I believe organizations can be much more successful if they share all their information with all their people and even customers early and often. Reasons:
1. It's encouraging and exciting
In fact, I find very few things discourage people faster than feeling like a secret is being kept or feeling like an outsider.
2. It helps your people make better decisions
3. Its a great teaching tool and quickly develops your people
If you give people lots of info at the time things are happening, such as the decisions you’re facing and then why you made them, people learn so much more than just hearing the news afterwards. You can train people just by clueing them in on what you're doing. Also help them to understand you better and be better able to respond to things in the same way that you would.
4. Its fun for our everyone. Especially in a start up
5. Its a sign of trust which translates to loyalty
This is especially true when you haven't yet made up your mind about a big decision. Trust your people enough to tell them and you have them on your team for a long time.
6. Your people can help you make big decisions if they know you're facing them
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This is all true for your customer base as well.
Many brands have built diehard fans by sharing information that wouldn't usually leave the company. Similarly, customers find this exciting, it informs customers on how they can help you best, its a great way to get feedback and really builds deep loyalty. Though many think this will give secrets away to competitors or make customers go running, brands like Southwest, Pandora and Chipotle have leveraged difficult times and situations to their advantage by letting everyone know.
Create a ‘this is my company’ feel by giving customer information, asking their opinions and even asking them for help when you need it.
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Times you should NOT share information:
Sure, some things need to be kept secret. Bush’s baked beans can’t just share their secret recipe, the CIA can’t share their agent’s names and Steve Jobs is never going to let us know what product is coming next. Fine, no objections here. Organizations should simply be very sure they have a good reason not to share info, because you’re losing so many benefits by not sharing.
Common reasons people don’t share information, but should reconsider:
90% of managers say, 'I won't tell them until we know ________." They are trying to protect their employees or keep them from getting scared. But in reality these fears are blown out of proportion - your teams aren't going to quit or start looking for jobs or start spreading rumors, etc. (especially because they'll be loyal to you if you have a culture of sharing information with them). The other 10% of managers know trying times are a powerful opportunity to teach, build loyalty and get feedback from your people.
The other potential scare is about employees leaving to other opportunities. Some keep employees shielded so they don't up and leave. I can speak from personal experience here - no one leaves a boss who cares about you enough to send you good opportunities! You should literally send good job descriptions you find to your people. They'll never leave you, and if they do they'll be more helpful to you in your next job than the current. This is only a worry if you're a terrible boss. Dear terrible bosses: don't share good opportunities with your employees.
The other potential scare is about employees leaving to other opportunities. Some keep employees shielded so they don't up and leave. I can speak from personal experience here - no one leaves a boss who cares about you enough to send you good opportunities! You should literally send good job descriptions you find to your people. They'll never leave you, and if they do they'll be more helpful to you in your next job than the current. This is only a worry if you're a terrible boss. Dear terrible bosses: don't share good opportunities with your employees.
2. Competitors will get the information
Dear 95% of organizations who think their competitors are tapping their phone calls - Here’s a secret for you: Your competitors don’t even take the time to check your website. Also, your website probably has more information that you think on it, so if you really don’t want to give them any info you should shut that site down. Chill out.
“People can steal your idea buy can’t steal your execution.” –Some smart guy somewhere
Finally, what’s the best way to keep an edge over your competitors? One way is to build customer loyalty and diehard fans that won’t leave when someone else comes up with a good idea. So, share your information with them, they’ll reward you.
3. Employees may take the information and use it against us after they leave
First of all, if you trust your employees, they are MUCH more likely to be loyal to you and not leave. Second, if you’ve been sharing information with them, it’s more likely they’re taking a promotion somewhere else and leaving on good terms. They probably still like you.
Finally, you can’t steal something that’s free. If an employee gets their hands on something you don’t want them to have, what do they do? Make a back-up on their home computer. If an employee gets their hands on the same information because you want them to have it? They probably read it, learn and then forget about it. It’s just not interesting.
4. Customers will react negatively to your profits
As long as you’re providing something people like (check – are they buying it?), most customers want you to make profit. People want their favorite businesses to do well, make money, expand and offer more products and services.
NGOs and social enterprises of the world – Profit equals scale. Make more money (or lose less money) and you have more money to expand, invest, market, etc. Also, the less you need to fundraise. Finally, make a lot of money and competitors will start flooding into your area. The end result? More organizations doing what you do and more end results to your customers (beneficiaries).
5. Salaries
Touchy issue. Frankly, unless you have something to hide (your cute secretary is making more than they should, you’re making 200k and golf 4 times a week, etc) there’s few reasons to keep this secret. Yes, many will call me crazy, but think about it. If you’ve earned your position, you should feel free to say your salary. If people question it, that’s a sign you need to get back to work.
What if one employee feels underpaid? Well, if there is a reason they are underpaid, give them some advice on how to improve and get better. Go back to school, work hard and get a promotion or get the same experience as so and so. If there’s no reason they are underpaid, maybe you need to fix that.
6. Information overload slows employees down
Ways to improve this:
A. Send (FYI) at the begging of emails that are for your information only. People know they don’t need to read it if they are too busy. Do this also for (urgent) emails.
B. BCC or CC people on emails. Then create a filter so that emails directly to you show up first and emails where you’re cc’d shows up later.
C. Get a CRM. Salesforce.com is awesome and easy. Then whenever an employee has a question, they can just read about it. And for the love of god, if you have less than 1,000 employees, please no privacy restrictions!
D. Send half-baked notes whenever they are half-baked. Rather than perfecting your notes and sending them once per week or month, just send ‘em out when you write up. Don’t worry about typos (following my own advice here). If you make sharing information a big process it is harder to do and less likely to get done. Just send it.
"Information is like an endless supply of garden tools. Useless you unless you put it in people’s hands." -Some dumb-ass named Nick Sowden
yes.
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