photo by AMagill on Flickr

Oxford University Press recently named Facebook’s “unfriend” as word of the year. Time named “sexting” number one in its top 10 buzzwords for 2009. I keep my own list of corporate communication words – many that are buzzwords or related to trends. Topping my list for the second year in a row is transparency.

Organizations and businesses of all kinds keep talking about the need to be transparent and achieve open, honest communication. Google the phrase “transparency in healthcare,” and you’ll get deeply entangled in both sides of the year-long health care reform debate.

But true transparency is a hard concept for some organizations. It’s even harder for some management teams to embrace. True transparency goes beyond what the public relations team prepares, or how a spokesperson responds.

Social media has taken corporate (and personal) transparency to a heightened level. No longer is the “authorized spokesperson” representing a company, a product or an issue. Customers and employees are weighing in, telling us all what it’s really like to own a product, experience good or bad service, or work for an organization.

With all of this, the role of the communications professional has widened.  Listening – always a critical part of communications – is now the first step. Developing guidelines for social media usage is one way a company can adapt to the issues that come with being a transparent organization.

I predict transparency will still be at the top of my list next year. Are you ready for the opportunities that transparency will deliver? How are you adapting to the challenges?