Why Transparency Benefits An Organization

Once a company starts practising transparency it can be hard to stop.

“It’s like an addiction that we’ve got at NixonMcInnes that we just can’t shake,” said Will McInnes, co-founder and managing director of U.K. social media consultancy NixonMcInnes.

	Will McInnes shared how his organization practices transparency at WorldBlu LIVE. (Photo Credit: Hollister Thomas)

McInnes and Robert Hohman, CEO of Glassdoor.com, spoke during the WorldBlu LIVE May 19-20 conference in San Francisco. Both companies have won spots on the WorldBlu List of Most Democratic Workplaces for three consecutive years.

Transparency is one of 10 democratic design principles WorldBlu employs to measure the level of democracy in an organization.

“When there’s high levels of transparency people make smarter decisions, there’s more trust, more engagement, people are able to be more resourceful and efficient because they know what’s going on,” said WorldBlu CEO and founder Traci Fenton.

McInnes said there are parallels in the work of the WorldBlu community and what is needed in large organizations.

“What we are seeing now in business and in society is a speeding up and acceleration of life and the challenge for the big organizations, for all of us . . . is to live at that speed, and I think transparency has a huge role to play,” said McInnes.

Glassdoor.com, which likens itself to TripAdvisor for companies and employees, publishes company salaries, reviews and interview questions, aiming to make sure the right people end up in the right jobs.

“I fundamentally believe the companies that embrace democratic principles, that embrace responsible transparency are going to have a leg up in holding onto their talent and also in this massively-fluid environment attract a new top talent,” said Hohman.

NixonMcInnes practises open-book accounting. Each month team members know everyone else’s salaries, including dividends and bonuses. The team takes part in brainstorming and planning budgets.

When team members arrive to work on Mondays there is a report showing the profit number and happiness rate from the week before. Happiness is measured by the number of balls placed in a happy or unhappy bowl when staff members leave for the weekend.

Transparency is also part of the consultancy’s awards process, with a four-person group reviewing award applicants.

“Transparency is a fantastic sword; it’s a weapon we can yield,” noted McInnes.

He said the organization’s aspiration is to transition to employee ownership.

“We are trying to do something different, and I think that’s ultimately the right thing to do,” McInnes said.

Learn more about transparency, workplace democracy and the WorldBlu winners at www.worldblu.com.

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