Employee Ethics Training
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Unfortunately, employee ethics training is becoming more an issue of legality and liability than of morality. Many businesses and corporations are developing a code of ethics. This is occurring in part due to legislation at the federal level and as a hedge against civil litigation. In recent years, high profile cases involving non-profit organizations, small business, large corporations, the government, and the military have brought ethics, or the lack of them, into the limelight. These cases have involved everything from sexual misconduct to financial impropriety. Loose ethics have proven to be a giant killer. Large and presumably stable companies have collapsed, and innocent people have been financially ruined. However, the question of what constitutes ethical behavior has been around for centuries. Not surprisingly, every now and then the government gets involved in how private business should be conducted. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations was first adopted in 1991. These guidelines set minimum standards in order to lessen penalties for organizations found guilty of misconduct. Then in 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was adopted. The act required publicly traded companies to disclose whether or not a behavioral code for top officers had been implemented. However, some experts believe ethics training is not just for people in charge. The same policy must be made mandatory for everyone in the organization.
Making employee ethics training a mandatory part of the employment process helps increase recruitment and retention of employees because morale often improves when there are established standards for behavior. An online search reveals that ethics training is big business. Companies and individuals make huge profits developing behavioral models. But Christians need not look any further than Christ and the Bible for a model. In fact, a Christian's life should reflect and exemplify the characteristics of Christ. Most experts in employee ethics training believe a model should be built around five desirable characteristics: compassion, honesty, fairness, respect, and responsibility. All of these five characteristics are found repeatedly throughout the Bible. Obviously, any code must comply with applicable laws. But, there are goals that may be unwritten or even unspoken that are of far greater value than simply remaining within the law. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Striving for the fruit of the Spirit will lead to personal responsibility, respect of other people's beliefs and feelings, fairness for all, honesty in business practice; and compassion for coworkers, supervisors, and others.
It is not enough for Christians just to tell other people what is appropriate, they must lead by example. Strong arm marketing of any religious belief system usually doesn't work. Still, any ethical decision making model must teach the values and character of Christ. But, don't use Christ as a hammer to beat beliefs into employee's or co-worker's heads. Instead, model Christ and Christian character through attitude and actions. In fact, the words Christ and God don't even have to appear in a behavioral code. But, the attitude does. America is so diverse that it may not be appropriate or even legal to put religious ideology into employee standards. Once a code has been established, make sure each employee receives a copy. And, they must understand it completely. There is any number of ways employee ethics training can be conducted. Distributing a policy and explaining it to workers is one way, but it may be the least effective method. Some organizations distribute policies and then have workers sign a statement saying that they have read and understand the material. Make available to workers all resources that will help answer any questions about ethics and diversity. Try incorporating role-playing scenarios into training. Placing an individual into a potentially uncomfortable situation helps them understand how another person may feel when confronted with the same situation.
During employee ethics training, explain what is considered appropriate and acceptable behavior as well as the potential consequences for failure to comply. Workplace romance has become a confusing and potentially hazardous area. It is an ambiguous line separating appropriate behavior from sexual harassment when it comes to workplace romance. Simply asking another person out on a date more than once might be considered harassment. Other issues to be addressed in employee ethics training are appropriate e-mail and internet use, confidentiality issues, and security. In addition to physical harassment, guidelines concerning verbal and emotional harassment should also be developed. Some businesses and organizations will have a need to include in employee ethics training information on conflicting financial interests, gifts between workers and non-workers, gifts between employees, outside employment, and financial disclosure. Some businesses are concerned about their own image and how they may appear, if one of its employees works for a company that may have a poor image in the eyes of the public. For example, a store that sells Christian books and supplies probably won't want an employee working for a company that sells adult books and novelties.
Some types of organizations or businesses will have such things as non-compete clauses in worker agreements. And every organization will have special ethics considerations. For example, media groups are concerned with relationships between sources and reporters. Maintaining a professional relationship is important. Violations can be incredibly damaging. And, some violations, such as plagiarism, will have legal implications. Generally speaking, weak ethics goes a long way in how others perceive a business, organization, or person. Any in-house behavioral code or plan that is properly implemented will have a system for reporting violations built into it. An integral part of the code may even be an intimidation factor and consequences for each violation. Whether a person is involved in an employee ethics training program or developing a behavioral code, Christ's character must show and be evident through them. Unfortunately, the law is gaining more control over business and ethical standards. But keep in mind what Galatians says: if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
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