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Safeguard your organization against unethical practices

We won't easily forget the Enron scandal of 2002. Enron grew into America's seventh largest company, only to crumble amid lies about their profits. While intelligence and hard work contributed to the rise of Enron, a lack of integrity and ethics caused it to fall into the rumble of bankruptcy.

What does your business do to ensure your employees are making ethical business decisions? Do you have a formal ethics program?

In today's world, a strong ethics foundation can ultimately help a company thrive and survive during hard times. A workplace committed to ethical business standards isn't just a passing trend.

The good, the bad and the unethical
There is a common misconception that only "bad" companies need ethics reform. Not true. Every company can benefit from a formal ethics program. Much of a company's reputation can be directly linked to the strength of their ethics leadership and program; and reputation directly relates to market capitalization. Note the correlation in the Business Ethics' listing of its Best Corporate Citizens: General Mills, Intel, Proctor & Gamble, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Avon.

On the reverse side, poor corporate principles clearly have their consequences. Since the Enron scandal, both the media and the market are ready to pounce and run with accusations of corporate misdeeds. Once the media and market react, damage is already done. It's important to put safeguards in place to encourage employees to identify and report questionable practices before they get out of hand - or reach the newspapers.

Educate the masses
A successful ethics program should involve every person in the company, not just managers and executives. Employees at all levels make business decisions and can therefore face ethical dilemmas. By training your entire workforce on your ethics policies, you ensure a common set of expectations and understanding. You empower your employees with information to help them know the difference between right and wrong, and that's critical for employees making important decisions about your company.

Establishing an ethics program can take time. Employees should be trained annually to ensure they understand your company's position on ethics. Once you've established a working ethics program, your employees should feel more comfortable with any ethical dilemma they encounter and know what resources are available. You can be sure your ethics program is successful when your workplace culture helps employees make the right choices, even when the right choice might be more difficult.

Manage ethical concerns
Ceridian can help your organization manage its ethics program and stay compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Ceridian Ethics Hotline powered by Ethicspoint offers employees access to an anonymous toll-free phone number and Internet reporting site. Critical information is communicated to employers in confidential, actionable reports that are promptly sent to the designated ethics contact within your organization. Ethics Hotline also summarizes activities for an employer so senior managers and auditors can identify trends in ethical issues being reported.

To learn more about Ceridian Ethics Hotline, contact your Ceridian representative.