What Does It Mean To Be Transparent In The Workplace?
As employers turn to flexible working arrangements, employees can't always be at the office and get a feel for what is going on. Research found that 80% of workers want to get a better understanding of how decisions are made, while 87% require transparency from their workplace. In such environments, leaders are in frequent and open communication with their employees regarding corporate goals, problems, revenue, feedback, and decisions. In return, the workforce encourages people to express their opinions and thoughts and offer their feedback regarding any situation. Additionally, each employee is aware of the pay everyone in the company receives, so equality is guaranteed. While this approach may sound similar to a start-up, it can also be adopted by big corporations that wish to be more open with their employees and engage them in managerial matters.
The Advantages Of Workplace Transparency
Builds Trust And Improves Communication
Open and honest communication builds trust not only between employers and employees but also among the workforce. When people are aware of business practices and how decisions are made, they feel that their companies are sincere. Therefore, their loyalty increases, and they have fewer chances of leaving their workplace. Additionally, through honesty, organizations alleviate concerns and dispel rumors that can be destructive to team dynamics. As a result, team members are aware of common goals and align towards achieving them. Everyone feels confident in themselves and in giving and receiving feedback. Plus, employees aren't scared of contacting their employer to talk about ideas or concerns. That's because they know they will be listened to respectfully, and there won't be any backlash.
Increases Control And Promotes Decision-Making
Employees who hold internal information regarding their company have a better understanding of their personal and common objectives. They are perfectly aware of their role and what is expected of them to reach corporate goals. Therefore, they feel in control of their career and their day-to-day tasks as they realize the way their work contributes to their organization's end targets. Hence, they can make their own decisions more efficiently without fearing any possible mistakes. Even in the case of hurdles and errors, they feel comfortable reaching out to their colleagues or managers and asking them for help and feedback.
Improves Productivity And Engagement
When a manager or leader is open about a corporation's culture, priorities, and struggles, employees' engagement is likely to increase. Also, when people are aware of corporate strategy and their daily agenda, they can prepare themselves adequately. Not knowing what their company strives for and how they fit into the frame can create excessive stress and hinder team dynamics. On the other hand, when leaders share information with everyone, they make them feel like integral parts of the company. In this case, colleagues feel comfortable asking one another for help and collaborating to achieve common goals, too. Their overall satisfaction increases as they notice how their contributions are valued and respected.
Increases Profits
Profitability goes hand-in-hand with engagement since the more engaged employees are, the harder they will work to reach corporate objectives. Organizations with high levels of transparency report higher profit margins than average. That's because these companies provide all the necessary information their workforce needs to serve their customers efficiently and build trust and loyalty with them. When everyone has a clear understanding of company goals, they will strive to think of innovative ideas and solutions. Consequently, increased profits and performance offer people more opportunities to develop new skills and keep growing.
Disadvantages of Transparency In The Workplace
Overloads With Information
Not every employee is equipped with the ability to filter information and prioritize certain tasks over others. So, receiving a pool of information can hurt their concentration. They may not be able to focus clearly on one task at a time, thinking about all the other tasks they need to do to reach the final goal. That's especially true when leaders are not setting priorities but leave it completely to employees to make decisions. Feeling swamped, employees may get confused. As a result, important pieces of information and tasks might get overlooked or misjudged as secondary or less important.
Lacks Privacy
When everyone around the office knows what each person is doing, individual privacy may be violated. Also, employees may feel like they are being monitored and judged every single minute of the day. Therefore, their confidence may get crushed and their creativity stifled. Additionally, watching over colleagues' progress can create pressure on employees and make them start comparing themselves, leading to decreased self-esteem. It may also increase competition between team members, who, instead of collaborating, start seeing one another as obstacles they should surpass. Lastly, confidentiality is also in danger when workplace transparency is enforced. Leaders and managers may have difficulty keeping sensitive information a secret, causing client data to leak.
Creates Operational Challenges
To foster transparency in the workplace, organizations need to grant equal access to corporate data to all employees. For starters, this process can be time-consuming and may require a lot of resources and infrastructure to complete. However, this should not be an organization's main concern since the more people access private information, the greater the danger of leaks. Internal vulnerabilities might allow competitors to enter a company's confidential files and steal data. Consequently, they may use the stolen information to get ahead of their competition. Additionally, if customers are informed about such leaks, they might lose their trust and loyalty.
How To Find The Right Balance
If organizations truly believe in the benefits of transparency, they should enforce it using the right methods and tools. First off, they should balance responsibility and transparency. To achieve that, leaders must encourage open communication and ask for their employees' feedback. They should also accept responsibility for their mistakes and explain the reasoning behind their decisions. Leading by example will help employees act similarly and be open to receiving feedback. However, organizations can choose to be selectively transparent and not disclose every piece of information to their employees. As a result, employees feel trusted, and clients aren't afraid that confidential information might be leaked.
Conclusion
While workplace transparency can be beneficial, it should not be treated as a one-size-fits-all cure. Each organization is unique in how it manages its personnel and internal affairs, and this approach may not be helpful. That's why organizations that want to adopt open communication and honesty should carefully and delicately weigh the pros and cons. They must keep in mind that transparency is a two-way street, and they should be as sincere as they expect their workforce to be.
