As I speak throughout the country as an ethics motivational speaker, ethics author and consultant, audience members frequently ask: “As we are so concerned about corporate social responsibility, what can be done to create effective business ethics training?”
My first response is to congratulate the company. Business ethics is more important than ever, especially as there is a need for hybrid offices, remote workers and fundamental changes in the way companies work.
I have arrived at 7 basic considerations to answer the question of creating an environment of effective business training. While the “considerations” can be expanded to many additional points, the following list is a great place to start to achieve better business ethics in your organization.
7 ways to create effective business ethics training for your organization
- What is your organization trying to achieve? Don’t spend your business ethics resources on training in areas that aren’t necessary. Focus on what is important. For example, if there have been challenges in terms of inclusion, gender issues or diversity, but hardly the slightest hint of bribe taking or inappropriate social media use, why spend an equal amount of time on all areas? Determine what corporate social responsibility areas are essential to address and turn sharp focus to that area first.
- If you don’t know, how can they possibly know? Creating an ethical culture is not something that can be worked out on a napkin between “lunch and recess.” When the executive team talks about ethics and an ethical culture, can they define those concepts. When an outsider asks about the culture, can you explain it in a few sentences? As an ethics consultant, motivational speaker and ethics author, please let me assure you there are no shortcuts to this type of strategic thinking. What is the organization’s ethical platform and who are the gatekeepers? Most importantly why is an ethical mindset significant to everyday business life? How will employees respond to the ethical stance and what are the consequences for those who cross the line?
- Is there an instruction plan? The majority of companies with whom I do ethics consulting and ethics speaking, proudly proclaim they have a Code of Ethics. Without sounding mean-spirited, a beautifully presented “code” in Olde English lettering and on parchment is totally meaningless unless employees are taught and fully understand each point of the code. How does the organization ensure agreement? What is the feedback you are receiving, where are the problems and how are you ensuring buy-in? Who is doing the training and do the trainers understand the objectives? How will the organization know if the program is successful? What are the measurements and mileposts? If your organization can visualize success
- Please don’t present ethics training as an excruciating chore. As an ethics speaker I have spent more than 20-years honing my craft. I am a Hall of Fame speaker who firmly believes that ethics training should be engaging and fun and not drudgery. Oftentimes, trainers (usually from HR) drone from workbooks that almost guarantee half the audience will disengage within minutes. Ethics training is much too important to toss a few phrases to the wind and then walk away.
- Culture implies group action. Business ethics must be owned by every member of the organization, from the CEO to the new hire in manufacturing. An organization often rises and falls as a group. Why then, require the intern to be ethically-engaged and not the senior vice president of marketing? It is everyone’s responsibility to embrace the ethical culture. The more the employees at all levels can collaborate, discuss and even debate the ethical lessons, the better. Culture implies group action, participation and buy-in.
- Walk the walk. Temptation to engage in unethical behavior is everywhere. The antidote to such behavior is to regularly require employees to act out roles in regard those ethical “attractions and traps” and to then create scenarios. You would be amazed at how similar real-life situations come to duplicating what may occur in the role-playing sessions. If employees take the “scenes” seriously, and then open it up to the larger group, the lessons learned can be life-changing. What can be done to create effective business ethics training? Create situations unique to your industry that could occur and then go with it.
- Training groups to be more ethical should not be a celebration of excess. Literally billions are spent each year on ethics compliance sessions. Why should this be? Given virtual platforms and videoconferencing, many of these sessions can be handled on a remote basis. If it is the organization’s desire to create a set of in-person meetings with keynote speeches and instructions, the seriousness of the meeting(s) must be emphasized.
The downfall of many organizations and their leadership teams are often linked to unethical behavior. To not have a commitment to effective business ethics training and its reinforcement, is a virtual guarantee that someone, somewhere, will compromise and embarrass the company. Ethics training remains a vitally important element of every company’s success.
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