BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

For many years, Mars Inc. represented the antithesis of corporate transparency. Executives and employees never commented on the record; business plans were always kept under wraps; and the company's dirty laundry was certainly never aired in public. As a private company, Mars wasn't required to publically disclose anything about its business to anyone - so it didn't.

That all changed when Global President Paul S. Michaels took the helm in 2002. During Michaels' tenure, transparency has become the watchword at the notoriously secretive manufacturer of famous candy brands like Mars Bars, Milky Way, and Skittles.

Now, Michaels has taken transparency to a whole new level at Mars.

Last week, in a move that even the most transparent public companies would probably shy away from, Michaels authored a memo detailing the reasons behind the departure of Bob Gamgort, who until recently was Global President of the company' s marquee chocolate business. Michaels' memo, which was addressed to every Mars employee, forthrightly stated that "increasing misalignment between the two of us on key business decisions" was the main driver leading to Gamgort' s resignation.

In an era when such matters are usually swept under the rug with statements like "he wanted to spend more time with his family," this memo stood in stark contrast not only to Mars' corporate history, but to the many high-profile companies now grappling with the consequences of their own lack of transparency with key stakeholders (think Bank of America).

Michaels even went so far as to solicit feedback from employees on the company' s intranet. A Mars employee commenting on the memo summed up employee sentiment: "Sincere thanks offered to both of you for your honesty. It is refreshing to witness what a high-performing team can achieve through open communication."

The lesson here is that transparency is really not that painful.  It can not only help solidify employee loyalty inside the organization, but also attract positive attention outside the company.