The State of Transparency

Making sense of the 24-hour news cycle has felt like a full-time job in recent months. Each of your stakeholders is in the same boat. We’re all trying to process information from multiple channels, at the same time, while making decisions based on limited information and conflicting guidelines.

In these circumstances, business leaders might be tempted to opt out of adding to the noise. But the need for clear and open communication is greater than ever. It’s noticeable that after a wave of largely similar COVID-19-related mass emails and TV ads, corporate comms have faded.

From COVID-19 messages of sympathy to anti-racism calls for solidarity, many software leaders have communicated honestly and genuinely with their teams, customers and other stakeholders — and have rightly earned praise and the loyalty of their ecosystem for their approach. That is why our key trend for 2020 is leadership and communication in uncertain times.

Transparency Defined:

Transparency entails being open about your product, business model and policies, and explaining them in clear terms to users. This includes understanding user expectations and being prepared to describe your entire approach, from the choices you make in system and organizational design to the individual predictions of machine learning models.

Key Trends in Transparency in 2020

TRANSPARENCY: TREND 1

Leadership and Communication in Uncertain Times

As business leaders, you have made countless tough decisions about how to operate through this pandemic. When have there been such overwhelming quantities of information paired with so much uncertainty?

While there wasn’t a playbook for this pandemic, it’s clear that companies who treated their employees and customers well are emerging strongly.

That’s not surprising when surveys reveal that 52% of US online adults prefer to buy from companies that show how they are protecting customers against the threat of COVID-19.

Our Prediction

A New Generation of Leaders Is Forged

One of the silver linings of COVID-19 will be a generation of leaders who are comfortable communicating even more openly to their workforces. Going forward, there will be an emphasis on improving leadership response to unforeseen circumstances for better risk management and adaptability to change.

Best-in-Class Responses

WHAT TO DO

Transparency: TREND 2

Trackability and Traceability in Supply Chains

In recent years, regulators have stepped forward to enforce supply chain visibility when it comes to slave labor and conflict minerals.

After high-profile COVID-19 outbreaks in meat processing facilities and deliveries of defective PPE to hospitals, expect to hear more about traceability—and not just in the context of the coronavirus.

Georgian Impact PodcastShabbir Dahod

Episode 95: Data, Trust and the Pharmaceutical Value Chain with Shabbir Dahod

“Ultimately, the main reason why pharmaceutical companies are doing this is that they want to be the ‘trust’ company that secures the product all the way through the supply chain and participate in an ecosystem that creates a trust bond that can be passed down all the way to the patient.”

Our Prediction

Traceability Solutions Spread Beyond Compliance

More companies will add tools to track the provenance of goods and services as traceability becomes a more visible part of our daily lives. Solution providers will emerge to help produce interactive marketing tools so customers can interact with a brand’s supply chain.

WHAT TO DO

TRANSPARENCY: TREND 3

Out with transparency reports

Transparency reports were once all the rage, but the practice of publishing one has waned since 2013. According to Access Now, not a single household name in tech has published a transparency report for the first time since early 2016. Without them, we’re left wondering about how often governments have demanded data about users or removal of content.

Georgian Impact Podcast

Episode 103: A Wall Street We Can All Trust with Brad Katsuyama

"Incentives are what drive decision-making, and I think if incentives are properly aligned, trust can be built. Transparency can't just be in our mission statement or something we put on our website, you have to live it."

Our Prediction

Content Platforms Compete To Be Most Virtuous

Transparency reports may never return, but transparency over content moderation will. Twitter’s stance on fact-checking and hiding tweets made by President Trump will put pressure on other tech platforms to do the same (for all parties) as the election draws closer. This will in turn put pressure on all tech companies to think about how they handle transparency.

WHAT TO DO

Transparency: Key Takeaways

Be open and honest about what you are building and what motivates you. Unexpected things will happen — when they do, be prepared to communicate transparently and authentically to maintain trust.

Businesses have the opportunity to differentiate on transparency by being open about their product, business model, and processes and communicating clearly and authentically with all stakeholders when issues arise. In summary, tech leaders should consider these important points in 2020:

Transparency Checklist

Leadership and Communication in Uncertain Times

Trackability and Traceability in Supply Chains

Out with Transparency Reports

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This post is part of our 2020 State of Trust Report. If you don't see a menu on the left of your screen, dive into the rest of the report here.