AUTHOR:
Tyler Lawrence
Executive Editor, Ethisphere Magazine
As Executive Editor at Ethisphere Magazine, I’ve worked with some of the brightest and most passionate ethics and compliance professionals to bring their insights and expertise to our global community. Time and time again, the topic of ethical culture finds its way into our publication.
Below, you’ll find five of my favorite pieces. I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed editing.
Ethics Is Everyone’s Business
In the latest edition of Ethisphere Magazine, our 2021 World’s Most Ethical Companies Issue, Antonio Neri, President and CEO at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, shares a few concrete policies and structures to make sure that people outside of ethics and compliance are also discussing ethical culture, and responsible for understanding ethics-related risks multiple time a year.
“Our updated approach to training plays directly into our goal of creating a culture in which ethics and compliance is everyone’s business. Last year, we introduced a program that requires the Managing Directors of each of our Global Sales geographies to include a discussion of ethics and compliance issues in their quarterly State of Readiness reviews with our Chief Sales Officer. Our Managing Directors each work with our Ethics & Compliance Office to address risks and trends specific to their business and geographic region.”
– Antonio Neri, President and CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Culture Champions: The Emotional Wellness Revolution
From our 2019 Employee Issue of Ethisphere Magazine, read how Booz Allen Hamilton has “gone all-in on transforming its culture around mental and emotional wellness, in part because a handful of leaders at the company made it a priority.”
This special feature dives deep into emotional and mental wellness in the workplace, and how the slow, gradual, but impactful process of opening this conversation can take place at even the largest of organizations. Included in the piece is a profile on Barbara Van Dahlen, who partnered with Booz Allen Hamilton on their cultural transformation and has gone on to run suicide prevention for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
From the Super ESG edition of Ethisphere Magazine, read an interview between Ethisphere’s Erica Salmon Byrne and Brian Pieninck, CEO at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. At the core of the conversation is Brian’s commitment to being hands-on in ethics, compliance, and culture work, embracing the responsibility to set the right tone at the top and be a champion for E&C within the organization.
“… I would not consider us to be unique, other than that I think we are building a culture where we’re persistently willing to say out loud to each other, “Hey, we haven’t quite gotten this right yet.” I would say what I’ve recognized is that you need multiple listening devices and you need multiple feedback devices. If you are relying solely on the waterfall effect, you will fail. If you’re relying solely on grassroots efforts, you will fail. What we try to do, what I personally try to do as the CEO, is to develop as many listening devices within the organization as I possibly can, including firsthand perspective, indirect perspective, and hierarchical perspective that’s filtered through layers.”
– Brian Pieninck, CEO at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
In a conversation from our “Ethicast” interview series that was so good I decided to print it, I spoke with Katie Lawler, Chief Ethics Officer at U.S. Bank, about creating psychologically safe environments to support a speak-up culture. With a dedicated focus on ethics and ethical culture, Katie’s role is to integrate a culture of integrity across the organization.
Our conversation touches on defining psychological safety, why a speak-up culture matters, getting internal stakeholders to buy into the idea, and working with leaders and managers to help them act as champions for the culture you aspire to build.
From our Spring 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies edition, Scott Stevenson, one of my colleagues at Ethisphere, writes about the methodology behind the Ethical Culture and Perceptions Assessment, the flagship survey we use to measure ethical culture. He also shares the kinds of analysis and interventions that companies are able to do with good culture survey data. At the time of the interview, the data set contained the perspectives and responses of 630,000 employees, but it has since grown to over 1.1 million responses!
If you’re interested in contributing your insights to a future edition of Ethisphere Magazine, let me know!
For more insights into Ethical Culture, and how Ethisphere can help, visit our website. To learn more about how you can more directly improve the culture in your organization, register to attend our free three-part Masterclass series on Ethical Culture, now eligible for 3.6 CCB CEUs!
Elbit Systems of America demonstrates a strong commitment to ethical business through its leadership, robust ethics and compliance program, and corporate citizenship
NEW YORK, April 21, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, announced today that Elbit Systems of Americahas earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification for 2020-2021.
Elbit Systems of America is a leading provider of high-performance products, system solutions, and support services focusing on the defense, homeland security, law enforcement, commercial aviation, and medical instrumentation markets. With facilities throughout the United States, Elbit Systems of America is dedicated to supporting those who contribute daily to the safety and security of the country.
