Transparency: A Powerful Force in Shaping Today’s Workplace

Author: Sharon Allen

For the first time, the number of employees entering the workforce will not be enough to replace the Baby Boomer generation fast approaching what has long been considered “retirement age.”  Furthermore, the reduced flow from the incoming talent pipeline is not just temporary.  Research at Deloitte indicates that there will be fewer young people to replace retiring workers every year—for the next 30 years.

What can leaders do?

Everything we can to make the workplace environment conducive to attracting and retaining the talent that our companies need. In fact, a recent Deloitte survey indicates that there is something quite fundamental that every leader can do to help create a positive workplace environment—one that can attract new talent and help keep current employees of every age, level and responsibility both productive and engaged.

Transparency in Flexibility

The Deloitte 2008 Ethics & Workplace survey substantiates the importance of transparency and openness in communications between leadership and employees. While many may think this is obvious, we cannot overstate the importance of this key responsibility of leadership. 

Survey feedback indicates that when leaders provide clear and consistently open communication, they can help their businesses create not just a more productive and ethical workplace. Transparency in the workplace also is increasingly critical to attracting and retaining the talent that can preserve the health and enhance the sustainability of today’s organizations.

Transparency does not apply solely to airing those high profile items that often grace the cover of the annual report, like an exciting new corporate strategy or a bold and inspiring vision for the future. Interestingly, and perhaps more tellingly, transparency also applies to the nuts and bolts of daily life in the workplace. 

One such issue, which many leaders may perceive as small but is actually quite significant to those around them, involves flexible work options that allow people to take time off during the day to handle personal responsibilities. 

My message here is that leaders are people, too. At one time or another, many people have benefited from the flexibility afforded to them in their careers.  Sometimes, however, leaders might not be all that accustomed—or, all that comfortable—with showing that side of themselves to the people who follow them. How many leaders acknowledge to their staff and others, for example, when they take the afternoon off to watch a child’s soccer game, or leave work early to care for an aging parent, or adjust their workdays to accommodate a personal pursuit, such as training for a marathon?