Arruda, 2018).
4. They make important documents available: simple tools can help share information like annual reports, financial data, contact sheets, and even calendars with all employees. On the long run, this type of open and direct communication will not only increase efficiency but will also promote trust.
5. They establish trust through social media: giving employees the freedom to share information on platform such as Linked In will give them the sense that the organization fully trusts them to the point of what is going to reach the public eye. This will amplify the organization’s visibility and the transparency of the message being conveyed to the general public.

To sum up, as managers we have to be ready to embrace transparency and incorporate it into our organizational culture, and start by putting in place mechanisms for communicating vital issues to team members and keep them posted.

Any organization that promotes a culture of transparency has engaged, productive, trustful, confident and happy employees. And happy employees are healthy employees.

References:

Boiser, L. (2019). Transparency in Organizations: How Transparent Should You Be as a Leader. Kaban Zone. Available at: https://kanbanzone.com/2019/transparency-in-organizations-and-leadership/

Salem, C. (2019). Why Transparency Is Important To Business. Christopher Salem. Available at: https://christophersalem.com/why-transparency-is-important-to-business/

Hearn, S. (2020). Building trust and transparency in your organization. Innovation Enterprise. Available at: https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/hot-to-motivate-employees-building-trust-and-transparency-in-your-organisation

Arruda, W. (2018). Five Ways To Identify A Company With A Culture Of Transparency. Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2018/03/11/five-ways-to-identify-a-company-with-a-culture-of-transparency/

This post was originally published at www.boundmakers.wordpress.com