Buffer, a social media management tool, is the best example of a true transparent culture. All the employees working here know the salary of each other, their job descriptions and everything else which most companies hide. This open and transparent culture, according to Leo Widrich, co-founder at Buffer, makes them work smarter and become more productive.
According to Neil Patel, a renowned entrepreneur and a digital marketer, “In order for a business to be transparent, it's people need to be transparent.” He further adds, “Transparency is one of those subtle things that can make a dramatic impact on a business.” I would like to give the example of General Electric (GE) now so that you can understand how transparency is achieved at big conglomerates.
At GE, transparency has been in practice for decades now and is regarded as one of the most transparent firms when it comes to culture for its employees. The secret of the success; its charismatic leadership.
Transparent Culture at Workplace, the Jack Welch Way
Jack Welch, the charismatic Chairman and CEO of GE has always been a huge advocate for having transparency in the workplace. While some companies resist the transparency and do not encourage this type of open culture, just read what Mr. Welch has to say about this. “What a huge problem it is. Lack of candor (transparency) basically blocks smart ideas, fast action and good people contributing all the stuff they’ve got. It’s a killer.”
Jack Welch worked hard to apply the transparency culture for his workforce at GE throughout his tenure as a Chairman and CEO during 1981 to 2001. In his book “Winning” he has described 3 ways in which transparency can be instrumental in making the employees of the company working harder to make it successful.
1. Getting Rich Ideas
The first way in which success can be achieved is through involving everyone in a conversation. When there are more people involved in healthy conversation, ideas flourish. It doesn’t matter which person is giving what point of view. The key aspect here is what is the idea and how it can benefit the company. The focal point is to engage every employee in conversation so that their opinion can be heard and results in positive and innovative ideas.
2. Applying the Ideas
The fast generation of ideas can be debated quickly too and expanded, enhanced and finally acted upon in a matter of few days. The top management can take months to implement a new policy but through the transparency culture, the time can be cut short tremendously. In a global marketplace, applying the new trends in the business and getting one step ahead of the competition is the necessity these days. New startups move faster towards prosperity and achieve success as new ideas are implemented quickly.
In case of the start-ups, a company with few employees of course has the advantage as the voice of fewer employees are heard quickly by the management. But as the firm expands in size, applying transparency becomes difficult. The solution is simple, make transparent culture a norm in the company regardless of the size of the workforce and see the results yourself.
3. Cutting the Costs
The transparent culture can eliminate frequent and endless meetings and subsequent reports which are of no use. These reports confirm what everyone knows pretty well. Think of not going through lengthy PPTs and reports that produce boring and unrealistic targets. The workforce/employees should not be pushed through but the management should create an environment where they are willing to come forward and want to share a strategy with them.
If the idea of a new product or enhancing the performance of the employees is put forward by a worker, then you can anticipate the benefits it will have for the management. The approval of the recommendations made by the employees will have a lasting effect on their future performance and productivity.
The Connection between Human Nature and Transparency at Workplace
For hundreds of years now, psychologists have been trying to unravel the secrets of human nature and to completely understand it. Same is true for the top management of a company or a manager. If a factory supervisor can read the minds of the laborers and understand their concerns, he can come up with the perfect solution to control any adverse situation like a strike.
Most of my readers will agree on this point that generally people tend to hesitate what they have in mind and don’t say what they mean. It becomes an even harder task for the manager to understand what exactly an employee is anticipating in terms of a salary increase or a paid leave. But if the workplace culture will be transparent, the problem simply won’t happen in the first place.
3 Concrete Steps Needed to Make a Transparent Culture
1. A Weekly Meeting
A simple meeting lasting not more that 10-15 minutes can be scheduled by each department of a company. The employees should be given complete freedom about sharing what suggestions they have in mind to improve their performance. After all, this directly relates to enhanced productivity, so this can be a very fruitful exercise and a candid way to know the concerns of your employees too.
2. A Suggestion Box
While the above practice do yield good results, there are people who don’t want to say everything in their mind in front of a large audience. For them, a suggestion box fits the bill. The employees while remaining anonymous can give the feedback for a scenario or problem and address it in any way they like. This mechanism can bring good results if the management really want to implement transparency and achieve the positive results for the company as well as the employees.
3. A Software/Tool to Assist the Management
When the management goes out of their way in implementing a transparent culture for their resources, it also wants to make sure their daily operation runs smoothly. There are many reasons why the management of a company should stay in touch with the employees and oversee the tasks and projects in an efficient way. For this, an online task manager can help them in making it certain that the employees are working according to their assigned duties. In this way, the company will maximize the use of resources and increase productivity.
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