TM - November 2007 - (Page 48)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & benefits performance management learning & development succession planning ethical guidelines. Reuters has a slogan: ‘We report the news, we don’t make it.’ We have a comprehensive handbook for journalists that covers everything from our standards and values to specific guidance around our operation. The areas covered in standards and values are accuracy, integrity and freedom from bias. We do not obtain news by deception — we always identify ourselves as being from Reuters.” Although it’s certainly important to spell out the ethics of the organization (as well as its various parts), it’s important to remember that simply producing those principles is not enough. “Developing these kinds of practices within a company is not just a matter of developing, deploying and communicating an ethical code,” Murphy said. “It’s a matter of keeping it visible and keeping people trained and aware of it. Enron had an ethics program. It was developed and communicated to employees. But the culture of the company wasn’t driven by that — it was driven by other factors, which weren’t expressive of an ethical culture.” Hoak agreed. “Fundamentally, it’s got to be more than just a bunch of rules,” he said. “It has to be part of the values and culture of a company.” Training, HR and the Ethical Enterprise “Human resources typically gets pulled in on this, and sometimes that’s where the ethics function is housed,” Murphy said. “A lot of companies operate on a compliance basis, so when it comes to developing a broader ethics program, they might tend to look to their compliance function first. But by and large, most corporations have an ethics function, and that’s often related to HR. Sometimes they bring in communications functions, as well, to help drive messages throughout the organization. And delivAl though it’s ering training around your ethical code is every bit as certainl y important too.” important to spell out the ethics of the organization (as well as its various parts), it’s important to remember that simpl y producing those principles is not enough. At HP the training depart, ment plays a “key role” in upholding organizational ethics, Hoak said. “We work very closely with the learning and development part of HR to develop content and deliver the message. That’s absolutely critical — we couldn’t do it without them. They’ve been great partners, very supportive. The learning and development people help us on the content, and the global operations piece of HR works with us to get the message delivered. I can’t stress enough how important that partnership is on both of those levels.” As with all learning and development programs, the big question around ethics training is: What can ensure this will stick in people’s minds? Hoak said an organization needs three things to establish and sustain an ethical culture: 1. Conversations about ethics have to start at the top, with the CEO and the board setting the tone. 2. When a business makes a promise to its employees, it has to follow through on it. 3. People at all levels must be held accountable for ethical breaches and receive no special treatment because of rank. From an operational standpoint, the responsibility for organizational values typically rests either with a dedicated ethics function or the general counsel’s office. But because of its connection to the workforce, HR is often involved with ethical initiatives, as well, and occasionally even controls them. That depends on the content. For simple, general and enterprisewide ethics, Web-based training delivered in short modules usually will work, provided it’s supported by successive messages that reinforce those principles. “That’s what we do for our annual ethics training program,” Hoak said. “It’s great for reaching a broad audience and getting general information out there. But I think for some of the more targeted training that we’re doing internationally, we’re developing more-specific programs. For example, we’re training our salespeople on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prevents bribery of foreign government officials. It’s helpful in those kinds of experiences to have face-to-face training where you can have a back-and-forth dialogue, and I think it’s helpful 48 November 2007 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - November 2007

Talent Management - November 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Viewpoint Finding Candidates with the Right Fit Turning HR Data Into Business Intelligence Compensation Technology: Drive Higher Performance, Gain Competitive Advantage The Art and Science of Influence Training the Ethical Workforce Making the Best Managers Application: Pre-Hire Testing Drives Down Employee Turnover at Advnace Auto Parts Dashboard: The Role of Learning Business Process Outsourcing Insight: Nationwide Insurance: On Employees' Side Advertiser's Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

TM - November 2007

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