In recent years, employee engagement and retention have evolved from being mere buzzwords to becoming the central focus for many businesses. And amidst the many factors influencing these concerns one that significantly stands out is workplace transparency.

Organizations globally are coming to understand the immense potential of embracing a culture of transparent communication, which extends not only to the companies' external affairs but also deep down to their internal mechanisms.

Basically, open and honest communication is more important than it's ever been for business owners.

So let's look at why and how business managers should make a plan to create more transparency in the workplace.

Workplace transparency is the openness a company or business exercises regarding its operations. This can relate to things such as business performance, major decisions or developments, and perhaps most importantly of all, communication.

The end goal is usually an undisguised, clear approach towards employees about work-related activities and decisions.

The theory being that a culture of transparency in the workplace leads to an environment of trust and honesty. And, by extension, a company culture of promoting transparency means that people take more pride in their work, are more open to feedback and communication, and are also more likely to feel engaged with the workplace.

And while some business leaders and managers might reject things such as employee engagement or workplace transparency as HR invented buzzwords, the truth is that more employees than ever expect their workplace to use open and honest communication.

In fact, in a study by the Institute of Leadership & Management, 70% of respondents ranked openness as one of the most important elements of trust in the workplace, and 53% cited good communication.

But what do you need to be transparent about?

When it comes to transparency in the workplace, the focus is usually on things such as salaries, employee feedback and the opportunity for employees to give their own honest feedback about the business.

For example, several large businesses such as Whole Foods and Buffer have chosen to make worker salaries and business revenue open knowledge. And let's be honest, it's usually the money side of things where we want the most transparency.

However it's not just about the money. Companies such as Patagonia have a very open company culture where they encourage two way feedback. What this means is that, rather than an employee performance review, the manager will ask how the employee feels the project went and ask for feedback. And only after the employee has had their say will the manager offer feedback.

The theory here is that people are much more receptive to comment if they have had their own say.

Businesses that are B-Corp certified must have high levels of workplace transparency, among other things. This can include:

Open about their supply chain and production methods

Equal pay for male and female employees in the same roles

Whether management are evaluated based on corporate, social and environmental standards

Whether employees own part of the business (shares etc)

The percentage of employees that are from underrepresented populations

Becoming B-Corp certified has become a badge of honor for many businesses across a wide range of industries, not just those with an environmental impact. (Although arguably, all businesses have some kind of environmental impact).

So to achieve and maintain the certification, businesses need to have a high degree of transparency in the workplace. These businesses include:

And of course, thousands more, and growing...

The benefits of transparency in the workplace

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of improving workplace transparency is that employees feel that the company is open and honest, which contributes to an overall positive company culture.

This in turn results in positive cultural changes such as:

Now, while some of these might sound like a stretch, studies actually back this up. A report from PwC shows that employees who feel trusted at work, and can show autonomy, show stronger job performance, higher job satisfaction and greater commitment to the organization.

The same report shows how employees value this freedom at work over a pay rise. In fact, almost half of employees would give up a 20% pay rise if it meant more autonomy.

And, of course, central to this open environment is a culture of building transparency and two way communication.

The drawbacks of transparency in the workplace

Of course, looking at the benefits of a transparent workplace, it's only fair that we look to the flip side too.

And while a transparent culture can be a great tool to encourage employees to take responsibility or to engage, it can also lead to:

Potential for backlash or negative consequences

Less agility in achieving business objectives

While sharing relevant information and ensuring that employees understand how certain workplace processes affect them, there is a danger that this can cause a backlash.

For example, too much transparency around wage increases, pricing structures or details of the hiring process can result in internal jealousy or rivalry. And while giving employees a say in how some business operations are run, or seeking feedback around some company policies or other workplace matters, there are times when there does need to be a degree of opacity.

So while overall a process to improve transparency around factors that affect the workplace is important, there remain some things that should remain in the hands of senior decision makers.

How can you show transparency as a business manager?

Creating a more transparent environment in the workplace starts at the top. It's all about putting in processes to communicate clearly and facilitate open and accessible feedback and access to information.

Some of the best ways to create a transparent workplace culture include:

One of the first steps to implement transparency is to have a platform to communicate what is expected of employees. Whether this is the overall company goals, department specific targets or ongoing performance statistics, when employees have a better understanding of what is expected or where they are, it can hugely benefit both the business performance and the employee experience.

Of course there are many ways to communicate, whether this is using regular meetings, regular email updates, ongoing feedback, digital displays or digital signage, or all of the above.

Perhaps the easiest way to provide transparent communication is within team or group meetings. While most office based businesses will schedule regular team meetings, looking at the weekly strategies and feedback, for more workplace transparency it's important to create a forum where broader updates are shared with the ability for constructive feedback from the workforce.

Town halls are a good example of this. This is where senior management showcases recent and up and coming developments to the entire workforce. These can also be done as a mixture of in-person and online meetings, when scheduled in advance.

Another benefit of these bigger town hall style meetings is that anyone can deliver feedback, ask questions or voice their own thoughts.

Because these larger meetings can be time consuming, especially in bigger organizations, encourage employees to engage with the talking points and ask questions before the meeting. You can then use digital displays to highlight the question and the specific points that need answering.

Giving workers access to the information they need is one of the most important parts of a transparent work environment. Whether this is regular updates regarding business performance, objectives, and strategic plans, or easy access to the company roadmap.

Employees who understand the broader picture and know where the company is headed, are more likely to feel engaged and act in support of these goals.

Having access to this kind of data via email or shared folders is one of the most common ways of sharing information. Again, regular meetings can also help here, as can using in-workplace digital signage to display timely updates, reminders and other key data.

Read our guide: How to create an internal communications strategy.

When it comes to a more transparent workplace, encouraging feedback not only from top-down but a bottom-up approach as well is very important.

Everyone's opinions matter, and employees feel more valued when they're able to freely voice their thoughts and opinions.

This culture of consistent feedback allows room for continuous improvement for everyone within the organization.

The easiest way to implement this is via performance reviews or one to one meetings, or within team meetings.

While the process of democratizing the workplace can be hugely transformative, it also results in an incredibly transparent and productive work environment.

Workplace democracy refers to a more flat hierarchical structure, where employees have as much of a say as managers in the day to day running of a business. At the most extreme end, it can also refer to the elimination of management as a job role. And while this might not suit every business, there are elements of this that can benefit an organization.

The main elements of workplace democracy are:

Ensuring everyone is privy to finance meetings and encouraging them to give feedback

Giving all employees the right to vote on new processes or developments

Treat everyone the same, regardless of their job role, gender or company 'status'

Most people want to feel like they have the ability to better themselves and their workplace. So making the opportunity to learn and improve part of the culture can be one of the best ways to encourage transparency.

Typically this will mean access to learning, the opportunity to try new roles within the workplace, and the ability to offer feedback if a new development or process isn't working as it should be.

Read more: How to improve workplace company culture?

The tools to use to encourage workplace transparency

Modern-day technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing transparency in the workplace. And while collaborative software is very much the standard these days, with Trello, Monday, Asana and Slack being office staples, there are many ways you can improve communication and transparency.

Organizational transparency is the openness a company or business exercises regarding its operations. How can you build a more transparent work culture?

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