Just because your employees spend their days working heads down doesn’t mean they have their heads in the sand. They’ve seen the social media posts questioning how a company could call employees “family” one day and conduct layoffs the next. They know that remote work is slowly becoming a contentious issue after previously being a requirement. These are tumultuous times, and cultivating transparency can go a long way in helping your company weather them.
Companies with transparent cultures aren’t immune to industry downturns and they sometimes implement policies that aren’t well received. That said, they communicate these challenges and changes to employees, providing detailed explanations as to how decisions were reached and why. They also create public and private forums for employees to question decisions and share feedback. Notably, companies that value transparency are also unafraid of saying, “We don’t know yet,” when asked a question.
Cultivating a culture of transparency helps ensure employees aren’t blindsided by difficult decisions. If you’re looking for new ways to support your team, department or company then continue reading to hear from three people leaders about the actionable steps you can take to improve your company culture.
Microsoft, Google and Slack are a few of the companies that use Figma’s platform to bring increased collaboration and transparency to the design process.
How do you encourage a culture of transparency right now?
As leaders, we should make every effort to address employees’ questions in both private and public channels. These companywide forums help us perpetuate a culture of transparency.
FigNation, our companywide, biweekly meeting is a platform for sharing across our teams. From profitability forecasting to benefits packages, recent hires and senior leaders alike share their perspectives. Each FigNation ends with an AMA send-off, a crowd-sourced employee question, answered by the executive most in tune with the subject. We also use FigNation to share how we’re tracking against representation goals.
Our Slack channels, from AMA channels to general company announcements, are used to communicate real-time updates.
We foster an ERG culture. We’ve created identity-based groups that help us lift up underrepresented voices and ensure we are nurturing specific communities. Run by Figmates and sponsored by Figma executives, these ERGs cultivate meaningful dialogue and action.
We host listening sessions. During moments of uncertainty, our incredible DEIB lead has created safe spaces for Figmates to gather and process.
We all want to be seen. Recognizing individuals in a moment of tumult is a powerful way to provide stability.”
How do you make yourself available to employees so that they can ask relevant questions?
Through FigNation and Slack, we nurture inclusive, transparent spaces where questions are welcomed and answered. We also hire leaders who are willing to go deep. Figma has done a wonderful job of elevating and bringing in leaders who are present with their teams and operate with high empathy and emotional intelligence. That sort of transparency and vulnerability builds community and long-term connection.
Finally, we make a concerted effort to be where our people are. Figma’s leadership team makes an effort to visit different offices across the globe regularly and creates opportunities for individual and collective conversations. I was recently in London with our people team and felt such camaraderie and connection after time spent together.
What tips would you share with fellow leaders who are endeavoring to create a culture of transparency right now?
Transparency is critical for building trust with employees, regardless of how young or mature your company and culture are.
We all want to be seen. Recognizing individuals in a moment of tumult is a powerful way to provide stability. Reaching out proactively to your team or organization with a message of understanding doesn’t always solve the problem at hand but makes people feel like they’ve been seen and heard and creates a bridge and dialogue.
Keep employees updated, even if the final outcome is still unknown. A huge lesson of pandemic-era leadership is that sometimes we just don’t know what’s going to happen. When appropriate, share the ambiguity and explain how and why decisions are being deliberated on. It allows for your employees to feel the intention and understand the necessary context.
OwnBackup helps companies protect data in cloud environments including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and ServiceNow with automated backups, archiving and cybersecurity solutions.
How do you encourage a culture of transparency right now?
“We build trust through transparency” has been one of our values since our early days, so encouraging a culture of transparency is something we place a great deal of importance on. We put this value to the test in the past few months. We recently had to make some difficult organizational changes, and while there is no perfect way to share news like this, we were committed to being as transparent as possible.
First, our CEO aligned our employees through an email, providing context for the decisions. Immediately following this global alignment, our executive leadership team participated in a town hall at our New Jersey headquarters where employees could ask questions and receive answers in real time. The next day, members of the leadership team traveled to other major OwnBackup offices around the world to engage with employees and answer questions. All of these forums encouraged employees to ask questions spontaneously without any censoring, and we tried to be as candid and straightforward as possible with all our answers.
The true mark of a transparent culture is sharing difficult news and involving employees in the discussion.”
How do you make yourself available to employees so that they can ask relevant questions?
One of the advantages of being a growing company is that we have a relatively flat organizational structure, meaning that we have few levels of management between our individual contributors and leadership team. This inherently empowers employees to ask questions and share feedback with anyone at the company.
More specifically, we facilitate and encourage two-way communication between company leadership and employees in a few different ways, including monthly town hall meetings and “ask me anything” sessions. In addition, we recently improved the production quality of our town hall broadcasts to make them more accessible and engaging no matter where an employee is located.
What tips would you share with fellow leaders who are endeavoring to create a culture of transparency right now?
In my 20-plus years as an HR leader, I’ve seen companies that do this well and those that do not. Here are a few themes from the companies who have created a true culture of transparency.
As a leader, you’re not always going to have an answer right away, and that’s OK. What’s important is that you are honest and follow up when you do.
Make sure your employee communication strategy includes two-way communication channels that employees feel comfortable using without fear of retribution.
Make sure your company mission and objectives are clearly defined and provide status updates regularly.
Make sure you are sharing both the good and bad news as it comes. It’s easy to deliver great news, but the true mark of a transparent culture is sharing difficult news and involving employees in the discussion.
Parsley Health takes a holistic approach to women’s health. Its doctors focus on treating multiple conditions at once and helping women overcome chronic conditions, both in person and via telemedicine.
How do you encourage a culture of transparency right now?
I have encouraged transparency on my team in a few ways: anonymous surveys, skip-level one on ones and displaying transparent behavior myself. People have different ways they are comfortable sharing feedback and asking questions, which is why I find it helpful to provide a variety of outlets. For those who may be more reserved, an anonymous survey creates a space where they can express themselves and be more direct than they may be during a conversation.
Additionally, we have a regular companywide huddle where the team reviews updates and insights on the health of the business. This allows for space to learn about where we are thriving and where we are being challenged.
Creating a more intimate environment can help to foster a sense of safety where people can express their personal concerns.”
How do you make yourself available to employees so that they can ask relevant questions?
I find skip-level one on ones the most effective way to do this. When you have a large team, creating a more intimate environment can help to foster a sense of safety where people can express their personal concerns. I have also found that it allows the majority of folks to open up more so than a large group meeting does. Additionally, holding open office hours can create a comfortable, informal space for team members to hop in and bring up whatever is on their mind.
What tips would you share with fellow leaders who are endeavoring to create a culture of transparency right now?
It’s important to create various opportunities and touch points for connecting with your team and listening to and addressing their concerns. Explaining the business context as much as possible is helpful — even if the answers may not always be what they want to hear — as the truth is better than an inauthentic promise.
In a startup culture where change can and does happen quickly, it’s possible that where the business is focused today is different compared to when an employee joined. Regardless of an organization’s shifting priorities, a leader should support their employees with identifying opportunities that match their goals for professional development.