“At Elbit America, one of our core values is to ‘do the right thing.’ That simple phrase encompasses our unwavering commitment to our customers, our workforce, and the communities in which we live and work. By incorporating ethical practices from the inside of our company out, we project our unique company culture of integrity, accountability, and collaboration,” said Raanan Horowitz, President and CEO of the company. “We’re honored to receive Ethics Inside® Certification as it validates our company’s core values and the approach our workforce takes to each and everything it does.”
“We congratulate Elbit America for this recognition of the company’s commitment to ethical excellence,” said Jodie Fredericksen, J.D., Senior Compliance Counsel of Ethisphere. “They continue to innovate and implement leading practices to ensure effective governance and foster a values-based culture that benefits employees, partners and customers.”
The Ethics Inside Certification involves a comprehensive review and evaluation of existing corporate governance systems and practices; ethics and compliance program and practices; corporate citizenship and responsibility initiatives; and leadership, reputation, and legal history. As part of the process, the company pursuing certification is benchmarked against best practices, established standards and Ethisphere’s data set highlighting the programs and practices of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, including industry peer companies. Ethisphere analysts also review supporting documentation and conduct interviews with key leaders across the organization.
At the conclusion of the review, the team determines if the aggregate maturity of the company’s practices meets or exceeds a level at which ethical behavior becomes the core expectation, fundamental compliance systems are in place, tone from the top is clear and the company’s actions bear unmistakable signs of good corporate citizenship.
About Ethisphere
Ethisphere® is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere also helps to advance business performance through data-driven assessments, benchmarking, and guidance. More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com. Follow us on Twitter @Ethisphere
About Elbit Systems of America, LLC
The Elbit Systems of America workforce is comprised of roughly 2,500 employees in multiple locations across the country. All of these employees play a critical role in supporting the company’s mission to provide innovative solutions that protect and save lives. Elbit Systems of America, LLC is wholly owned by Elbit Systems Ltd., a global high technology company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative defense and commercial applications. For additional information, visit: www.ElbitSystems-US.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
AUTHOR:
Douglas Allen, M.B.A.
Managing Director of Data & Services
In this series, we share insights into the eight pillars that make up a robust ethical culture. Our eight pillars seek to get at the key metrics of a strong ethical culture: Do your employees understand what is expected of them? Do they know where to go if they have questions? And, if they need help or have made a mistake, do they trust the process enough to go through with it?
Today’s post focuses on perceptions of managers and supervisors.
PILLAR SIX:
Supervisor Perceptions
What we aim to measure:
Employee perceptions of their immediate supervisor, and whether that leader is an ethical role model and fosters an environment which encourages questions about and reporting of ethical misconduct.
Types of questions we ask:
I believe my manager is committed to ethical business conduct at all times.
I am comfortable approaching my manager with issues or questions related to ethical conduct.
My manager is consistently a role model for ethical behavior and demonstrates the importance of integrity and ethical behavior.
My manager discusses ethics or compliance related issues/topics.
Why it matters:
Based our experience and data, managers throughout the organization are the single most influential factor in establishing and maintaining a healthy ethical culture. Managers, by default of their elevated roles, become the most accessible models for how to succeed and advance your career path within an organization. Ensuring managers are modeling the type of decision-making and leadership behaviors that align with the organization’s ethical standards and directives is of paramount importance.
Managers are also the most likely channel to be used by employees when raising a concern about suspected misconduct.
It becomes a significant hurdle for the organization if there are areas within the business where employees become uncomfortable approaching their direct manager – or even their manager’s manager – with concerns.
What the data says:
This pillar tends to be an area that strongly correlates with all other areas of culture measurement:
89 percent of surveyed participants believe their manager is committed to ethical business conduct at all times
88 percent of survey participants expressed they are comfortable approaching their manager with issues or questions related to ethical conduct
76 percent of participants indicated their manager discusses ethics or compliance related issues/topics at least one per quarter on average.
Organizations within the dataset are committed to a strong ethical culture and are leaders at equipping managers to lead ethically and create an open-door environment. However, opportunities still exist to leverage managers as tone-setters for ethical culture throughout an organization.
Nearly a quarter of employees are only being reached by their managers with ethics and compliance related discussions just once per year – or not at all.
It is important to note that within our dataset, employees are more than twice as likely to be comfortable approaching their manager if there are at least quarterly discussions of ethics or compliance related issues/topics by managers.
