MightyRecruiterIt is common practice for business owners to craft a mission or vision statement for where they want the company to go. This gives everyone who works at the business a long term goal to strive toward and gives the tasks they perform in their jobs a greater sense of purpose. However, it is far less common for companies to establish a concrete set of workplace ethics that align with the vision statement, instead just assuming that everyone is more or less on the same page in this regard. While this may be true for a fair portion of employees, this can and will eventually lead to someone committing actions that inhibit productivity and create a negative atmosphere in the workplace.
The Purpose of Work Ethics
Over the past decade, the significant rise in factors such as global business recruitment, social networking and the number of Generation Y individuals entering the workforce have made it more important than ever that each company has workplace ethics that align with its vision statement. You’re going to be bringing in more and more people to work for you who come from wildly different cultures and customs, which is why there must to be a code of ethical conduct in place to keep everyone in the same mindset while on the job. If you are able to integrate these ethics into common business practices such as annual performance reviews, the hiring process and talent development, your business will be much better off now and in the future. Some of the most significant benefits that you’ll observe include: – Finding solid job candidates whose personal and cultural values are compatible with those of the company – Protection of the business’s reputation on the international market – Crafting a strong system for talent management – Recognizing and rewarding employees who make good ethical choices
Keeping Culture in Mind
Even though there are many customs that are instilled in individuals because of the location in which they live, there are several positive values that are common in nearly every culture around the globe. They include responsibility, civic virtue, trustworthiness, justice, fairness, caring and respect. While these should undoubtedly be a part of your efforts to make workplace ethics that align with the vision statement for the company, you need to go a step further and also include beliefs and attitudes that are specifically relevant to the business’s mission and industry.
Crafting a Set of Work Ethics
The basic blueprint that you should follow when establishing workplace ethics is to start out broad and then get specific. Take a basic positive value that you want your employees to have, and from there, write out several principle statements that are specific to the company’s functions. For instance, if you own a restaurant and you want to promote a healthy atmosphere, inform employees that food surfaces should be kept well-sanitized at all times. This benefits both the employees and their managers since both parties are well aware of the actions and behaviors that need to be practiced in order to have great performance reviews.
Getting the Word Out
Once you have gone through the process of creating a set of clearly articulated workplace ethics that align with the vision statement, you need to effectively communicate them to the rest of the company. You will find that this is most immediately doable through the employee handbooks that you give to every worker. You can include a simple list of expected values and practices that are easy to reference as well as some frequently asked questions to address common issues of business ethics. Additionally, any new hires you bring into the company can place themselves in the right frame of mind early on if you communicate your company’s values in your recruiting materials, interview questions and training programs. Both veteran workers and new blood will be grateful for the positive sense of direction you establish.
Enforcing the Rules
You can repeat the importance of your set of workplace values that align with the vision statement all you want, but it won’t do any good if the employees don’t see them being actively practiced and enforced. To that end, your business needs a process for tracking employee compliance as well as avenues for safely reporting violations and consequences for these violations. Ultimately, the success or failure of your company’s code of ethics starts at the business’s highest levels of administration. If employees see that you follow your own principles and take their concerns seriously, the ship will stay on course. As you continue your search for ways to further bolster your business, be sure to consult Mighty Recruiter’s resources for solid starting points.