Low Hanging Fruit: Organizational Transparency as Good DEI

Transparency fosters trust. And trust is very valuable in business.
― Hendrith Smith

A primary focus in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEIB) work is increasing the psychological safety of team members. What this means is creating an organizational culture in which all employees know they are supported and encouraged to share their ideas and perspectives on any work related issue. There are a variety of ways to increase psychological safety but one of the most effective and efficient is transparency.

When we when we feel like we are being kept from the whole truth, we develop theories as to why that may be; and those theories are rarely framed to be in our best interest. As a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) consultant, I hear about the relationship between secrecy—perceived or real—and organizational trust a lot. Teams feel as though if they are unaware of practices and policies that drive their roles, responsibilities, compensation, rewards, and so on, employees think the organization is trying to hide something. Often people assume a lack of transparency is hiding inequitable and unethical practices, like nepotism, favoritism, racism, sexism, ableism, and so on. 

When I work with organizations, particularly those early in their DEI journey, I emphasize the need to be transparent in policies and procedures. Simply putting resources in an easily accessible place for internal employees to access whenever they feel the need to is an easy way to build trust and psychological safety in the workplace.

Readily available and accessible information about policies, procedures, and standards will lead to more trust by employees and more accountability by leaders.

Below is a list of five areas I have found to be ripe for increased transparency. Each area is traditionally shrouded in secrecy, but it may be time to question this status quo.  

1.     Compensation: It is widely known that women, people of color, people with disabilities, and other marginalized communities are underpaid in comparison to white, cis-gendered, heteronormative men. As such, pay transparency is gaining momentum in recent years, even becoming law in some states. In addition to posting pay ranges in job postings, pay transparency can look like sharing employee salaries or average salaries for a role or sharing a formula used to decide on employee pay. Transparency around compensation keeps the organization accountable for equitable pay and reduces suspicion of unjust pay discrepancies.

2.     Hiring and advancement decisions: Many team members don’t understand how to advance in their organization or why certain people advanced or were hired. This lack of understanding leads to assumptions of unfair treatment. Internally distributing job descriptions with explanations on why certain skills were included is one way to ensure hiring practices are more transparent. Even further would be to invite team members to participate in the hiring process by reviewing resumes or getting insight into interview results. For advancement, similar to the pay transparency, a formula outlining what is needed to advance that is easily accessible for team members can be shared. Having the skills and experiences needed to advance will help team members plan their own path to advancement, which ties in directly to the next item.  

Increased trust leads to retention, collaboration, and productivity.

3.     Available resources: Useful resources can be include technology, benefits, professional development opportunities, mentoring, and more. Organizations could have these items clearly listed on an internal intranet so team members can feel supported by the readily available resources. This list could be collaborative, such that team members can submit resources they come across, such as webinars, industry trainings, or other informative resources such as books or podcasts.

4.     Discrimination reporting and accountability: While this information is usually posted somewhere accessible, such as the employee handbook, I often find teams forget these policies or are unsure of where to find them. Having this information sent out and referenced regularly in team meetings or organizational newsletters can not only help team members access this information more easily, but will communicate that these policies are important and taken seriously. As part of these policies, the process that occurs when a complaint is lodged should be included. Information such as how confidentiality is ensured, how investigations take place, when a 3rd party is brought in, and potential responses to substantive claims are important to include.

 5.     Leadership: Here, I mean that leadership is open and transparent about their roles and aims for the organization. Team members often report wanting to hear from leaders more often and more transparently. There may be issues happening in the office or in the world that team members want to hear the leadership address. These ‘elephants in the room’ may be difficult to discuss, but doing so openly and honestly creates a sense of trust in the organization. Ignoring issues leads to a sense of diminishment of team member experiences and the sense that there is more to the story.

This is just a start to increasing transparency in the workplace. Each suggestion requires some thought, collaboration, and attention to details. Leaders begin to ask why something is being held secret and who the secrecy services? Often, we find that if someone is benefiting, it’s usually only those at the top. While more transparency benefits everyone, leading to more trust, retention, and commitment.