Transparency in Business: A #Bufferchat Recap

This week on #bufferchat, we talked all about the value of transparency in business — the why, what and how! Our community shared insights about the benefits of transparency, how it impacts business, the first steps to talk toward a more transparent company, and much more!

Read on to discover all of the awesome insights that were shared during the chat!

Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!

4 pm AEST (Sydney time)

9 am PT (San Francisco time)

This week’s stats:
1st Bufferchat: 34 participants; reach of 1,006,291
2nd Bufferchat: 94 participants; reach of 1,308,081

Q1:  What does “transparency in business” mean to you?

From the community:

• “Articulating or expressing core values in a way that puts actions in context, builds brand integrity across all stakeholders.” @ARoberts021
• “Minimal politics. Everyone has access to as much information as is practical, to make the best collaborative decisions.” @SocialGamePlan
• “Transparency is not 1-size-fits-all. For my biz, it’s about being honest about my model w/ partners, clients, etc.” @dariasteigman

See all the great answers to question 1 here!

Q2:  What are the benefits to being transparent in a work environment?

From the community:

• “Employee loyalty, less conflict, increased productivity and open work culture.” @s4socialmedia
• “It helps to build valuable and long term relationships because it helps to build TRUST as well.” @Typ0queen
• “It reduces friction and increases the speed of work being done. As their are no surprises, you will always be prepared.” @thisischandresh

See all the great answers to question 2 here!

Q3: What makes transparency work well? When does it work well?

From the community:

• “Be consistent. It doesn’t work well when you expect transparency from others, but don’t provide it yourself.” @jascreative_68
• “Transparency works best when it is practiced proactively.” @mldunseath
• “As said already, trust and teamwork! You need everyone in your business on the same page, so good communication is key.” @Advance2000

See all the great answers to question 3 here!

Q4:  How might transparency impact a business as a whole?

From the community:

• “Transparency impacts the working culture. Attitudes grow more positive, worker output & customer retention increase, etc.” @actinglikeseals
• “Transparency internally helps employees focus on work rather than office politics.” @joshmccormack
• “Transparent businesses can expect greater staff retention who are happier, ? customer loyalty + piece of mind of doing good.” @letsdostuffs

See all the great answers to question 4 here!

Q5:  Do you think more companies should consider increasing their internal or external transparency? Why or why not?

From the community:

• “Yes. Internal transparency makes employees more collaborative. External transparency makes customers trust you more.” @GetApp_CRM
• “To some extent it depends on the nature of biz. But companies should strive to increase transparency as much as possible.” @AyeshaAmbreen
• “If pple are striving to do the right thing then they should be comfy always being transparent – both internally & externally.” @MereMcCaskill

See all the great answers to question 5 here!

Q6:  What might be a good first step for a business toward being more transparent?

From the community:

• “Start by creating a risk vs reward chart.. Ask yourself are we not sharing this because of a risk or just because!” @iSocialFanz
• “An open honest conversation with staff about how they feel/what can be done is a simple way to begin leading on transparency.” @CM_Glasgow
• “Communicate, communicate, communicate! Schedule regular communications to keep employees in the loop.” @daniellewriter

See all the great answers to question 6 here!

Q7: If you could choose one thing for your company to be more transparent about, what would it be?

From the community:

• “Working in startups is tough – big thing is to stay transparent about the health of the company since so many can fail.” @Ben_Soup
• “Share specific comments from Employee Engagement surveys with all employees (not just execs) w/ actions to course correct.” @MollyKoernke
• “What you learned from losses, missteps, and mistakes. Having those conversations shows #vulnerability and building #intimacy.” @bgtrotter

See all the great answers to question 7 here!

Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash