New Tips And Triks For You

Do you constantly feel like you're out of the loop at work? Maybe it's because your boss is dishonest with you, or your co-workers keep secrets from one another. Perhaps there's a lack of trust or respect among your colleagues-or there's no regular communication between management and employees.

If any of this sounds like your workplace, it might be time to look for a new job in a more authentic and transparent environment.

"It is absolutely critical to have both an authentic and transparent work environment," says Marc de Grandpre, senior vice president of marketing at KIND Healthy Snacks. "How can your company learn, grow and succeed if people are afraid to be themselves, voice their opinions and genuinely show that they care about the brand and team? Having the company become a sort of safe space allows for brilliant ideas to flow and for problems in your company to be flagged and addressed head-on."

What exactly does it mean to have a "transparent" and "authentic" workplace?

"It means you tell the truth, you don't sugar coat bad news, and you pay people fairly in accordance with their contribution," says Stever Robbins, an executive and personal coach and top 10 business podcaster.

Teri Hockett, chief executive of What's For Work?, a career site for women, says it means the fabric of the work environment is based upon three things. "One, mutual respect between the employer and employees; two, trust and goodwill; and three, clear and consistent communication."

This type of work environment also means that employees feel extremely comfortable with speaking their mind (good or bad), and are in fact encouraged to do so, she adds. "In turn, employers respect this feedback and take appropriate action where they can and as often as needed to keep the company on the right course."

KIND's de Grandpre says: "To me, an authentic work environment is one where the team dynamic reflects the essence of the brand. [At KIND], we look to build our team with people who possess similar attributes so that our brand voice is a reflection of those who are actually behind it."

The last expert to weigh in, Jay Canchola, an independent human resources consultant, says: "From an HR perspective 'authentic' mostly has to do with people being 'real' and 'not fake,' and 'transparency' usually means 'what you see is what you get' and 'no hidden agendas.' From an employee point-of-view this turns out to mean that management is true to their word in all communications about the business, both good news and bad news. In other words there is no 'double-talk.'"

Robbins says it's important for employers to remember that "transparency and authenticity build a trusting relationship in which people are more likely to bring their full creativity, commitment, and motivation to work. The way you treat your employees will be mirrored in the way your employees treat your customers. Treat your employees poorly and they'll pass that treatment along to your customers."

Hockett agrees that transparency and authenticity in the workplace is vital to the overall health of the business. "Employees expect it nowadays, and they're looking for employers to be authentic and transparent about things, because they want to help. When work environments invite everyone into the process of improvement, they excel in the marketplace and end up with employees that become extremely loyal."

She says one of the many benefits of creating this type of workplace is that you'll be able to attract and retain the best and brightest people. "As a result, your business will be prepared to handle the complexities of an ever-changing and competitive marketplace. People are the number one asset of any business, and without great people, companies are less equipped to do great things."

Another benefit: Better products and/or services. "Companies often experience an improvement in their products and/or services because employees are encouraged to speak their mind about what's going on, rather than hold back," she explains. This is especially important in start-up environments, because you need everyone to come to the table with the best ideas and solutions.

And finally, she says, authentic and transparent workplace environments often reduce their exposure to risk, "because everyone is comfortable with speaking up about uncomfortable situations that can escalate if not addressed properly and in a timely manner."

She adds: "Environments that choose not to promote authenticity and transparency do not realize the benefits above. They also harm themselves in the long-term because once word gets around that they lack such qualities, their industry may respond unfavorably to them. As a result, their business may be short-lived."

The benefits of an authentic and transparent work environment "are endless," de Grandpre says, but for him, the key ones are "loyalty, flat structure and fast-tracked trust." "Not only is your team more loyal to the company and the brand, but also to each other," he says. In talking about flat structure, he says while some decisions will always be made by the top leaders of an organization, being transparent about why that decision was made and listening to feedback makes the entire team feel involved in what is happening. And as for "fast-tracked trust," he says: "learning team dynamics and other people's personalities can be a challenge, especially when you are new to a company. Understanding that every action from a team member comes with the intent to further the brand they own and love translates to different dialogues."

He agrees that failing to build this type of workplace environment be dangerous. "First, your team can become fearful of expressing their ideas and concerns to each other and to senior leaders. That can stunt your company's growth as a sense of fear can linger. The second thing that can happen is that your brand's community can start to question your authenticity which also affects the growth of your brand in a new way. There is no downside to instilling this culture, so why not try?"