Want a Good Code of Conduct? It’s Not About How Pretty It Looks.

Over the past 15 years, corporate Codes of Conduct have gone from dense single-spaced text to colorful brochures of stock photos and snazzy graphic designs that span anywhere from 20 to 80 pages.

The better a Code of Conduct looks, the thinking goes, the better it can show the outside world that the company is serious about its ethics and compliance efforts.

But a good-looking Code does not always mean an effective one. While thoughtful design can be helpful, the real work behind a good Code of Conduct is how it is written, communicated, and adopted by employees to guide their day-to-day work.

We’ve seen a text and legalese-heavy Code of Conduct used extremely well because the CEO memorized important sections and personally reviewed them with new hires. We’ve also seen a beautifully designed one that touts trust and integrity as core values shortly before the company paid a 9-figure fine for bribery.

Below are suggestions that companies of any size can follow to get the most out of their Codes of Conduct:

1. Tailor it for the intended audience. Most professional Code writers know to set the right tone and write for an appropriate grade level. However, what’s even more effective is to match the terminology and language that the company already uses in its mission statement and other business communications; speak with key stakeholders to identify focus areas and to gain buy-in; and use realistic examples or other features to enhance understanding in those areas.

2. Make information easy to find, and don’t make it longer than it needs to be. Get your important points across and use content features to facilitate understanding, but don’t write excessive prose or use too many meaningless stock photos. Your employees will appreciate being able to find information quickly without reading or flipping through pages of fluff.

3. Provide the Code in formats and at locations that employees can find easily. Depending on your employee populations, this could be printed and distributed, uploaded on an intranet, presented on an interactive web page, or all of the above. It is more important that employees know where to find it than to stress over which format(s) to use.

4. Communicate to employees that the Code means business. Designing and writing the Code is the easy part; making sure it’s effective takes a lot more work than hitting “send” in your email. The communication plan should involve the CEO down to the first line manager. Ideally, managers would be provided with supporting tools such as a manager’s guide or discussion kits to help them serve as super-users of the Code throughout the organization.

5. Give the Code teeth. None of the above matters if those who violate the Code do not suffer any consequences. Employees value fairness. Treating Code violators equally regardless of position or status is essential to having a Code that works. As a real-life example, Ford fired the President of North America for behavior “inconsistent with the company’s code of conduct.” You can read about it here.

Depending on the maturity of your company’s ethics & compliance program, some of the suggestions may be more difficult to achieve than others. That’s OK. Strengthening the Code of Conduct, and the ethics & compliance program in general, is a marathon, not a sprint. Any effort invested will lead you closer to the ultimate goal.

Contact us to learn more about how Principle Compliance can help improve your company’s Code of Conduct:

• Authoring and design
• Interactive online Code development
• Communication planning and implementation
• Manager’s guide and discussion kits