How can ethics be enforced in the workplace?

Encouraging ethical behavior at work helps build a strong team and raise productivity. It helps an organisation maintain a reputation for strong values that directly align with its mission. Research shows that businesses with strong ethical cultures have shown a reduction in employee misconduct.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Show

Set clear expectations
Lead by example
Reward good behavior
Feedback mechanisms
Develop and Document Standards and Policies
Foster and Enforce Standards and Policies
Start at the Top
Provide Ethics Training
Support and Protect Employees

Here are 5 ways to create an ethnical workplace culture:

Set clear expectations

Your organisation’s Code of Conduct should define the expectations for employees’ behavior in clear and simple language. This should include how employees should interact with each other, customers, as well as what is and is not considered acceptable behaviour in the workplace. These expectations also serve as guidance for managers, setting out when they need to intervene and/or take disciplinary action. The Code of Conduct should be communicated to all employees.

Pro tip

Use the expectations in your Code of Conduct in the recruitment process to determine if an employee is likely to be a good fit.

Lead by example

Managers need to model the behaviour they expect to see in their staff. If employees can see others, particularly the roles they report to behaving ethically, the team is more likely adopt the same behavior and values.

Reward good behavior

Ethical behaviors, such as when an employee goes above and beyond to put his or her personal interests aside to always do what is best for the client, should be actively rewarded and held up as an example for others.

Pro tip

Incorporate ethical standards into employee performance reviews.

Feedback mechanisms

Fundamentally, ethical behaviour is about “doing the right thing”. Ensure there is a clear feedback mechanism in place through which employees can report any unethical behaviour they witness. These mechanisms should allow staff to make reports anonymously and without fear of any adverse action being taken against them.

Training

Hold workshops and provide regular training on how to solve problems ethically. Use examples, case studies and role play to discuss tough decisions that may arise, and brainstorm solutions together.

GRC Solutions offers a wide-ranging library of Salt Compliance e-learning courses, contact us today for more information.

Do your customers trust and believe in your company? Do you trust and believe your employees? Do your employees trust and believe in you?

Trust and transparency in conduct is ever more important in our information-heavy age, and ethics need to be clearly stated, flowing down from the highest executives. All employees and clients get their cues from the highly-visible executives and owners, and if they are seen to push the limits of ethical behavior, they will as well. That’s why a clear and comprehensive ethics policy should be in place.

A corporate ethics policy is a cornerstone to providing employees and clients with concrete guidelines about what is and is not accepted in the workplace without the need for constant oversight from management. It can also provide transparency in action and goodwill with customers who strive to find companies that they can trust.

A good policy does more than just outline concepts of good behavior, it also communicates expectations and requirements, has buy-in from all levels of business (from the board of directors down), and develops measurements to determine if ethics are being maintained and yielding the desired results.

Creating an ethics policy can be daunting, as evidenced by how popular the Ethics topic is on KnowledgeLeader. The Code of Business Conduct sample document, the Guide to Developing an Effective Code of Conduct and the Ethics Program Review Audit Work Program are all very popular for a reason.

If you need guidance on creating a good ethics program, we can help there as well.

The Ethics Program Guide provides a fifteen point plan to developing or strengthening a company’s ethics program.

Here are a few sample points:

Identify and Renew Company Values

Companies without a clear set of values may find themselves at a disadvantage when developing ethics programs. Ethics programs are most effective when perceived by employees to be “values-driven,” rather than simply compliance-driven and values-based programs are most effective in reducing unethical behavior, strengthening employee commitment and making employees more willing to deliver bad news to managers. Many companies conduct regular companywide initiatives that involve employees at all levels of responsibility when renewing company values and updating them when appropriate.

Secure Visible Commitment From Senior Managers

Most ethics professionals agree that it is crucial to enlist senior management support for an ethics program to be successful. Senior managers should participate in training sessions, make ethics a regular element in speeches and presentations, and align their own behavior with company standards. If employees view an ethics program as merely an effort to protect the reputation of top management, the program may prove more harmful than no program at all.

Engage the Board of Directors

Engage directors in the ethics process by instituting a board ethics committee or by placing ethics on the board agenda as a regular item for discussion. Consider special training to enable directors to carry out their ethical responsibilities confidently. Many U.S. companies have instituted board ethics committees and training in recent years, a move motivated in part by the many regulations establishing that directors may be held liable for corporate ethical transgressions.

Develop an Ethics Code or Code of Business Conduct

Comprehensive codes are aligned with company values and all applicable laws. This addresses the full range of ethical dilemmas employees are likely to face and are updated regularly as new challenges emerge. It is important to be clear and specific about what is required of employees, where leeway is allowed in decision making and which ethical issues are nonnegotiable. Unclear rules and unclear expectations of employees are the single most prominent obstacle to ethical behavior.

Build Ethics Into Mission and Vision Statements

Many companies build ethical values and goals into their mission and/or vision statements. This helps senior managers and employees understand that values and ethical standards are integral to all company operations and planning and not simply an “add-on” to be considered after important decisions have been made.

Integrate Ethics Into all Aspects of Company Communications

Leverage existing company infrastructure to demonstrate to employees that ethics is an integral part of all operations and decision making. Integrate ethics and compliance training materials into multiple delivery sources, including new employee orientations, management courses, sales training, business meetings, business plans and other aspects of day-to-day activities

There is an old proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” If you haven’t implemented a solid ethics policy, then now is the best time. If you already have an ethics policy, then now might be a good time to review it.

Learn more about ethics programs by exploring these related tools on KnowledgeLeader:

Ethics Program Review Audit Work Program
Business Ethics Questionnaire
Assessing Effectiveness of a Process or Program Guide

Unethical behavior in the workplace costs businesses a lot of money, integrity, and marketable clout.

Source: laflor / iStock / Getty

According to research, unethical business practices were on the rise a few years ago and might have gotten worse, but 56% of Americans will stop buying goods and services from brands they think are unethical, and many will actively support brands they view as ethical. Additionally, 48% of consumers consider employee treatment when determining whether a company is ethical.
So, if you want to stimulate ethical behavior in your workplace, you should consider doing the following.

Develop and Document Standards and Policies

Put clear, ethical standards and policies employees and leaders should abide by in writing, and have the employees and leaders sign the guideline documents to ensure they read and understand the information. Also include how violations of the guidelines will be handled, including repercussions, and how employees can report them.

Foster and Enforce Standards and Policies

Continue to enforce your ethical standards and policies once they are documented and implemented to ensure they are followed and taken seriously, and be clear and specific about how these policies will be enforced and what may happen if an employee violates one of the standards, such as being handed a written warning or getting suspended.

Start at the Top

Begin with your leaders and executives to stimulate ethical behavior across the workplace, and make sure they are on board with developing, implementing, and enforcing your ethical standards and policies. These same leaders should also be held accountable for their ethical behavior, just as their subordinates are. Leaders and managers need to lead by example in following ethical practices if the policies are to be fully effective.

Provide Ethics Training

Because some common business practices are technically unethical, all employees should receive ethics training so they know how to confidently identify and avoid unethical behavior, as well as are empowered with knowledge on how to handle inappropriate interactions.

Support and Protect Employees

Make sure that you provide an anonymous means of reporting unethical behaviors and that those who do report such actions will be protected from retaliation that would prevent them from speaking up.
Consider taking the steps above to stimulate a more ethical and profitable workplace.