… the HR Minion. Because even minions have opinions. And giggles.

How much is too much? Transparency and HR.

Human Markets has a great post up on transparency right now and it got me thinking. In general, I am all for more transparency at work. Better communication, trust, and understanding can come from more transparency. It helps stop misleading rumors and enables associates to learn the what and why that goes into the decisions that affect them. Gen Y is all about transparency so it’s bound to become a bigger issue as time goes by.

My question though is how much transparency can we actually have in HR? There are some things that we cannot, or should not, be open about. For example, I know several people who wish that their companies would be open about every one’s salary information. I’m not sure that would go over well. A person’s salary is never a one to one comparison, even if two individuals are in the same type of position, because their pay is not simply a reflection of their job title.

I think HR could be more transparent, and certainly more visible, in positive ways. But there is a fine line between transparency and violating privacy. However, since this is the type of gray area that HR deals with everyday, we should be used to making these types of distinctions by now.

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One Response | Add your Own

  • 1 Bill :

    Great point Minion. Transparency sounds great to the point that you mention old Joe really got fired for being a abusive drinker and thief “Oops did I say that out loud”. Good counsel. I still like the transparency of the big strategies and policies but your advice is sound. Thanks.

    Bill of http://www.HumanMarkets.com/blog