Managers are the tide that raises all ships with respect to employee perceptions of ethical culture, so increasing the frequency of these communications should remain top of mind for all ethics and compliance functions.
How Ethisphere clients have used the data/insights:
Ethics and compliance leaders often use the data from this pillar to set the tone for manager training, helping managers understand why it is so important that they hear employee concerns, listen with an attitude of appreciation (even if it’s bad news), and know where to go for help addressing an issue or answering an employee question.
It’s also important to note that fostering a “speak up” culture provides benefits beyond ethics and compliance.
When employees feel comfortable raising ethical concerns, they will be more likely to share new product ideas, client challenges, and so much more. Preparing managers to lead teams where everyone is comfortable using their voice is time well spent.
Expert tips for your program effectiveness:
Provide managers with a variety of resources that facilitate organic discussions about ethics and compliance related topics or issues. Develop the communication assets with appropriate context that anchors the messaging in the “lived” employee experience.
Establish appropriate metrics – and rewards – for managers to assess performance and adherence to ethical standards.
Facilitate peer-to-peer knowledge transfer between managers to disseminate practical behaviors and efforts that amplify messaging from the central ethics and compliance function. Champion managers that are doing this at a high level.
As ethics and compliance leaders continue to put significant effort into their program, the question for many remains “is it working?” We hope these insights into our Ethical Culture assessment and data set are helpful in answering that question for you. If you are interested in taking a more detailed look at our data set of 1.1 million employee responses, contact us today to talk to our team about your ethical culture.
Our new Culture Corner newsletter delivers relevant data, insights, research, and current events about culture and its relationship to ethics, compliance, and risk to your inbox twice a month. In less than five minutes, you’ll learn something new that will help you make a positive impact on your culture. Sign up by completing this form.
AUTHOR:
Erica Salmon Byrne, J.D.
Executive Vice President and Chair of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA)
In this series, we share insights into the eight pillars that make up a robust ethical culture. Our eight pillars seek to get at the key metrics of a strong ethical culture: Do your employees understand what is expected of them? Do they know where to go if they have questions? And, if they need help or have made a mistake, do they trust the process enough to go through with it?
Today’s post focuses on perceptions of organizational justice.
PILLAR FIVE:
Organizational Justice
What we aim to measure:
Colloquially referred to within Ethisphere as the “Animal Farm” pillar, this group of questions focuses on employee perceptions of whether the company holds every wrongdoer accountable, regardless of rank. It also considers the awareness of discipline and the investigation process.
In other words, are all the animals equal? Or are some of them more equal than others?
Types of questions we ask:
I believe disciplinary actions are taken when individuals engage in unethical behavior or misconduct at the Company.
I believe the rules and associated disciplinary actions for unethical behavior or misconduct are the same for every employee.
If I raised a concern about unethical behavior or misconduct, I believe the Company will fully investigate it.
Why it matters:
The act of stepping forward to raise a concern is courageous. Employees want to know this act will be respected by the organization and action will be taken to properly address the concern. Perceptions of organizational justice hinge on employees believing the rules apply equitably to everyone and that no individual – regardless of stature within the organization – is above the consequences of misconduct. When an organization fails to create this sense of equality, it introduces a corrosive force that runs against efforts to establish and maintain a “speak-up” culture.
Our data shows employees who agree disciplinary actions are handled equitably are 74 percent more likely to have reported observed misconduct than participants who were unwilling to affirm such faith in equitable disciplinary measures.
When employees do not believe the organization will take the matter seriously, either through investigation or adjudication, they are forced to make a decision as to whether doing the right thing will justify the vulnerability that comes with stepping forward.
What the data says:
This pillar tends to be an area that reveals critical opportunities within organizational pockets, often determined by the strength of proactive efforts to educate the employee population about the reporting, investigations, and adjudication processes:
81 percent of surveyed participants expressed faith their company will fully investigate a reported concern about unethical behavior or misconduct.
Yet just 72 percent of participants indicate they believe disciplinary actions are taken when individuals engage in unethical behavior or misconduct at their company.
31 percent of participants did not affirm they believe the rules and associated disciplinary actions for unethical behavior are the same for every employee at their organization.
The reality is that the majority of employees are unlikely to find themselves in a position to report misconduct, participate in an investigation or be privy to the adjudication process while employed by an organization. That does not excuse an organization from making the effort to educate employees about these processes, because in that void a narrative of hearsay will become the default reality.
