Communication & Transparency

If the government or business was being transparent, what is being said, ‘the good, the bad, and the ugly’, should match what’s in writing across all forms of media and have physical actions match. Transparency is not something that should be feared; its basic accountability on display and open for review. There is a distinct difference between intentional and unintended, just like legal and illegal activities. Actions are compared to policies, which is why policies are important. If there is an outdated practice on the books, with history, and it doesn’t support the current government or business, let’s call it ‘the ugly’, it stands to reason that it must be acknowledged and have an action step to change it. History can’t be erased; can show on record it’s been changed to a new policy.

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It’s important to have clear financial reporting, understand the decision-making processes, or policies changes, or spending, and overall operations. It should not matter if you are an employee, client, customer, citizen, or another business. Transparency doesn’t mean giving away trade secrets or private, confidential pieces. It’s about being upfront and clear.

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Accountability is an obligation for an individual or an organization.

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In the workplace, all employees should have a clear understanding of the business they are working for. Most workers have experience of working at some shady businesses; large or small ones. The common denominator is in what isn’t being said or what is being said just doesn’t add up. The truth always comes out at some point and in one form or another. Whistleblowers, anonymous reporting or message to media, or by the spokesperson who accidentally slips up while being interviewed.

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In the workplace, there are four fundamental areas where transparency absolutely needs to be: communication, wage compensation, accessibility, and decision-making.

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• Communication – messaging needs to be clear and concise from the top down and open to questions from the bottom up. In the best organizations, it requires leadership to be fully invested in transparency for it to work.

• Wage Compensation – an employer needs to have a fair and fair compensation system. It is critical to ensure employees are consistently paid a similar wage for similar work duties and their role for those duties and their experience level. No bias about race/color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information (EEOC).

• Accessibility of Information – all employees should have a clear understanding of expectations, performance criteria or how often it’s reviewed, and growth path. This information needs to be clear in the handbook and available for them to review.

• Decision-Making Process – an owner or leader should be able to address the ‘why’ behind a shift or change in the business. If there is a change in operation, be clear on the reason and open to questions if the response isn’t understandable. Policy updates, bringing on a new business line, etc.
   

An organization must be proactive in transparency, not fear it. Establish the channels that information flows to write where an employee can access it. Will this be delivered in a monthly newsletter via email, intranet, company meeting, or in a 1:1 with their manager?

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Boundaries are necessary for the employer and employees; each needs to understand them. I like the term Rules of Conduct. Conduct in the workplace is what the company handbook is all about, what the culture reinforces, and about behaviors with a clarity on acceptable and unacceptable.

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Employees need to understand that not all confidential details will be shared; the ones that are shared shouldn’t be shared outside of the office. KFC will never make the recipe available to employees or the entire world; that is confidential. ChatGPT during a quarterly meeting shares, next growth steps, metrics, and financials with employees. That doesn’t mean a company or government aren’t transparent.

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Transparency & Employee Opinions

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Let’s talk about it. Transparency boils down to organization explaining the why to employees. It’s not about your opinion; whether you agree or disagree with the why. A decision was made, the reasoning for decision and communication of the change.

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In the workplace, there is a solid line that shouldn’t be crossed; expressing personal opinions of business direction or change. Unless you are the Owner or CEO, the holder of all the relevant facts and sees the whole picture on the business; hold any critical opinion or assumption. It would be impossible for an employee, even high-ranking senior levels executives have all the facts, then concentrate on their portion. Manager levels may or may not get more information than what the whole staff meeting released.

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Employees Being Asked for Feedback

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The company is open to receiving constructive, solution orientated feedback. This means entering a fact- based solution that is adaptable at the company, not opinion-based solution or I-based personal request. Do not submit the same ‘solution’ at every ask, if it was a viable solution then it would have been implemented or it was rejected for cost or compatibility reasons.

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Feedback, Opinion Feedback, & Not Feedback

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Feedback – this feedback is always the best form as it is solution-based; supported with data and an understanding if it fits with an existing system structure. Finding a new App that has one or two nice features, that an existing App currently used, doesn’t have. The feedback is only viable solution if it can be integrated into existing software for data exchange. If it doesn’t its not viable solution.

