Dive Brief:

• SumAll, a New York venture-backed marketing data analytics firm, has been "transparent" since 2011, as all data about the company, including employees’ salaries, is shared with everyone, according to Talent Management.

• Based on media reports, workplace transparency is a growing trend. With employees having more ways to anonymously post feedback on employers, more employers are either moving to transparency or considering it. Transparency is also said to help close the gender pay gap.

• Workplace transparency can create more motivated, engaged workers and a more positive overall culture, as SumAll was named one of the most innovative companies in big data by Fast Company in 2015.

Dive Insight:

“The biggest mistakes happen in a culture of secrecy,” Dane Atkinson, SumAll co-founder, told Talent Management. 

It wasn't easy, Atkinson admitted, but the process "helps them understand their worth. It’s brutal, but it’s efficient.” Employee salary information is only part of it, as workers can also access the company’s financial information, provide feedback on company policies/business decisions, and enjoy a voice in what the company does about profits or losses.

Transparency even impacts team formation, because if a team leader is disliked or is not doing an acceptable job, they can be voted out by team members. “The people who meet goals and generate respect rise to the top,” Atkinson told Talent Management. “It’s made us incredibly productive.”