Ten Reasons to Keep Employees “In the Know”
March 5th, 2010 by . Posted in Buildings, Bridges & Bottom LinesWith construction unemployment at a whopping 27%, now is not the time to keep your employees in the dark. Quint Studer, author of the new book Straight A Leadership: Alignment, Action, Accountability (Fire Starter Publishing, 2009), believes the more you tell employees, the better.
“Leaders have talked about transparency for a long time, but it’s never been more important than it is now,” he states. “We share information with employees for a couple of reasons: one, it’s the right thing to do, and two, it’s good for business. And most companies can use every possible edge these days.”
He offers the following reasons to embrace transparency:
1. People assume the worst when they don’t hear from leaders. Silence from management breeds fear and resentment, which certainly doesn’t contribute to a productive culture. “Maybe the news is bad, but maybe it’s not as bad as they are imagining,” says Studer. “And even if it is, once they know the truth they can plan and act accordingly.”
2. Transparency helps employees connect to the why. “You can ask people to change their work habits and established processes all day long,” notes Studer. “But if they don’t know why they’re being asked to change, they won’t change – at least not for long.”
3. Employees may not understand how the external environment affects the company. Employees may not be aware of the various factors impacting the company and its financial performance. “Creating a transparent company helps everyone stay mindful of the forces affecting the bottom line,” says Studer. “And I think most leaders will agree that those forces have never been more volatile.”
4. Transparency allows for consistent messaging across the organization. When people get their news through the grapevine, the message can be quickly distorted. They need to hear what’s really going on, in a controlled and consistent way, from company leadership.
5. This, in turn, creates organizational consistency. When everyone is hearing the same message, they’re motivated to respond in similar ways. “Consistent companies tend to be healthy, stable companies,” notes Studer. “And transparency and consistency are two sides of the same coin.”
6. Transparency leads to faster, more efficient execution. When times are tough, execution is everything. All sectors of an organization must understand exactly what’s required so they act in a coordinated and collaborative fashion. “It’s all about a shared sense of urgency,” says Studer.
7. It heals we/they divisiveness. Studer often warns clients about the we/they phenomenon – the perception that there are separate groups inside a company that work at cross-purposes. “In transparent organizations that share common agendas, it’s hard for we/they to flourish,” says Studer.
8. Transparency keeps good people from leaving. High performers often have other job options in even the worst economic climate. If they sense an atmosphere of secrecy and uncertainty, they may assume the company isn’t healthy and leave for greener pastures.
9. It eliminates “Park Ranger Leadership.” If you were lost in the woods and a park ranger showed up to lead you to safety, you wouldn’t need to develop any survival skills. The same is true of employees who wait for management to come up with all the solutions; it can breed a risky complacency. It’s far better, says Studer, for employees to pursue their own salvation than to wait passively for rescue – and that means they need to know exactly what threats they face.
10. Transparency facilitates the best possible solutions. In a transparent culture, leaders encourage employees to solve problems themselves. “When people are allowed to solve their own problems, they’ll do a much better job than if they have to work with a solution imposed from above or outside,” Studer reflects. “And of course, they’ll also have instant buy-in.”
Studer adds that corporate transparency should be viewed as a long-term commitment, not a “crisis control” program.
“Transparency is a way of life, not a stop-gap measure,” he emphasizes. “It shapes your organizational culture and drives results in any economic environment. As recovery gets underway, as long as you maintain your commitment to openness and constant communication, your organization will only get stronger.”
Adapted from “The Case for Transparency: Ten Reasons Your Company Should Keep No Secrets from Employees”. For more information, visit www.studergroup.com.
