Justin Norton
Account Director

The Virtue Of Transparency

January 21, 2020

In the 20th century it was easier for companies to hide when they made mistakes. There were only a handful of newscasts every night. Two or three newspapers came out if you lived in a big city. When faced with bad news or a crisis many companies went into hiding, reasoning that the story would die down and they could escape additional scrutiny. While it was never a good move, if you look at the big picture it sometimes worked, even if “declined to comment” seemed to indicate a company realized they screwed up.

Businesses no longer have that option – and that’s a good thing. Social media and 24/7 broadcasts keep a relentless pace. Trying to dodge a story — which is never a good move to begin with — is now a disaster. Instead, companies are learning something many should have embraced long ago: transparency is a virtue.

Just what do we mean by transparency? Transparency means a fundamental honesty and  a willingness to openly discuss what your company is doing, and to recognize and own when you made a mistake. Transparency means a willingness to show people behind closed doors to see what’s happening in your workplace. Transparency is a willingness to hear complaints and feedback from employees about everything from working conditions to pay and discuss what’s best in an open forum. 

Transparency isn’t just calling back a reporter who asks about a pending lawsuit or workers who are trying to unionize. Instead, it needs to be a pillar of your business. While public relations in the past was often a responsive art – let’s draft a good answer to that difficult question – it now needs to be proactive. The good news is that when companies decide to be more transparent, they in essence eliminate the problems that diversion and hiding cause. They position themselves as honest brokers because they are already doing the right thing.

One of the companies that’s getting it right is Lego, for a number of reasons. Their business policies on everything from material sourcing to inclusion are clearly and prominently outlined on their website. The company has owned one of its lingering issues – that their toys are made of plastics  – and promised to use all bioplastics and recyclable materials by 2025.  Finally, (as any customers know) Lego quickly sends customers replacement parts for sets with no questions asked and includes a nice letter with them. Lego’s policies are working on a number of levels: they clearly articulate their business values; they are willing to engage in a dialogue about and work to improve their business issues before a crisis emerges, and they put customer service first and delight people who purchase their items. On the flipside is Facebook, which not only provided vague and misleading answers to questions about political ads, but eventually decided to double down on a bad decision and allow lies in ads.  As a result, many now distrust the company and some have even quit the site entirely. 

Not returning calls is no longer an option. That reporter can now criticize you and your company on Twitter and others will soon join the party. You soon have a crisis on your hands because you refused to do the hard, but correct thing. Instead, be honest and forthcoming. What’s remarkable about all the technological tools we have is that they have in many ways reintroduced the necessity of doing the right thing in private and in public.

Justin Norton
Account Director

The Virtue Of Transparency

January 21, 2020

In the 20th century it was easier for companies to hide when they made mistakes. There were only a handful of newscasts every night. Two or three newspapers came out if you lived in a big city. When faced with bad news or a crisis many companies went into hiding, reasoning that the story would die down and they could escape additional scrutiny. While it was never a good move, if you look at the big picture it sometimes worked, even if “declined to comment” seemed to indicate a company realized they screwed up.

Businesses no longer have that option – and that’s a good thing. Social media and 24/7 broadcasts keep a relentless pace. Trying to dodge a story — which is never a good move to begin with — is now a disaster. Instead, companies are learning something many should have embraced long ago: transparency is a virtue.

Just what do we mean by transparency? Transparency means a fundamental honesty and  a willingness to openly discuss what your company is doing, and to recognize and own when you made a mistake. Transparency means a willingness to show people behind closed doors to see what’s happening in your workplace. Transparency is a willingness to hear complaints and feedback from employees about everything from working conditions to pay and discuss what’s best in an open forum. 

Transparency isn’t just calling back a reporter who asks about a pending lawsuit or workers who are trying to unionize. Instead, it needs to be a pillar of your business. While public relations in the past was often a responsive art – let’s draft a good answer to that difficult question – it now needs to be proactive. The good news is that when companies decide to be more transparent, they in essence eliminate the problems that diversion and hiding cause. They position themselves as honest brokers because they are already doing the right thing.

One of the companies that’s getting it right is Lego, for a number of reasons. Their business policies on everything from material sourcing to inclusion are clearly and prominently outlined on their website. The company has owned one of its lingering issues – that their toys are made of plastics  – and promised to use all bioplastics and recyclable materials by 2025.  Finally, (as any customers know) Lego quickly sends customers replacement parts for sets with no questions asked and includes a nice letter with them. Lego’s policies are working on a number of levels: they clearly articulate their business values; they are willing to engage in a dialogue about and work to improve their business issues before a crisis emerges, and they put customer service first and delight people who purchase their items. On the flipside is Facebook, which not only provided vague and misleading answers to questions about political ads, but eventually decided to double down on a bad decision and allow lies in ads.  As a result, many now distrust the company and some have even quit the site entirely. 

Not returning calls is no longer an option. That reporter can now criticize you and your company on Twitter and others will soon join the party. You soon have a crisis on your hands because you refused to do the hard, but correct thing. Instead, be honest and forthcoming. What’s remarkable about all the technological tools we have is that they have in many ways reintroduced the necessity of doing the right thing in private and in public.