Terry Clark - President, Real Board Solutions
Transparency is a word that gets bounced around a lot in boardrooms these days, so it’s not surprising that many successful organizations have adopted a transparent and accountable approach to managing both their workforce and their customers. But why bother? What’s in it for the organization?
Build stronger relationships with your workforce: A transparent workplace shares many traits with a functional marriage or strong friendship. Consider this: the website Entrepreneur.com defines the five characteristics of a transparent workplace as open communication, honesty, regular feedback, respect and admitting wrong. Sounds like the basis for any good relationship.
Avoid costly mistakes: The levels of transparency that we expect from individuals and organizations are consistently increasing, especially in recent years with the rise of social media. With several corporate and non-profit board leaders in the hot seat for a lack of accountability and transparency, creating an environment of open communication is no longer optional; rather, it is essential to any business.
Foster a stronger corporate culture: Share practices, policies, operating data and future plans with the workforce. This helps workers develop a deep understanding of what their organization stands for and what its objectives are, helping to build an environment of pride, loyalty, passion, trust and innovation. This, in turn, can lead to increased productivity and higher profit.
Transparency is a powerful thing. Everyone benefits. It’s hard to trust someone without the facts. A culture of transparency ensures that even when mistakes are made, an organization can still come out on top.
Marni Johnson - Senior vice-president of human resources and communications, BlueShore Financial
In the ever-evolving employee-employer relationship, we’ve seen a shift from a paternalistic hierarchy to a partnership model that allows employees to feel more valued and trusted in their role. Transparency is a big part of this. Employers who use transparency to help their employees understand where they fit and how they contribute to the overall success of the organization create a common goal for their workforce, a key component in creating more engaged employees and, in turn, a more effective workforce.
The digital age we’re now in is part of the reason why transparency is so crucial. Social media generates so much connectivity that today’s workers expect the same degree of access to information, sharing and feedback in their workplace. Embracing this back-and-forth collaboration through transparency fosters trust and builds relationships more easily.
Personal transparency, particularly in leadership, is instrumental in creating a high-trust environment. Your words must match your actions. Showing your vulnerability, admitting when you are wrong and sharing your weaknesses engenders trust – a critical aspect of building a relationship. The way I see it, vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness. Personal transparency leads to higher employee engagement and performance, which is really the ultimate goal.
As the leader of human resources, it’s my role to facilitate the achievement of the organization’s goals through people, and ensuring a positive culture where employees and the organization are aligned is key to doing so. I see my HR team and myself as stewards of culture; it’s our job to keep our finger on the pulse and ensure our leaders keep culture – and, by the same token, transparency – top of mind for an engaged and successful workforce.
James Palmer - Vice-president of sales and marketing, Great Little Box Co.
One of the keys to succeeding in business is to establish mutual trust and respect among all staff and to ensure that everyone is working together towards a common goal. Sharing objectives and responsibilities will increase the accountability of each individual employee, prompting him or her to go the extra mile to get that win for the company that ultimately benefits everyone.
At Great Little Box Co., we hold a monthly meeting with the entire staff where we share the results from our income statement. We then split $0.15 on every profit dollar among all employees by head count. This encourages our staff to remain accountable, as there is a direct correlation between their work, the results and the amount on their paycheque.
Especially in a company with multiple departments that may not interact on a day-to-day basis, it’s critical to establish an open-door policy. Maintaining clear and honest lines of communication, from the most junior members of the team to the CEO, is essential to gaining company-wide trust. This will help to avoid workplace politics as all employees will understand that their voice can and will be heard.
Finally, gaining full employee trust means communicating the good, the bad and the ugly. If you share only the good news, or are selective with who knows what, this will lead to speculation, doubt and unwarranted distrust. Keeping everyone in the loop will send the message that every employee deserves to know what’s going on and is a valued member of the company.
