Transparency in companies

Imagine you are told by a colleague that you have to move from your individual office to an office that you will be sharing with two other employees who have only been with the company half as long as you. Your boss doesn't have the time or inclination to tell you in person, but your office has to be vacated to make room for another colleague. How does that make you feel? Another employee tells you this? Why not the boss himself? Why move at all? You're doing a good job, aren't you?

Now imagine if the deputy boss had told you this in a personal conversation. You have to vacate your office because your colleague now has to take on many more tasks due to the boss's sick leave and needs more space for equipment, documents and business meetings. You are asked to share an office with two other employees for an indefinite period of time. He would be very grateful if you could support the company by taking this step and he assures you that you are very valuable to the company and that they do not want to lose you under any circumstances. That probably feels better for most people. But why? Because of the appreciation? Or the more extensive information on why this step is necessary?

The fact is that transparency towards employees and the resulting perception of fairness offers enormous advantages for every company. The economic damage caused by dissatisfied and unmotivated employees amounts to €120 billion per year (derStandard.at, 2010). Inadequate information transfer can very quickly lead to employees feeling unfairly treated. This causes enormous damage to companies, which could be prevented by providing employees with sufficient transparency. Employees who feel that they are treated fairly not only resign less frequently and breach their duties (Hagedoorn et al., 1998), but also show a higher level of commitment that goes beyond their obligations to the company (e.g. Konovsky [&] Pugh, 1994; Organ [&] Moorman, 1993).

This should make it clear that the various processes of a company must be viewed in terms of the underlying dynamics. A company that does not take good care of its engine (the employees) will experience wear and tear that takes up much more money and time than taking care of its employees. To fill a specialist position, companies have to spend money equivalent to three to six months' salary (derstandart.at, 2010). A company can therefore save itself a lot of time and trouble by behaving transparently and appreciatively towards its employees. Many companies are already aware that employee satisfaction cannot simply be achieved through a higher salary or a new coffee machine in the office kitchen. This only helps to create closer ties to the company in the very short term and does not lead to greater satisfaction. These complex group dynamic processes should be assessed by external experts in order to be able to intervene in a well-coordinated manner. Very good coordination helps to meet the needs of the company. It takes a lot of time to recognize the internal processes of a company and to intervene in a targeted manner. The resulting sustainability not only helps the company to save money in the future, but also to deliver high-quality work through motivated employees.