How to Develop Business Policies to Acknowledge Ethical Actions

Employers and employees in the corporate world must focus on ethical accountability. However, your company's continuous training and reworking of policies on business ethics may leave out recognition of employees who go beyond their job descriptions ethically. You can acknowledge ethical actions among staff members in a number of creative ways.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• List of speakers
• Corporate publications
• Speakers' bureau
• Ethics reward system
• Independent investigator
• Electronic filing system

Promote the Ethical Actions of Employees

1. Unveil an ethics rewards system that recognizes the professional approach of employees within your business. This rewards system can offer fringe benefits, monthly recognition events and notations on personnel files to indicate the high standards of an employee.
2. Set personnel evaluations and interviews alongside your company's ethical standards to offer recognition to the right employees. Your comparisons should reveal a history of appropriate behavior that exceeds the expectations set out in your company's standards.
3. Allow customers, investors and the general public to acknowledge ethical actions in your company through company materials. Your company can utilize a television ad featuring an ethical employee discussing her approach to the job. Newspaper advertisements are ideal because they allow anonymity for ethical employees who want to tell their stories.
4. Eliminate partiality and favoritism from your evaluation of company ethics with an independent investigator. A former industry manager or executive can look at personnel evaluations, your ethical record and other documents to acknowledge burgeoning leaders within your company.
5. Establish a speakers' bureau in your business to promote ethical policies to public and private organizations in your community. You can develop a list of speakers available to universities and small businesses who can shed light on your company's success in business ethics.
6. Demonstrate the high level of ethics within your company to other employees through corporate publications. You can develop an ethics award winner for each newsletter to highlight the success of your policies in creating a safe workplace. Entries on your intra-office website offer steady recognition for exemplary employees.
7. Schedule updates of personnel records on a monthly basis to note citations for ethical behavior. Your human resources and record-keeping staff can develop an efficient electronic system for filing citations for every employee.

Tips & Warnings

• Enable employees and managers to recommend their colleagues in an effort to acknowledge ethical actions. Most companies that encourage employee suggestions use an anonymous comment system in a locked box or email, which is used as employees act in an ethical way. You can speak with managers during weekly meetings to increase the frequency of recognition throughout your company.