Introduction
The modern-day code of conduct is just that: modern. As opposed to a lengthy, dense legal document, it is a helpful and interactive guide for employees. However, it is still a powerful resource that needs to meet regulations, withstand scrutiny of job hunters looking for the right fit and match external requirements of bidding or procurement processes. It should not act as a checklist that merely walks through the motions, but rather as a pathway to improving your company culture and helping your employees.
Your code of conduct is an opportunity to:
- Mitigate organizational risk
- Align, inform and engage employees and third parties to common best practices, organizational values and regulatory expectations
- Revitalize and reposition your ethics and compliance program
- Protect your people, reputation and bottom line
In short, you want your code of conduct to create an ethical culture by being a valuable and trusted resource. You must be intentional and guided when creating it and appeal to all company members.
Executive Summary
An excellent code of conduct that applies to all members of the organization is the single most important tool for creating an ethical culture, followed closely by training. It therefore stands to reason that training your workforce on your code of conduct is essential. This transforms your code of conduct from a document into a resource that employees can use to engage with your organizations goals and values.
To capture the full potential of your organization’s code of conduct, you will need a code that was built, intentionally, to be a resource. And for that you need a plan.
This guide defines the essential elements of your code of conduct, how to properly launch the code in your organization, and what events might necessitate a code update. To learn more, download the complete guide here.
