*This blog post was updated on July 14, 2021 to incorporate new data and company services. Show
When you hear the word “integrity,” you probably think of values and ethics, or the idea of a “moral compass.” Integrity is ingrained in a person’s entire being—not just exhibited in the way they act around other people. It’s part of a bigger culture and mindset around doing the right thing. Now think about the word “compliance.” Chances are, you’re having a different reaction. Compliance doesn’t connote an ingrained sense of right and wrong. Instead, it suggests rules and guidelines for how a person should act around others, not how they should actually be as a person. You probably associate compliance with signing a statement saying you and other employees have read and understood a business code of conduct, as opposed to actually absorbing the organization’s values and taking them to heart. But values and ethics are becoming more and more important to businesses. Why it’s important to prioritize values and ethics at work—not just complianceGone are the days of checking boxes to ensure that your employees have done a cursory review of the compliance regulations. Research shows that ethics and values should be at the heart of your brand, not an afterthought or a checkmark on a box.
Making your entire culture one that is based on integrity, where employees want to do the right thing because they believe in the mission and share the values of the company, is no overnight task. But a strong first step you can take is evaluating how your code of conduct can further integrate integrity into its policies. Code of conduct examples: Leading with integrity vs. complianceLiterally, integrity means having honesty and moral principles. It is a quality and state of being rather than a behavior. Let’s take a closer look at the difference between an integrity-based code of conduct and a compliance-based code of conduct and examine when it’s appropriate to integrate facets of each.
Famously, Nordstrom hands out an employee handbook to new hires containing a single rule: “Use best judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.” This is an example of an integrity-based code of conduct: it acknowledges an overarching guiding value and asks employees to act accordingly based on their individual moral compasses. (It’s important to note, however, that while Nordstrom does pass out this extremely brief card, it also has a more extensive policy with a lengthier set of rules and guidelines.) By contrast, a compliance-based code of conduct example is Starbucks’ Standards of Business Conduct. In this policy, Starbucks outlines specific behaviors that are expected of employees in sub-sections including “How We Treat One Another,” “How We Treat Our Customers,” “Diversity,” and more. These sub-sections include questions and answers with hypothetical scenarios, such as sharing and reporting inappropriate jokes with colleagues, and concrete steps employees should take to address them. Pros of an integrity-based code of conduct
Cons of an integrity-based code of conduct
Pros of a compliance-based code of conduct
Cons of a compliance-based code of conduct
The key takeawayUltimately, a successful organization that upholds the value of integrity will combine both of these approaches in establishing its code of conduct. Employees should understand what is expected of them while also recognizing the overall mission and wanting to support it. In practice, this might involve establishing several— but not an overwhelming number of—overarching ground rules and examples of different scenarios in which employees might find themselves, while still keeping the overall tone positive and emphasizing the values. Integrity matters to your brand, people, and mission. To learn more about how you can build a company culture where people want to do the right thing, starting with your code of conduct, get in touch with a member of LRN’s Advisory team. We’ll help you leverage your organizational values to empower employees to think and act ethically no matter where they are—not just because they’ve acknowledged your compliance policy, but because these values are ingrained in the heart of your organization. |