If it takes one instance for an organization’s reputation to experience critical damage, is it worth leaving such a determining factor about whether employees raise a concern up to hearsay?
How Ethisphere clients have used the data/insights:
The delta between the number of employees who say their organization would investigate a concern and those who are confident action would be taken varies by company but exists for every client we have worked with. The size of the delta reveals the degree to which the company needs to work to “lighten” the black box of investigations for employees to make what happens less of a mystery.
Expert tips for your program effectiveness:
Proactively outline what to expect after reporting a concern through the various modalities available to employees.
Make the investigator code of conduct readily available to all employee.
Educate the employee population about the full spectrum of disciplinary actions the organization may take, not just termination, so that an employee isn’t surprised when a colleague receives coaching in response to misconduct.
Create a simple process that allows managers to easily log any open-door report that has been brought to their attention.
As ethics and compliance leaders continue to put tremendous effort into their program, the question for many remains “is it working?” We hope these insights into our Ethical Culture assessment and data set are helpful in answering that question for you. If you are interested in taking a more detailed look at our data set of 1.1 million employee responses, contact us today to talk to our team about your ethical culture.
Have questions about ethical culture? Schedule time to talk with an Ethisphere expert, or subscribe to our “Culture Corner” newsletter to stay up-to-date on ever-changing culture trends and data. Our new Culture Corner newsletter delivers relevant data, insights, research, and current events about culture and its relationship to ethics, compliance, and risk to your inbox twice a month. In less than five minutes, you’ll learn something new that will help you make a positive impact on your culture. Sign up by completing this form.
Senior Business Executives, together with a diverse assembly of ethics and compliance leaders, will address the complexities in today’s business environment and the values that support greater corporate integrity
NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, today announced that the upper echelon of leadership from renowned multinational companies will serve on a selection of keynote panels at the upcoming 12th Annual Global Ethics Summit, which will take place virtually, from April 13-15, 2021.
This year, the 120+ faculty composition will also include executive business levels—inclusive of Chief Executive Officers and Chief Operating Officers, among the main stage conversations. This is Ethisphere’s first virtual Summit assembling hundreds of companies and over 1,000 participants from around the globe.
Distinguished speakers include:
Revathi Advaithi, Chief Executive Officer, Flex
Jo Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, AARP
Michael J. Alkire, President and Incoming CEO, Premier Inc.
Steve Rendle, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, VF Corporation
Aparna Bawa, Chief Operating Officer, Zoom Video Communications
As Ethisphere’s flagship event, the Global Ethics Summit is the premier place for companies and delegates to learn, develop, and share ideas that elevate the field of business ethics and compliance. This year’s Summit will showcase more companies and feature additional points of view while bringing together a larger community of leaders. This Summit will also provide attendees, faculty, and sponsors with close to 40 different sessions, inclusive of plenary, breakout, and select company showcases. A multimedia collection of on-demand resources will also be made available to Summit attendees this year.
Ethisphere’s member-driven Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), consists of 317+ members, and serves as a convener of respected institutions, driving greater business integrity. Over the years, the BELA community has been at the forefront of the Global Ethics Summit amplifying themes that leaders are either—addressing internally throughout the company culture, externally with stakeholder perceptions and pressures, or managing up through the C-suite and directors. The BELA community—and the entire Summit delegation have established a proven track record of creating more actionable methods for improving corporate integrity.
“Our annual Global Ethics Summit, with its mix of CEOs and compliance leaders from the BELA community, consistently provides business leaders with unique opportunities to gain deep and trusted insights into the most prevalent matters impacting business behavior. Given the weighty events of 2020, the Summit has never been more relevant than it is today,” said Kevin McCormack, Executive Director, Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). “As consumers, shareholders and stakeholders of all stripes continue to demand corporate action on social and governance issues, our diverse set of speakers including the General Counsel, CECOs, communications executives, board members, legal and regulatory leaders, and the high caliber of CEOs is sure to deliver for companies seeking new ways to think about, and address our new normal environment. The stakes have never been higher.”
Under the direction of the Summit’s Advisory Committee, which includes company leaders and executives from the BELA community, this year’s themes will focus on building the case for greater disability inclusion, driving long-term business performance, equity, and social justice, ESG, mental health and much more. Key CEOs will address new strategies for creating stakeholder value for the long term, addressing the link between profitable business and corporate purpose.
