When you conduct a business transaction, there are certain things that are expected from each party. Some of these things may include trustworthiness from the partner with whom you are doing business, a fair price, and a quality good or service. You could also be thinking about how this may apply to your hiring process.

A fair price can be negotiated for any transaction. The quality of that good or service can typically be measured. So how do you help establish trust in someone you’ve only spoken with maybe once or twice? Two words come to mind; honesty and transparency.

In the hiring process, we tend to give others the benefit of the doubt that they are honest until they give us a reason to doubt that assumption. Transparency, however, is a bit more complicated. You may trust someone based on the fact that they’ve always been honest with you, but there is still a chance they are not telling you everything you may need to know. When it comes to honesty and transparency, you can sometimes have one without the other. When it comes to your hiring process, it is imperative that you have both.

Being transparent in your hiring process allows you to accomplish a few things that may otherwise be hindered by a lack of it. Listed below are a few of those potential benefits:

•Greater sense of trust between candidate and company. This can lead to uncovering potential pain points early on that may have caused headaches for everyone later (i.e. compensation issues, healthcare issues, commute or work from home needs, overtime requirements)

•Candidates begin work excited and motivated as their concerns were addressed in advance. This may lead to greater productivity and leave them less likely to exit your team early for a “better” opportunity.

•A culture that breeds an environment where team members can interact openly without the toxins that ulterior motives often create. The more employer transparency with goals and expectations, e.g. a better definition of boundaries… often the more team cohesiveness and ultimate productivity can be achieved.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. Feel free to reach out for further discussion.