Unethical behavior can infect a workplace, either if an executive steals money from the company or an associate falsifies documents. The unethical behavior can damage the credibility of a company, making the business lose customers and eventually spoil the reputation of an organization. However, entrepreneurs and their management teams can work with employees to prevent unethical behavior. When employees work together for the good of their workplace, both of them benefit immensely. In this post, we will be discussing ways to forestall unethical behavior in the workplace so that the public image of the company would be adequately protected from time to time
Create a code of conduct
A written code of conduct provides employees and managers an overview of the type of conduct and behavior that the company expects. Describe what behaviors are acceptable and what measures will be taken if an employee violates the code of conduct. When the code of conduct is well spelt out, punishing erring workers would help to enforce the rules.
Lead by example
Employees are always looking up to owners and business managers to find a guideline on how to behave. As a business owner, you must make decisions based on ethics and control the people you put in leadership positions in your company by the same values. When you set a standard by your behavior and action, your subordinates would follow suit. If you do one thing and ask your employees to another thing, your employees would see through you. Getting your employees to comply to do what you say may become a herculean task simply because you are not leading by example.
Reinforce the consequences
Business owners must make their employees aware that they are responsible when they act unethically. Start by informing new employees about the rules during counseling sessions. If an employee is acting unethically, see the code of conduct and take the necessary measures to warn or fire. Always take appropriate steps to reinforce the consequences of unethical behavior to your employees.
Show appreciation for employees
Loyal employees feel that a company values the hard work they put in the performance of daily tasks. A loyal employee is less likely to act unethically. Showing appreciation to employees for a job well done on daily basis or monthly basis builds loyalty.
Organize ethics lectures
Organize ethics lecture and invite an ethics trainer to your workplace to talk about ethical behavior and explain why it is important in organizations regardless of company size or industry in which people work. Ethics trainers used role play, motivational talks, videos and brochures to illustrate the importance of ethics in the workplace. Ethics lecture would build a lot of ethic value into your employees and you would reap the dividends for developing your workforce.
Create checks and balances
Instead of putting the inherent responsibilities in the hands of an employee, creating a system of checks and balances minimizes the chances of unethical behavior. For example, a seller enters the customer purchases, while a counter takes stock of the books to ensure that all payables are received and documented. Check and balances help to measure accountability of each section of your company.
Use value-based scale when hiring employees
When employers hire employees, many want to get people who have the education and experience shows that they are qualified, able to handle the tasks of office workers. Employers who want to prevent unethical behavior should also consider the value-based scale of the candidates to make sure they fit with the company culture. Employing the service of recruitment consult may be of immense help here. Recruitment consult will make use of every tool to ensure that your employees are employed based on qualification and value-based scale.
If all these advice are followed, preventing unethical behavior that may tarnish company image would be completely avoided and the reputation of the company will soar. The trust and credibility rating of companies that follow these aforementioned guidelines are always high. These are worth giving a try to boost company image and nip unethical behavior in the bud.
