Corporate Compliance and Ethics week is in May: Now’s the time to plan!

I had an inquiry last week from a pharmaceutical company about presenting a series of ethics training programs for their Compliance and Ethics Week programming in May.
I ,then, started to research a number of venues that some organizations are planning for this week in May and was somewhat confused at what I read.
Activities like an “Ethics Scramble” which is to unscramble ethical words; Ethics crossword puzzles; ethics quizzes with yes and no answers, ethics Sudoku, have their place, but how do these “one shot” activities make ethics a vital priority? This seems to give the impression that ethics can be a game and may be seen as “watering down” the importance and value of ethics.
So what is your organization doing to do to focus on and re-enforce the importance of ethics to your people not just that week, but all year long?
The first week of May, specifically, is set aside for this emphasis. Chances are that compliance and its enforcement are everyday occurrences and should be, but is ethics? Why not take this week, in particular, to plan substantive, relevant ethics programs for your people? To make this happen, there needs to be:1.Current ethics research; 2. Practical applications of sound ethical theory and techniques to gauge effectiveness; 3. Discernment as who will do this training to make it challenging and relevant.
It is the end of January and now is the time to plan, create and implement a week’s work of ethics programming that is complementary to your compliance program, and customized for your organization. Please don’t waste the opportunity this week offers your organization, invest in quality that maybe incorporates the quizzes, Sudoku, puzzles, etc, as part of your total ethics programming for your people.
Make this year’s Compliance and Ethics week one that is memorable, informative, creative and one that everyone will remember positively, act upon consistently and hopefully, request more of this type of training.
Remember, people will do the right thing, if you give them the right tools and teach them how to use them!

fbucaro

Like you, business ethics and ethical leadership expert, Frank Bucaro has seen the challenges and problems of corporate leadership, particularly over the past few years in regards to poor decision-making, SEC violations, and record breaking financial settlements in a number of different industries. With over two decades of executive training, speaking, writing and with real life experiences, his view and approach to ethics in the workplace is uniquely different. He emphasizes that ethics is a moment-to-moment choice and has little to do with position, titles, personalities or education. Ethics is everybody’s responsibility from the top down. His goal is to help organizations to: a. Strengthen their ethics training initiatives in order to significantly decrease the odds of an ethical/compliance violation. b. Energize, train and motivate employees to understand the value of consistent “high road” behavior as a business advantage. c. Support individuals and thereby the organization by contributing to its success by quality, ongoing values based leadership development. Frank is known for his very practical, slightly irreverent, yet somewhat humorous approach to ethics and leadership development. His conversational style and real life stories connect with his audience in a personal, intense and practical level. Companies such as Bayer Healthcare, BP, ReMax International, EnMax Energy, Danone, etc. have partnered with Frank when they want to proactively stress the message, tools, insights and practical applications that good ethics IS good for business!