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Opinion Feedback – this feedback is personal opinion-based, supported by a personal view from a small portion of the organization, meaning a mechanic wanting a company credit card to buy his preferred parts because he doesn’t like the standard replacement ones. Believing based on his forty (40) years working, his opinion is golden. He can run the shop better than the Shop Manager and Owner. Doesn’t need facts or understanding on budgets, purchasing process, discount programs, etc.

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Not Feedback – this is not feedback; chronic complaining, airing grievances, bitching, negative comments on leadership and managers or the business direction. All I-statements on how they could do a better job when they are poor performers in their current role. The outcome is validation of poor behavior for those employees who are creating a toxic workplace.

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It’s normal to have and exhibit moments of frustration in the workplace. Have disagreements with co-workers or your manager about understanding, new processes, a policy, audit review and more. Being upset or disappointment over not getting a promotion, perceived slight or working on the project you wanted at work. Understand your words and behaviors are noted. There is a huge difference between a moment of anger and always being angry at work.

 

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Communication

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Let’s talk about it. Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas, messages, and our feelings through verbal, nonverbal, written, and/or visual communication. The process involves two or more individuals, performing a series of role changes during the encounter; those roles are sender and receiver. Which role depends on who starts the conversation. Once started is ping pong match of back and forth until the game or talk ends.

Human beings are terrible communicators. Outstanding at miscommunications and assumptions. Incredible blame shifting abilities. Superior excuse crafting. Exceptional story building and telling. In the workplace the competition for whoever gets to HR first with the narrative on the events that caused the incident gets some kind of advantage. It’s fascinating.

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Every living thing communicates in some form. A hermit living on a remote island on top of a mountain communicates every moment of their life. It’s done internally with yourself or externally with others (human beings, animals, the online bookshelf assembly purchase, etc.).

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Basics of Communication

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Let’s start with the basics of communication. Flow into the components of language and work the way through to the workplace. Generally, we are so consumed with our busy lives, we forget the building blocks. Unintentionally or intentionally creating drama or negative reactions.

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The core types of communication are:

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• Verbal – this is oral speaking; the ideal being in a common language. Speaking at a louder level will not help with the barrier of a different language.

• Nonverbal – this is through body language and/or gestures; facial expressions, posture, eye contact, and personal space. More complicated with other cultures, which is why global corporates spend major money on training employees to be successful in these cases.

• Visual – using various forms of visuals to convey information; these would include infographics, data charts, diagrams, brand designs, symbols and presentation materials. Also, sign language is under this communication type.

• Written – this is all forms of written word-based forms; these would include text messages, memos, letters, emails, handbooks, safety manuals, job descriptions, press releases, marketing materials, etc.

 

The components of language are:

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• Sounds or phonology - is the study of speech patterns, each language has rules on sounds that are organized or combined to form phonemes.

• Word structures or morphology - is the study of root words, prefixes and suffixes and how they are combined or morphemes.

• Sentence structures or syntax - are rules that control word order to form phases and sentences. Grammatical structure (the subject-verb-object order) in English.

• Meaning or semantics - is the study of meaning in language (vocabulary, word relationships, how words convey meaning); this covers both literal and implied interpretations.

• Use or pragmatics - are rules that control language use in context form. Meaning how to appropriately use it in conversation to ensure the implicit meanings.

 

Apologies if this is triggering trauma from high school English classes, were memorizing grammar rules became drills and the awkward moments the teacher called on you to problem-solve the sentence structure in a silent classroom. We all developed practical use, with a scalable percentage of grammatical errors and use it every day to communicate.

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Some use sarcasm. Sarcasm falls under pragmatics when we want to shape the context rather than go with literal definitions to drive a specific prosody (tone) and convey a meaning (semantics) to how we are talking about a topic or situation.

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To all the grammar police, language purist, grammarian, punctuation pedants, and sentence structure commandos:

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‘Yes, Stewart and Margaret, spell check failed, autocorrect failed, editor failed and we (the human beings who wrote the written communication) just hit the send button or published the document with the one error you caught. Appreciate the feedback and re-education on the offense in an email and at my desk, plus the retelling of the offense to five workers getting coffee in the breakroom, your work bestie at lunch, a call to your mother, a post on your Facebook, a text message to your child, your cubical desk mate at home sick by way of a call, and the security guard walking by you just trying to go about their day; all before the end of the workday. Bless your heart with warm regards, (signed) the transgressor’

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The Salient Point

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The workplace is filled with diversity; visible and invisible dimensions. Employees are human beings that come from various cultures, backgrounds, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, abilities, religion, beliefs, socio-economic statuses, and more. It’s critical to understand an adjust needs to be made to communicate effectively.