Studies, including data from Ethisphere’s 2021 Ethics Index, show how organizations with a strong ethical culture regularly outperform their market peers, which is the result of practices that demonstrate an investment in people, culture, and communities. The outperformance, which Ethisphere refers to as the “Ethics Premium,” shows that those practices, over time, lead to stronger financial performance.
Jo Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, AARP
“The last year has hit older Americans hard, between lockdowns and general fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted them more severely than any other demographic,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer, AARP. “There has arguably been no greater time for us to be advocates for our constituents, driven by our values and our integrity to serve all of them to the best of our ability. This includes how we think about equity and social justice issues that are of deep concern to an organization such as ours that is consistently a champion in seeking solutions to protect against disparate impact and discrimination. This Summit unifies business, compliance, and ethics leaders in such a way so we can not only speak with purpose on these matters but pursue collective action.”
Revathi Advaithi, Chief Executive Officer, Flex
“In these times of heightened health risks, we prioritize the safety of our people above all else. As we pivot towards greater compassion and empathy, we also elevate our ethical standards to help ensure a better future for our people, our stakeholders and our world. One of our core values is doing the right thing, always. I’m excited to share our point of view at this year’s Global Ethics Summit and look forward to exchanging ideas on ways to create long-term stakeholder value,” Revathi Advaithi, Chief Executive Officer, Flex.
Aparna Bawa, Chief Operating Officer, Zoom
The last twelve months could not have sent a stronger signal that people are at the heart of every organization and keeping them safe, connected and productive has been our top priority,” said Aparna Bawa, Chief Operating Officer, Zoom. “Global business leaders have an obligation, particularly during these difficult and challenging times, to prioritize people and the communities through which they do business. And you need to do so in a way that prioritizes company culture and values even while the business strategy may urgently shift. We know this focus is at a premium during this year’s Summit and we are excited to join Ethisphere and each and every participating company to keep us all connected with a common vision.”
Michael J. Alkire, President and Incoming CEO, Premier Inc.
“Premier understands that healthcare improvement requires continuous learning, technology innovation and collaboration with the business community,” said Michael J. Alkire, President and Incoming CEO, Premier Inc. “Ethics is at the center of healthcare, which is why our employees, members, and partners are driven by shared values that enable us to improve the health of communities. I look forward to sharing our best practices at the Global Ethics Summit to help other companies elevate their business ethics practices.”
New this year is the “Ask the Experts” series, which is available to all Global Ethics Summit attendees, who can ask questions online and receive immediate feedback from company leaders on pressing issues. The video series is available on the 2021 Global Ethics Summit platform and will include new features throughout the year.
The 3-day digital Summit experience will provide:
An extended Global Ethics Summit experience: With programming initiated in February, this year’s Global Ethics Summit will offer value beyond content and thought leadership opportunities throughout 2021.
80+ Faculty: A combination of CEOs, corporate directors, CLOs, Chief Compliance, and Chief Ethics Officers, will anchor numerous sessions with everything from thought-provoking insights on societal progress to tactical programmatic changes to better address risk in this business climate.
50+ Hours of Content: Through an “ask the experts function,” attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions online and receive immediate feedback from company leaders on pressing issues. An “ongoing company showcase” feature will also allow attendees to see real-time examples and engage with the other teams regarding issues that are important to them.
Expert Panels with pan-industry insights: Senior executives from top multinational companies will set the tone during keynotes alongside topical focused panel sessions with leading ethics and compliance leaders sharing insights and experiences on key components of successful programs.
Interactive workshops: A series of small, intimate, knowledge-sharing sessions structured to encourage satellite group video discussions around key topics and challenges companies are facing today.
Follow the conversation on Twitter under the hashtag, #GlobalEthicsSummit21.
About BELA
Founded by Ethisphere, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) is a globally recognized organization of leading companies collaborating together to share best practices in governance, risk management, compliance, and ethics. BELA’s membership has since grown to a large community of companies who recognize the inherent value of promoting ethical leadership and world-class compliance culture. Learn more about BELA by visiting http://bela.ethisphere.com. To nominate a company to join BELA, contact Director of Member Engagement Sarah Neumann at [email protected].
About Ethisphere
Ethisphere® is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust, and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include Ethics Inside® Certification and Compliance Leader Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.
