Best Ways to Share Company Updates Transparently

United Airlines has been my airline of choice since they merged with Continental, and it's one of the few brands that has my absolutely loyalty as a customer. And currently, they are having success with "oversharing" around their delays - and it's working with greater customer satisfaction since implementing this strategy. This is something I've noticed in recent months. Looking at my texts, I can see where they let me know that we'd be delayed due to limits on the number of flights allowed to land due to construction at SFO. Another was a technical issue, with regular updates on their efforts to find a new plane. Most travelers know that delays are part of the game, and often outside of the control of airlines. I don't think most of us are unreasonable when faced with delays. The issue is often the lack of information - not knowing why the delay exists, what's being done about it, and estimates on when the issue will be resolved. Recruiting professionals out there, take note because we can learn something from this when it comes to candidate experience. Transparency builds trust, and it leads to a better experience for everyone involved. 1. Embrace the "no update update" Sometimes, just being told you need a bit more time to review an application or have scheduled all of the interviews needed can alleviate a lot of anxiety vs someone applying and sitting in an applicant pool for weeks or months on end! At Zapier, we try to communicate every 7 days...we may miss the mark sometimes, but our hope is that candidates are never wondering where they stand. 2. Share "the why" Airlines have always let us know when there's a delay - that's not new. But sharing the "why" behind it is. That can feel scary, especially if the news is something like, "we've extended an offer, but think you're amazing and if it doesn't pan out, we'd love to hire you". But candidates ultimately appreciate it, AND it shows them they can trust what your company tells them. Offering feedback after interviews is another way to do this and leave people feeling a less confused around rejections. 3. Tell people what to expect Let candidates know who they are interviewing with. Let them know what topics will be discussed. Tell them how you plan to set their compensation. The more information you can provide candidates, the better the experience will be for everyone. If any of these seem hard, there are tons of tools out there that can help. candidate.fyi creates a candidate hub making it easy to share this info directly with candidates (and empower candidates in a variety of other ways). Crosschq provides an arsenal of data, and one of my favorites is color-coding candidates so you can see when a candidate needs communication. And most decent ATSs will help you automate those "no update updates". It doesn't take significantly more effort to create a significantly better candidate experience - just lean into transparency!

I thought sharing the company’s cash flow showed transparency, until my team said it felt like watching their parents panic about money. In 2023, like many tech companies, we faced tough financial decisions. I believed the best way to build trust during uncertainty was to put everything on the table. During town halls, I openly shared balance sheets, cash flow, and even our exact bank balances. After one meeting, a respected colleague approached me privately and said, “Janine, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this is too much information. I don’t need to see every detail—it just makes me anxious.” That feedback completely shifted my thinking. Transparency is essential, but it isn’t about showing every detail. It's about carefully choosing what to share, ensuring your team feels informed and empowered, not overwhelmed. Think of how parents handle tough financial times: They acknowledge challenges honestly, but don’t burden their kids with specifics beyond their control. They create stability and confidence, even if they're still figuring things out behind the scenes. As leaders, our role is similar: • Be honest about challenges without oversharing details that don’t help. • Provide context that's actionable and relevant. • Filter out information that causes unnecessary anxiety or confusion. • Communicate clearly and confidently about the path ahead. Trust isn't built by revealing everything. It's built through steady guidance, thoughtful transparency, and consistently keeping your word. I learned that the most effective transparency isn't about how much information you share, but choosing the right information to help your team move forward confidently. I'd welcome hearing from others who've navigated this balance between transparency and over-sharing.

Open mouths are the ones that get fed. That’s why I’ve always been a fan of over-communicating new initiatives and milestones - especially when you're in competition with other teams for funding. For example, when I worked at Genentech, my team and I often relied on other departments for our budget allocations. Not only was it difficult to justify our expenses to a department that didn’t see our daily work and progress, If leadership saw no budget contributions on our behalf, they might question the necessity of our group. To shore up our budget and generally advocate for my work going forward, I learned a few key lessons about how to overcommunicate in the workplace: 🎤Share your journey - Constantly share where you are, what you've achieved, and where you're heading. This is especially vital during tough financial times to guide stakeholders through the "valley of death" and toward the other side. 🏆Clear Milestones - Define and communicate your milestones clearly. Highlight the significance of each milestone and why achieving it matters. 🤝Secure Commitments - Get upfront commitments on what success looks like and what happens next. If you hit your milestones, ensure there's an agreement to continue investing. 📈De-risk Investment - Demonstrate how each step reduces risks and brings you closer to your vision. Show that achieving one milestone puts you in a better position to reach the next. By being clear, consistent, and proactive in communicating our progress, my team and I found we were more likely to receive the resources we needed from people who trusted our assessment of our work - even if they weren’t necessarily familiar with it. In this way, overcommunication isn't just about transparency, it's about strategically positioning your team for success and ensuring stakeholders understand your value and potential. You are your own best advocate, so make sure your voice gets heard.

#TransparencyThursday: Transforming Teams With Transparency Want to Lead with Clarity & Integrity or Confusion & Chaos? Imagine if… your team was constantly left in the dark, unsure of what goals they were chasing or why certain decisions were being made. Productivity disappears, morale drops, & trust vanishes. 𝐋𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨: ❌ Misalignment of team objectives ❌ Distrust and uncertainty among employees ❌ Decreased engagement and job satisfaction ❌ Lower productivity ❌ Increased turnover Now, instead… imagine a team where leaders openly share company goals, challenges, & expectations. Team members are empowered with information, decisions are backed by reasoning, & everyone knows the “why” behind the “what.” That’s the power of 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲! 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦: 𝟏. 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Regularly share updates on company goals, strategies, and challenges. 𝟐. 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Ensure everyone understands their roles and how their work contributes to larger goals. 𝟑. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬: Encourage two-way communication, where team members feel safe sharing ideas and concerns. 𝟒. 𝐁𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: Leaders who openly address obstacles build trust. 𝟓. 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚-𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Share data and reasoning behind important decisions, showing employees the “why” behind actions. Are you ready to lead with more transparency? It starts with clear communication, sharing both wins and challenges, and fostering an environment of trust. 𝐏.𝐒. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦? Let's build cultures where openness leads to greater success! ~~~ ♻️ #Comment, #like, #reshare if you found this valuable & #follow me, Josue Rios, for more leadership & continuous development content.