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Organizational Culture
Building and Maintaining a Strong Organizational Culture
From attracting top talent to retaining employees motivated and committed, ethical firms have proven business success. For an ethics and compliance program to be undoubtedly successful, it must not only satisfy legal requirements; it must also align with and promote a healthy organizational culture, as well as its purpose, goals, norms, and traditions.
Building a healthy organizational culture doesn't happen overnight. Ethics & compliance officers obligated to creating a culture of respect face extensive challenges, but it can and should be done. Culture begins with the tone at the top, a code of conduct, and engaging training, although those things alone don't build a culture of ethics and respect. Culture is organic, exhibited by how employees act and treat others, and support your organization's goals and values. An ethical culture empowers and inspires employees to do the right thing. Nurturing an ethical culture takes perpetual awareness and communication. Beyond messaging, culture also has to show in your workforce's actions and your workplace's tone.
What You Need
Code of Conduct
An engaging code of conduct that conveys your company’s values, expectations, and key messages.
Process
Processes in place for managers to handle open door reports and employee complaints.
Policy Management
A system that ensures your employees read and sign your corporate policies, including your code of ethics.
Training
A multi-year, risk-based ,and engaging training plan for employees and managers that changes behavior.
Safe Way to Speak Up
A secure and anonymous channel through which employees and third parties can report concerns.
Assessment
An assessment of your current culture which includes employee feedback.
Report Management
Tracking of reported incidents of misconduct so you spot issues early and address them head-on.
Awareness
Ongoing reminders to keep your compliance program top of mind, including posters with your hotline number.
Steps You Can Take to Build an Ethical Culture
STEP 1
Define your culture by create a strong Code of Conduct that engages and inspires employees. Make sure all employees read, attest to, and fully embrace your code from the top down with a policy management system
STEP 2
Ensure you are capturing potential issues and handling them in an appropriate way with an externally hosted hotline and incident management system
STEP 3
Teach all your employees what an ideal culture looks like – especially your board and executives - and present real-world scenarios to inform them on how to act in ethical situations with engaging online training