Having become a trendy value used in all contexts, transparency is on the menu of all political programs and in the mouths of all business leaders. But, concretely, what does it mean to be transparent? In this article, we take stock of this notion of transparency: its advantages, its pitfalls, as well as some tools to help you set up an open and efficient work environment within the company.
Transparency, what is it?
By the time you finish reading this sentence, approximately 220,000 new posts will have appeared on Facebook and 23,000 new tweets will have been published. In an era where privacy has become an almost obsolete value, public opinion feels entitled to demand accountability. Gone are the days of shady dealings and decisions made behind closed doors; it's time for transparency.
A transparent company is a company that publicly shares information that was previously kept private. Some organizations have even placed transparency at the very heart of their corporate culture. This is the case, for example, with Buffer, Fitbit, WholeFood, and Monday. While each of them approaches transparency differently, certain key elements are now publicly shared, such as:
- Recruitment practices
- Growth and performance figures
- Revenues and earnings
- Internal procedures
- …
Rand Fishkin, the creator of SparkToro, a startup specializing in SEO, described transparency in a few words in a tweet:
Will sharing this data add value to my company? Then this is a marketing approach. Will this sharing have value for others, even if my company doesn't directly benefit from it? That's transparency.
Transparency, a simple trend or a true value?
Transparency is therefore on the rise. But should it be seen only as a passing trend or a true value worth investing in for your company?
The idea behind transparency is to encourage trust. That of customers as well as that of employees. Transparency helps create a climate conducive to engagement, cooperation, collaboration, and innovation.
A lack of transparency leads to a lack of trust and a deep sense of insecurity – Dalai Lama
Transparency helps create a climate of security and thus earn the respect of the company's clients. This proves to them that you have nothing to hide. In a world where suspicion is commonplace, earning the trust of those who allow you to grow is definitely not a luxury.
While it's quite simple to understand how transparency inspires trust from a commercial perspective, i.e., in the company-client relationship, it's sometimes less obvious to understand how much transparency has a positive effect within work teams.
Benjamin Tierny, CEO of Dernier Cri, explains why transparency is important within his team:
We wanted our employees to be involved at all levels of the strategy and to give their best. And for that, we needed transparency.
Very often, a lack of transparency from leaders will lead to a feeling of insecurity, an atmosphere not conducive to innovation and self-improvement. Transparency allows company members to feel involved; they are thus valued and placed in conditions favorable to their development.
Ultimately, for people to make smart decisions, you have to give them access to all available information. And obviously, if you want them to make the same decisions you would make at their level, you have to give them access to the information you have – – Joel Gascoigne – CEO of Buffer
Yes, but… I don't want my competitors to know my methods.
It's certain, the more transparent you are, the clearer your competitors will see what you do. But let's be honest, your competitors have many other ways of knowing your methods and what you have to gain far outweighs this drawback. Sharing your information shows that you have confidence in your product and your methods. More than words, it's factual proof of your assurance.
Yes, but… our mistakes are then public, and I don't want to spend my life justifying myself!
Making mistakes happens to everyone. You are human, your team and your clients are human. Admittedly, admitting it isn't really pleasant. But not hiding your mistakes is also a good way to confront and manage them: you don't really have a choice. This is therefore an extraordinary way to improve.
The culture of opacity and fear of error is, on the contrary, particularly harmful: dysfunctions and bad choices are camouflaged. They continue a costly undermining work in the background.
Transparency in real corporate life
We are convinced that in addition to fostering business growth, transparency also contributes to the well-being of our clients and employees.
Nevertheless, creating a transparent environment does not mean sharing all information randomly and arbitrarily. Or flooding our clients and employees with tons of useless data.
On the one hand counterproductive, this would go against the very principle of transparency which dictates that everyone has all the information necessary allowing them to make informed choices.
For this reason, it quickly became clear that we would need tools to successfully carry out our transparency project. The main tool we have implemented is Monday, a project management solution about which we have detailed an article.
Read the article: The best project management software
Monday's objective is clearly stated on their website:
monday.com was founded because we believe that transparency and collaboration create a culture of belonging and empowerment. More autonomous teams are more productive teams.
On a daily basis, Monday allows all members of our team to plan their work. They also know exactly what others are working on. The tool offers them great autonomy in managing their workload. Moreover, thanks to the integrated communication system, everyone can quickly know the progress of each project.
On the client side, sharing information helps create a climate of trust. The client has real-time access to the project “board” and can easily follow its progress and even leave comments if necessary.
There are other similar tools, such as Buffer, Asana, or Wrike. It is up to you to choose the tool that will be most suitable for your structure.
In conclusion
More than a value, transparency becomes a culture, a characteristic trait of our time. We all stand to gain from it, provided we accept our share of humanity and responsibility.
Today, power is acquired by sharing knowledge, not by hoarding it. – Dharmesh Shah, co-founder of HubSpot
Sharing for better or for worse, it is the virtue of an era where knowledge is believed to be accessible. And it is possible that this is also the key to our collective success.
