How To Design An Effective Corporate Culture Of Strong Ethics & Compliance
How To Design An Effective Corporate Culture Of Strong Ethics & Compliance
By definition, an organization’s culture is represented by all of the shared values and meanings held by its members, and articulated and practiced by its leaders. Purpose is embedded in corporate culture and is what helps define organizations.
No matter what industry you are in, your long-term success as a company is strongly correlated to your ability to define your ethics and compliance – both inside and outside of your organization. Many new businesses overlook this value and leave it in the abstract. When conflicts and confrontations occur, they are left clueless on how to deal with them and negatively damaged.
From unethical behavior to sexual misconduct and corruption, there are many traits of our society that can harm a business. The real question you should ask yourself is: what can be done to stop them?
What is a code of ethics and compliance – and how to implement one?
A code of ethics is a universal structure on which you can build your organization culture of accountability and transparency. In some cases, the law already covers conduct in the workplace, but companies can additionally establish their own code of behavior inside the workplace.
With a set of guidelines that everyone respects, there is minimal room for error. Most importantly, there is a clearly defined organizational culture that can improve employee performance, especially when everything is in line with the individual’s own set of values.
Here are some tips on the best ways to reinforce a code of ethics and compliance.
1.Write things down
This is probably the “golden rule” of office ethics code. If your organization wants to create a successful code of ethics, it should be written down. Also, it should apply to all employees and be accessible to everyone working in the company. Creating such a culture is nearly impossible if the code only applies to specific employees – everyone should comply with it, including people in the upper management.
2.Nominate someone to oversee it
The entire process would get a lot smoother when you have someone overseeing it. A code of ethics is beneficial when someone is constantly monitoring it, and seeing whether employees address whenever a problem appears and bring the issue directly with the manager. Generally speaking, the best people to oversee this are employees in the HR department, mostly because they already have a better overview of the full list of employees.
3.Monitor and address issues immediately
Individuals who are in charge of overseeing the compliance program should also monitor events in the office, and predict if any possible situations can lead to potential problems later on. When issues like these are detected, companies can conduct training sessions and take action where they will reinforce their values and standards to defuse any larger-scale issues that may appear in the future.
During sessions like these, employees are often found to work together on their issues and improve their communication and collaboration skills. The sessions can be very beneficial for the entire well-being of your business.
4.Develop a consistent and clear communication plan
Every employee in the organization should be able to understand its main mission, vision, and values. Only this way, the ethical code will be kept in place and employees will feel part of the bigger picture. They will know what type of behaviour is frowned upon and how they should act in the workplace.
Setting up a clear communication plan is one of the core principles of a successful organization. Employees will feel more encouraged to participate in office culture, transfer its values to new members, and grow it in the future.
5.Focus on the hiring process
First impressions matter, and for many employees, they are often made during the hiring process. Although interviews are commonly treated as opportunities where you will identify the best candidate and have them showcase their skills, you can also use them to begin the acculturation process.
For example, you can work with some interview questions that are designed around a core value, such as putting customer needs first. Another good question can be “tell me about a time when you uncovered an unmet need of a customer”. Highlighting your values right from the interview process reveals the importance of ethics in your organization.
6.Consider adding incentives to your program
People do what they are incentivized to do. You can always align some rewards with ethical outcomes as an obvious solution to potential problems. As simple as this sounds, rewards might not always appear in the form of money – sometimes, people want to be recognized, praised, and validated. It can even improve performance in some employees.
7.Back your culture by technology
You can always put some effective forms of technology in place to back up your code of ethics and compliance. The truth is, spreadsheets can only go so far in tracking compliance before you struggle with scalability and reliability. Nowadays, there are plenty of HR systems and solutions designed for creating compliance programs that are consistent and repeatable.
Final Thoughts
Top organizations don’t only “teach compliance” – they practice it through training. By taking the steps outlined by our team, you can start down the pathway to a strong culture of ethics and compliance.
In the end, a successful code of ethics and compliance has a lot of benefits. It can influence people’s behavior, motivate them to do better, and prevent major issues in the future. Even if problems arise, a code of ethics and compliance can identify the cause and ensure that things are running as smoothly as possible.
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