Transparency can mean many things. A business may reveal their products’ supply chain, employees’ salaries, environmental impact reports, or the reasoning behind certain ingredients and charges.
These disclosures have become crucial elements for consumer decision-making, especially when it comes to the millennial generation and younger. The following developments are thought to be responsible for this development:
• Online Reviews: It only takes 5 minutes to find online reviews of products/services or entire businesses. Chances are someone has already posted about certain flaws, and consumers have become used to trusting their peers. Being transparent will avoid any scandalous discoveries and public reveals that might unnecessarily damage your reputation. Loosing credibility is easy, restoring it is not.
• Distrust: Big business has lost part of its appeal after the financial crisis. Individuals who grew up during this time experienced how a business culture focusing on generating profits can hurt the entire society. Transparency is the best way to build up trust in the long-term.
• Social Media: Research suggests humans have an easier time remembering negative stories and experiences. Social media makes sure any kind of scandal will be publicly exposed on a global scale. Reading people’s comments on these stories just makes them seem so much worse than they probably are as relevant context is missing. Being honest and transparent from the beginning will pay off big times.
Are there other benefits to transparency? There certainly are:
• Improves talent attraction and employee retention
• Encourages cooperation, sharing of information, and innovation
• Prevents disappointments and negative PR internally and externally
• Strengthens your brand
• Creates valuable content for social media
• Increases profitability
The big question is: how do you recognize a company truly embracing transparency? Forbes names the following elements:
• Communicate the Company’s Vision and Mission Statement
• Tell the Whole Truth
• Don’t Delay Dispensing Information
• Make Important Documents Available
• Establish Trust Through Social Media
There is so much more to transparency and we would be more than happy to share our own experiences, so please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 309-786-5142.
