Transparency is not a very common topic in business because it is highly debated one. Not all people in business industry agree that transparency should be increased within company culture. Businesses that have limited transparency justify that it is to avoid internal conflict. However, modern businesses are starting going to the opposite direction. Today, most businesses encourage transparency to be instilled more within work environment.
Implementing transparency in your business
Increases transparency is considered powerful and impactful to improve employee morale, create better bottom line for your company, and boost retention. It is best to introduce several transparency types into your business such as salary transparency, task transparency, employee performance transparency, hiring transparency, and transparency with customers.
The importance of instilling more transparency in your business
As mentioned earlier that increased transparency can improve business in so many ways including higher employee morale, boost retention, and better bottom line. Other benefits that you can gain from implementing transparency in your business include a larger pool of job candidates, quicker project turnarounds, and greater internal collaboration.
A powerful sign of trust
Implementing transparency also means a powerful sign of trust because your employees have the same access to information regardless of their role or seniority. It means transparency levels the playing field within the company, through information accessibility. It is a way you can show your team that you trust them which in turn they also increase their trust in you. This is why it is said transparency can improve employee morale.
Encourage more educated decisions
With increased transparency, you encourage and empower your team to make more educated decision independently. Their decisiveness is encourage in a positive way which leads to more accurate deliverable and quicker turnarounds.
Improve efficiency
With transparency being instilled more in your business, it helps boost efficiency. The people in your team become more informed and in turn can reduce work duplication. As the result, it improve efficiency in the field of internal communication as well.
Are there any downsides of transparency being instilled more in your business?
As said earlier that transparency is still a highly debated topic and it is for a reason. Some people view transparency more on its downsides which make them hesitate to implement it more in their business. And here are some of the downsides:
Leads to distorted information
It is possible for the information you share with employees to be distorted, misinterpreted, or misunderstood. It is possible for unhappy or upset employees to use the information to attack you instead.
Fosters blame assignment
Task transparency or employee performance transparency may lead to foster blame assignment. Those who perform poorly are likely to be blamed rather than encouraged or helped especially if the nature of your work environment is highly competitive.
Takes time and effort
Implementing transparency won’t give you instant benefits. It takes time and effort to fully instill transparency that brings positive impact. You need to provide context and establish effective communication so you and your team know what to expect from it.
