Most of our clients use Emtrain for their ongoing mandatory training. We end up spending a lot of time thinking: how can we make required training more interesting and impactful for employees? A hot topic for us is the employee Code of Conduct, the written rules of business. We’ve spent the last several months completely rethinking our approach. Consequently, we have developed new strategies.
Emtrain’s Code of Conduct Training course is always up to date with industry best practices and principles. We go even beyond by setting a benchmark for ethical conduct and organizational integrity. Picture the insightful messaging of brands such as Hershey, the transparent mission and value propositions like Google, and the commitment to accountability shown by Starbucks through their annual corporate Code of Conduct report.
The Importance of Code of Conduct
How do we bring Code of Conduct to life for employees? How do we inspire them to live it every day?
Invite them in
Your Code of Conduct applies to each and every worker in your organization and the choices they make every day. Include a message from senior leadership in your Code of Conduct, inviting employees to own their part in it and instilling a sense of trust and accountability in leadership.
Get everyone on the same page
As an organization, you’re all on the same team; success or failure happens together. We’re working harder, working faster, and if you’re like most companies, your employee base is getting more diverse. In other words, we need to prioritize respect, and improve the way we communicate and collaborate, especially when under pressure. Therefore, when you roll out your Code of Conduct training, it’s a chance to reinforce respectful teamwork.
Tell them what you expect, and why it’s important
Your company mission and vision, and rules and requirements, should be designed for collective success. For example, when someone makes an unethical decision, harms a colleague, or violates a policy. This brings the whole company down. It diverts resources from doing the positive and productive things that lead to success. Be sure to communicate the link between your Code of Conduct and the business’s bottom line.
Give them context
For example, when you’re training people on your Code of Conduct, give them examples of situations that go wrong—and how to fix them. Specifically, these scenarios can illustrate the practical application of respectful communication and collaboration. Help employees understand common areas where people make poor decisions. Give examples of situations with different outcomes: one where someone makes a bad choice, along with the alternate ending, where someone pauses, reconsiders, and makes the better choice. Going through an example gives people a mental exercise that prepares them for the next time they’re in a similar difficult moment.
Ask them what they think
In short, no organization is perfect, but how healthy is yours? How do you know how effective your Code of Conduct is (aside from tallying up violations)? Ask employees what they think:
- How do colleagues typically respond to difficult situations?
- Would they give feedback to a colleague who is behaving badly?
- Would they report an ethics issue?
- Do they think management would take their complaint seriously if they made one?
See How Emtrain Can Help
We help our clients transform their Code of Conduct requirement from a hurry-up-and-click-through PDF to a modern interactive experience online. Ultimately, our course focuses on the skills needed to create a healthy and ethical workplace culture while connecting them to your mission and values. By staying ahead of emerging trends and evolving regulatory landscapes, we ensure that our training remains relevant and effective in addressing the dynamic challenges of today’s business environment. Our goal is to help figure out what’s really driving the behaviors, emotions, and ethics of your employees, in an experience that they’ll actually appreciate.
See how we introduce our Code of Conduct course on our YouTube channel and sign up to demo the code of conduct training course.
