As a business, you have certain expectations of your employees. You want them to treat one another with respect, try their hardest to complete their tasks, and act in a professional manner both within and outside of the workplace. You also want to ensure that your employees comply with the law.
Do not assume that these expectations are common knowledge. Instead, you should gather these principles into a formal document known as your employee code of conduct.
In addition to benefiting your employees, having a code of conduct is a great way to demonstrate your company’s values to your clients. Having a strong employee code in place, as well as consequences for employees who violate that code, demonstrates to your consumers that you care about maintaining a pleasant workplace as well as curbing inappropriate behavior.
UNDERSTAND WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED
Keep in mind that your code of conduct will be unique to your company and your team. However, there are some “standard” sections that most codes cover. These include:
- Your company’s core values;
- Compliance with laws;
- Disciplinary actions; as well as
Rules and policies for:
-
- Respect (including harassment, discrimination, and more);
- Use of company property;
- Personal appearance (including cleanliness and dress code);
- Absenteeism and lateness;
- Conflicts of interest;
- Communication and collaboration;
- Bribes; and
- Accounting
These are just the basics. Your own code of conduct might need to dig deeper into things that are important to your own organization (like work-life balance or volunteerism, for example). Remember to collect opinions and suggestions from other leaders and employees so that you can hash out an outline for a well-rounded code of conduct.
ADDRESS AREAS OF RISK
Running a business involves a variety of risks. Some of these risks have the power to completely dismantle a business, while others have the power to seriously damage it, making repairs expensive and time-consuming.
When writing your code of conduct, consider the specific risks that your business and industry face. Risks that differ depending on the industry include sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, workplace safety, and environmental regulations.
MAKE SURE YOUR EMPLOYEES COMPLY WITH THE LAW
Outside of any ethical decision-making, you want to ensure that your employees understand how the law should impact their decisions. You can do this by detailing in your code of conduct the provisions of certain laws or regulations that are relevant to your business and industry.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act – This Act was passed due to the accounting scandals that resulted in billions of dollars in corporate and investor losses. Under the Act, all applicable organizations are required to set up a financial accounting structure capable of producing financial reports that can be easily verified using traceable source data. In addition, all modifications to accounting or financial software must be fully documented, including what was modified, why, by whom, and when.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act – Passed in response to an increase in global corruption costs, this Act prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials in an effort to obtain or retain business, and it requires that companies maintain adequate books, records, and internal controls to prevent unlawful payments. Accordingly, if your business grows to the point of having a global footprint, be sure to include relevant provisions of this Act in your code of conduct.
ESTABLISHING A WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINE
A whistleblower hotline is a crucial component of a successful code of conduct. Business owners often are not immediately aware of misconduct because it is concealed or carried out covertly. For instance, accounting and other paperwork is frequently used to conceal fraud. Theft of merchandise, falsified time sheets, billing and payroll fraud, and the confiscation of receivables are easily concealed inside the books and can go unnoticed for a long time before being discovered.
The majority of the time, management only becomes aware of misconduct after an employee chooses to report it anonymously. Other times, wrongdoing is discovered entirely by chance.
Establish Multiple Reporting Methods
Make your hotline easily accessible via mail, phone, and webform. Depending on factors such as employee location, education, age and level of employment, they may differ on their preferred method of reporting compliance concerns. Multiple access points ensure any reporter can use the program in an easy-to-use format through an engagement point of their preference. This will increase program buy-in and usage.
Create an Anti-Retaliation Policy
Employers must emphasize that they will not tolerate any form of retaliation against those who come forward with information. Whistleblowers experience a very genuine fear of retaliation, and this fear may have a negative impact on the quality of the reporting process.
Employees must feel confident in their employer’s whistleblower policy and free from retaliation in order to disclose suspected unethical behavior internally and avoid internalizing their concerns or taking them outside the business.
Ensure Clear Messaging from Management
Management must inform employees about the whistleblower hotline once it has been successfully implemented within the organization. This can be done through emphasizing the hotline’s importance through the code of conduct. The management message should stress the importance of speaking up and promote a compliance culture.
This will encourage employees to call the hotline as soon as they become aware of any misconduct. The more they use the hotline, the more cases of internal fraud management can investigate, and the better it is for the organization.
CONSISTENTLY REEVALUATE YOUR CODE
Your code of conduct is not something you can “set and forget.” Set a recurring appointment on your calendar to thoroughly review this document and make any necessary changes. Because your business is constantly changing, you may need to tweak the language or even add or remove sections.
For instance, if your team had to make a sudden switch to remote work, you’d want to include some remote-specific portions in your code so that staff members are aware of what is expected of them away from the conventional office setting.
https://www.sarbanes-oxley-101.com/sarbanes-oxley-faq.htm
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https://blog.whistleblowersecurity.com/blog/how-to-implement-a-whistleblower-hotline-at-your-company
https://www.polonious-systems.com/5-tips-setting-up-a-whistleblower-hotline/
https://www.stryker.com/us/en/about/governance/code-of-conduct.html
https://iuk.ac.ke/code-of-good-conduct/
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