How to Create a Code of Ethics for Trainers

Part of your role as a trainer is to share a company's code of ethics with trainees.

A code of ethics aims to define acceptable actions, promote positive behavior and ensure that all members of an organization act according to a company's standards of integrity. While a code of ethics is important for everyone, it is especially important for trainers. Not only do trainers need to obey a company's code of ethics, but they also need to ensure that their trainees abide by the code of ethics.

Instructions

1. Plan an outline for your code of ethics. Decide how you will tailor the code of ethics to fit your organization's needs. A fitness organization requires a code of ethics that ensures that trainers will work with clients in a healthy way and not promote unhealthy behaviors. A hospital must ensure that trainers communicate safe hospital behaviors. A teaching organization must promote the equal treatment of all students, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity.

2. Include a section about a company's overall ethical goals. In this section, write ethical information that all members of an organization are expected to follow in order to create a healthy and effective work environment. For example, you may say "Miami Fitness Center aims to treat all employees and members of the fitness facility in a healthy, safe, positive manner. The company aims to help members become physically fit through healthy lifestyle changes, including eating properly and exercising regularly."

3. Write a section defining the relationship between a trainer and trainees: for example, the trainer should act in the best interest of the trainees, a trainer must keep all trainee information confidential, a trainer must not discriminate against trainees and other information specific to your organization.

4. Detail the trainer's responsibilities to trainees and the organization as a whole. A trainer must avoid conflicts of interest, act in the best interest of organizational members and be truthful with members of the organization. A trainer specifically must only communicate approved information and not speak negatively of the organization. A trainer must not lure trainees away from the organization for personal gain.

5. Share the fact that trainers must aim to remain effective at all times. Utilize this section to detail ways in which trainers should be effective, as well as actions that may make a trainer ineffective.

6. Create a section of your code of ethics about sharing ethical information with trainees. It is a trainer's obligation to communicate his ethical responsibilities to trainees, as well as let the trainees know their ethical rights and responsibilities.

7. Close the code of ethics with information about what to do if a trainer believes that he or someone else in the organization is violating the code of ethics. This will allow trainers to communicate with an organization's ethical leadership team to ensure that ethical standards are not being broken, and if they are, allow the organization to remedy the situation.

References

• NCSF: Certified Personal Trainer Code of Ethics
• ANLP: Code of Ethics and Practice for NLP Trainers
• EthicsWeb: How to Write a Code of Ethics