Creating a transparent and truthful workplace is vital in empowering your employees. Shed the old concept of keeping information only to executives; instead, share key information to your team so that all of you can strive toward the ultimate goal.
Entrepreneur noted that a transparent workplace, one that shares information freely for the empowerment of its employees, is a happy and productive one. Giving your workers access to knowledge about the company's current situation and goals will help them feel more invested and more part of the business.
"Transparency matters for a company's culture, because it builds trust and stronger relationships between employees, management and the company itself," Funding Circle co-founder Sam Hodges wrote for the publication. "Keeping everyone in the loop leads to more collaboration and shared learning, greater creativity, faster problem-solving (there's less back and forth!) and ultimately improved performance."
Creating a transparent workplace also helps keep leaders honest. This may require a bit of adjusting but, with the following tips from Hodges, you can also promote a trusting environment for your employees.
First, to build trust in the workplace, employees need to be encouraged to ask tough questions to the leadership team such as the future and direction of the company. Try hosting a monthly company-wide Q&A where workers can submit questions anonymously.
Second, access to valuable company information is good and all but not everyone understands the industry jargons. Clarify the data provided by giving context and commentaries.
Third, train your employees to be able to objectively give and receive honest feedback. The key is to respond positively to feedback given by others.
Lastly, learn that it's not bad to share bad news to your team. Tell them the truth straight to stop rumors from propagating alarm and unrest, especially when a big issue hits your company.
According to Android Headlines, Google is the best company to work for in the U.S. Aside from being compensated well, employees are also taught to talk to each other regarding interpersonal issues and work it out.
