Corporate Leaders Should Have These 5 Ethics Practices In Place
Corporate ethical credos and practices can have an effect on a wide variety of stakeholders within a given company. Potential clients and customers want to know what kind of ethics your team practices, potential employees want to know the same, and current employees are more likely to stay around when a business is truly dedicated to a quality set of ethics practices.
Though depending on your business’s ultimate goals and general model, some ethical practices may be more important than others, but these 5 should be a part of any major corporation’s ethics plan if they’re looking to do business beyond 2021.
2-Way Accountability
When someone gets hired, there are expectations for them to complete a given number of tasks with a given level of quality. But new employees also need to learn from examples set by team members and managers who have been around for a while and need to “set the tone” for what is expected.
Both sides of this equation need to hold themselves accountable when errors are made, and keeping a growth mindset makes this much easier. Having a management team that takes responsibility for their shortcomings and acts to correct them resonates with employees. Making every error a learning point and not just “something that went wrong.”
Excellence
There is a line to toe between preaching excellence and setting unachievable goals. So it should be noted that excellence and perfection are not synonymous. Related to the two-way accountability mentioned above, a team can be taught to strive for excellence without feeling they can’t ever make a mistake (perfection).
Excellence should be showcased at every corner of a business to ensure it continues to resonate. From clean offices to extensive training, and of course with any given tasks asked of team members.
Integrity
Integrity can also be a difficult ethical practice to convey to all employees, as everyone’s moral compass points a little differently. What’s right for one person may not always be right for another. However, listening to all opinions regarding the question “are we doing the right thing?” helps the team grow and decide together why given decisions need to be made from a business standpoint.
Giving everyone the chance to be heard is an important part of this ethical practice.
Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR is a corporation’s dedication to the community. This can be on a small scale, such as sponsoring a Little League team, or on a large scale with things like creating a sustainability plan to combat global issues like climate change. There are almost countless ways to “do good” from a business standpoint, and CSR is becoming a very important trait that potential employees look for in a company.
Diversity and Inclusion
Like CSR, promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace is a win-win, as it’s an ethically sound practice. This also promotes a more appealing workplace for potential talent. Both also result in bigger bottom lines when compared to the competition that does not have focus on diversity and inclusion and cultural awareness.
Willingness to Evolve
All of these ethical practices are important, as are some others, but being able to evolve with societal and business changes is just as important as following these practices. Things will change, and especially for things like CSR and diversity, new tactics and societal desires come up frequently. Be willing to evolve your practices and mention them frequently in trainings and meetings!
