Codes Of Conduct – How To Make Them Worth More Than The Paper They Are Written On
Codes Of Conduct – How To Make Them Worth More Than The Paper They Are Written On
There are lots of strategies to manage your people, and one of the most important is having clear shared understanding about the expected and acceptable behaviour while in your workplace. You also need to specify clear boundaries on what is unacceptable behaviour – what lines that if an employee crosses will potentially mean they could lose their job.
Unless you have an up front and frank discussion about your expectations during the first day of employment, you are setting yourself up for more challenge than is necessary. You generally end up having to go back and have the discussion at a later time – usually when your employee has broken one of your unwritten rules and has ticked you off in the process.
It also makes it easier on the employee to become productive earlier – they are not having to second guess “how we do things around here”.
Ideally your baseline expectations need to be documented. This will make it very clear to an employee what is expected and the consequences for not meeting these expectations, and makes it easy for the employee and you to refer back to if they stray from the path. It will also assist you if ever you are taken to court in the future for unfair dismissal.
So, what needs to go in your Code of Conduct? Let’s start with the basics – what behaviour do you want to see? Always start with a statement of what behaviour you want to see exhibited by your employees – so they know what to head towards. Remember, what you focus on you receive, so focus on the positive aspects.
That said, you also need to set some boundaries and these need to include obeying lawful instructions. This includes things such as complying with professional association rules as well as workplace health & safety.
Next, consider aspects of respecting other employees and your clients. This needs to include all aspects from verbal and physical behaviour through to discrimination and harassment.
I usually recommend a section on integrity which includes privacy, confidentiality and the need to report conflicts of interest to you.
Diligence is one of the most litigated areas so needs careful attention. This is where you specify things such as regular lateness, wasting time, alcohol & drugs and attitude. Many people lose their jobs over lack of diligence, but unless you have clearly spelt out what you expect, you potentially are leaving yourself open for cases before the courts.
Finally – consider something on efficiency which includes features such as not stealing or wasting resources or property and taking unexcused absences.
Great – you have your Code of Conduct. Now what? Have you included consequences for breaching your Code? You need to help your employees know what could happen if they break your rules. The consequences need to be directly in relation to the seriousness of the breach. For example – you don’t generally sack someone for being 15minutes late to work. However, if they are regularly late and you have a number of verbal and documented written warning sessions with them then maybe termination for being 15 minutes late is acceptable.
To make your Code more than just paper here are a couple of strategies:
1. Talk it through with your employees. Talk them through as part of their induction process what each point means to you and why it is there.
2. Give them some hypothetical examples so they can make some decisions about whether or not the example is within your Code. Hypotheticals are a great way to explore possibilities and boundaries in a non confrontational manner.
3. Talk about the Code in your team meetings. This doesn’t have to be a “hit them over the head” conversation, but can be a “one company I know had this sort of situation and this is what they did” sort of conversation.
4. Ask your employees if they think a particular piece of behaviour is breaching your Code.
The bottom line is you need to let your employees know what is expected of them so they can meet your expectations. Otherwise – they will be just trying to catch shadows.
Codes Of Conduct How To Make Them Worth More Than The Paper They Are Written On - To learn more about this author, visit Ingrid Cliff's Website.
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When businesses grow enough to hire employees, they often don't have a Code of Conduct in place – they hire someone on a “handshake” type arrangement, without having thought through fully all of the implications of the deal. This person is going to be representing you and your company to your clients, will be in your premises and gain access to all of your knowledge and resources. How can you make sure that what starts out with great promise will continue to grow in a positive way and not shrivel and die?
There are lots of strategies to manage your people, and one of the most important is having clear shared understanding about the expected and acceptable behaviour while in your workplace. You also need to specify clear boundaries on what is unacceptable behaviour – what lines that if an employee crosses will potentially mean they could lose their job.
Unless you have an up front and frank discussion about your expectations during the first day of employment, you are setting yourself up for more challenge than is necessary. You generally end up having to go back and have the discussion at a later time – usually when your employee has broken one of your unwritten rules and has ticked you off in the process.
It also makes it easier on the employee to become productive earlier – they are not having to second guess “how we do things around here”.
Ideally your baseline expectations need to be documented. This will make it very clear to an employee what is expected and the consequences for not meeting these expectations, and makes it easy for the employee and you to refer back to if they stray from the path. It will also assist you if ever you are taken to court in the future for unfair dismissal.
So, what needs to go in your Code of Conduct? Let’s start with the basics – what behaviour do you want to see? Always start with a statement of what behaviour you want to see exhibited by your employees – so they know what to head towards. Remember, what you focus on you receive, so focus on the positive aspects.
That said, you also need to set some boundaries and these need to include obeying lawful instructions. This includes things such as complying with professional association rules as well as workplace health & safety.
Next, consider aspects of respecting other employees and your clients. This needs to include all aspects from verbal and physical behaviour through to discrimination and harassment.
I usually recommend a section on integrity which includes privacy, confidentiality and the need to report conflicts of interest to you.
Diligence is one of the most litigated areas so needs careful attention. This is where you specify things such as regular lateness, wasting time, alcohol & drugs and attitude. Many people lose their jobs over lack of diligence, but unless you have clearly spelt out what you expect, you potentially are leaving yourself open for cases before the courts.
Finally – consider something on efficiency which includes features such as not stealing or wasting resources or property and taking unexcused absences.
Great – you have your Code of Conduct. Now what? Have you included consequences for breaching your Code? You need to help your employees know what could happen if they break your rules. The consequences need to be directly in relation to the seriousness of the breach. For example – you don’t generally sack someone for being 15minutes late to work. However, if they are regularly late and you have a number of verbal and documented written warning sessions with them then maybe termination for being 15 minutes late is acceptable.
To make your Code more than just paper here are a couple of strategies:
1. Talk it through with your employees. Talk them through as part of their induction process what each point means to you and why it is there.
2. Give them some hypothetical examples so they can make some decisions about whether or not the example is within your Code. Hypotheticals are a great way to explore possibilities and boundaries in a non confrontational manner.
3. Talk about the Code in your team meetings. This doesn’t have to be a “hit them over the head” conversation, but can be a “one company I know had this sort of situation and this is what they did” sort of conversation.
4. Ask your employees if they think a particular piece of behaviour is breaching your Code.
The bottom line is you need to let your employees know what is expected of them so they can meet your expectations. Otherwise – they will be just trying to catch shadows.
Codes Of Conduct How To Make Them Worth More Than The Paper They Are Written On - To learn more about this author, visit Ingrid Cliff's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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