Workplace transparency is becoming more than just a buzzword in the current business environment. As new waves of coronavirus cases hit, more businesses have shifted to remote work permanently. While this switch has provided employees with increased freedom and flexibility, it has also impacted their ability to support and respond to immediate organizational needs.
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| 5 Ways to Create More Transparency in the Workplace: eAskme |
A Washington Post report reveals that 30% of remote workers have lowered their productivity during the pandemic due to a lack of visibility of business processes.
Managers must introduce transparency into remote working to promote visibility and gain insights into their teams’ working habits.
This article outlines five ways business leaders can inject more transparency and maintain robust workplace relationships.
Give Employees Access to Information:
Essential information should always be readily available to your employees.
This includes information that’s not only related to specific projects and deadlines but also about the leaders overseeing the project.
An excellent way of doing that is adding comprehensive bios, like this one, that detail leaders’ roles, accomplishments, and skills.
Employees and other stakeholders can better align their goals with organizational leaders (and vice versa) by receiving access to this information.
It also prevents misaligned expectations and allows individuals to work toward their respective objectives without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Establish a Communication Plan:
Communication is a critical component of workplace transparency.
Without communication, transparency falls apart and affects how employees react and adapt to changes.
The challenge with remote work transparency is that employees typically operate in silos and create workflows that the rest of their peers may not comprehend.
This can result in employee friction and prevent remote teams from performing effectively.
By setting a communication plan, you can ensure that everyone knows who they need to reach for specific business problems and what you want them to understand.
This allows them to stay on the same page to complete directives while keeping your client relationships intact.
Ask for Feedback:
A feedback-rich culture where everyone is comfortable seeking and receiving feedback from colleagues and executives can stimulate change and business growth.
When employees are encouraged to deliver their opinions freely, they promote transparency with leadership by providing a precise and complete picture of their experiences.
This, in turn, allows you to pinpoint and correct the errors in your processes while setting your employees up for success.
Moreover, asking for feedback helps you put employees in the driver’s seat of their professional development.
A rule of thumb when instilling a feedback-rich culture is to ensure that business executives are the role models who set the tone of an honest and open business environment.
This means normalizing the process by highlighting a no-retaliation policy rather than only using feedback on fixed occasions.
Organize Team Building Activities:
The need for employee engagement is too hard to ignore, especially if teams are saturated across multiple geographic locations.
When remote employees are engaged, they’re more focused on helping you reach project objectives and less likely to get lost in the chain.
By organizing online team-building activities, you can establish more opportunities for workers to establish personal connections to minimize feelings of disconnection and isolation from colleagues.
When setting up team-building activities, first build a narrative that keeps everyone engaged.
Consider adding gameplay elements in your activities or perhaps establishing a culture of recognition that helps everyone feel satisfied and connected to their jobs.
Either way, prioritize organizing activities that reduce tension and foster camaraderie.
Share Business Performance:
Keeping your employees informed about positive and negative operational changes is another critical component of transparency.
Because many company leaders fear lowering worker morale, it’s not uncommon for some managers to cut employees out of the loop when challenges arise.
Although terrible news can undoubtedly damage the workplace culture, sharing business performance will make employees feel included and informed about your organizational operations.
It is, however, essential to use discretion when delivering negative news to your employees.
This means handling the matter calmly and precisely to avoid panic and empower workers to feel informed, included, and trusted.
Conclusion:
If your company’s culture follows old-school divisions that keep employees in the dark, it’s time to follow the lead of successful organizations that understand the value of corporate transparency.
For more on why transparency is beneficial to your company's health and how to implement it, read Buffer’s comprehensive guide here.
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