The belief that ‘the other person’ needs to adjust to your style, language, slang, dialect, humor, accent, and your assumptions is completely flawed. It doesn’t matter if you travelled to another country, state, city or area of town, you must adjust how you communicate to be understood by the other person. It doesn’t matter what you perceive as a similar gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious attributes, and skin color, you must adjust how you communicate to be understood.

Let’s flip this (make it personal); it matters how we communicate with family and friends. We adjust based on who we are talking with (parent, spouse, partner, children, in-law, etc.); the words, tone, volume, clarifying meaning, and finding understanding. We learn that when we don’t communicate well, we lose or damage relationships. We become frustrated over the entire interaction. The principles of effective communication remain the same.

 

Appropriate Communication

Let’s talk about it. Communication is broad, it’s an action, a form, a channel, a purpose, a method, a connection type, and more. Communication principles are covered by another section, and for this reason we are going to provide appropriate communication during meetings. The meeting could be formal or informal, from a quick chat to an all-day conversation in the business day.

Regardless of your relationship with your co-workers, manager or ownership it’s important you always understand your place in conversation. It doesn’t matter if it’s virtual, conference call, in-person or another form. It’s never appropriate to play ‘on/off mute button roulette’ in a virtual meeting or participate in back row chatter, chuckles and side jokes. Be respectful of the information being presented and the individual speaking.

Best Practice for Employees in Meetings:

1. Don’t Speak – It’s listening time. If the information is causing high emotions (anger, frustration, etc.). High emotions affect hearing and listening; so, it’s probable that you are missing critical information that would eliminate those feelings.

2. Don’t Laugh, Comment, or make Gestures – It’s not open mic time at the club. It’s inappropriate to be disruptive that causes derailment and no one honestly thinks it’s funny. Allow the impulse to pass without action.

3. Write down questions while listening – The chances are high they will be answered during the meeting. The presenter will inform you on how questions will be taken; at the end of each segment, during a specific block of time or at the end of the meeting. Follow the instructions. Also, pay attention if the same questions are already answered.

4. Question Time - Ask your highest priority question. Then allow others to ask theirs. If there is time for more questions, now you ask again, make sure they haven’t already been addressed.

5. After the Meeting Questions - If you have questions after the meeting, ask your manager how to submit them.

 

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Best Practice for Communicating in the Workplace:

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• Active Listening – it’s an important skill that is valuable; focus on the speaker’s expressions, body language, and tone. Then rephrase what you heard to make sure you understand what was said. The more you do this, it because easy and doesn’t feel awkward.
   

• Communication Method – it’s critical to understand what form of communication to use based on the reason for the communication. The goal is to achieve effective communication and not cause an escalating issue based on the wrong choice.

  • Phone, Virtual Meeting and In-Person – are best for sensitive discussions, immediate feedback, brainstorming ideas (especially for creatives) or answers, and coaching or certain trainings the require more than general details. Always use one of these methods if an email correspondence is not working.

  • Emails – are great for many work communications, they allow for a referenceable record. The problems occur when others forget the simple rules of clarity, concise, what to do when there is a misunderstanding and to always keep a neutral tone; in a formal or informal message. They can go from a fantastic tool to a dangerous vicious blade in a matter of moments.

  • Instant Messaging & App Messages – these should be for short, clear notes or quick questions only. No slang or very casual terms, IT can read them.

  • Visual Media – needs to be used for charts, timelines, projections that have different viables, and presentations
     

• Tone & Volume Awareness – its important to be considerate and give the benefit of the doubt in any form of communication exchange. If In person or talking on the phone, be aware of your volume while speaking. Tone of voice is easily reflected in everyone’s verbal and written format.
   

• Nonverbal Indicators – it’s important to be aware of body language during in persona or virtual meetings, especially if you’re presenting or speaking. It provides valuable feedback on whether your message is being understood, if there is a technical problem or outside distraction.
   

• Responsiveness – if the organization doesn’t have a standard policy on responses to communication, inform others when to expect a response. In your email signature is a great place or voice mail message.