“One shot” ethics training is useless and a waste of money.

We all know the need for ethics training, now all we need is ethics!

There are so many possibilities, for all budgets in developing impactful ethics training.
Organizations that are genuine in their desire to offer ethics training to all employees should seriously consider developing a fully integrated ethics training program.
In my experience for over 20 years in ethics training, I believe that such ethics training programs should minimally require the following:

1. A comprehensive mission/values statement and/or code of conduct that all employees know and fully understand. (I suggest reviewing and updating these documents every two years.)
2. Communication vehicles that are generally popular among employees (intranet, classes, manuals, staff meetings, email) where messages from executives and/or well respected individuals reinforce the company’s focus on good business ethics, on an ongoing basis. (Not just a one time deal).
3. Training sessions that not only define behavior but apply principles to situations that employees actually face in their business dealings. The use of case studies, interactive activities, decision making strategies and techniques are vital in providing any credible training program.
Have you ever visited a place of business where it appeared that ALL employees ‘got the memo’ on how to treat each customer with the utmost respect? Customer service first? Integrity and ethics above all?
So what’s the culture of your organization? How has it been communicated? By the behavior of the executives? Via email, intranet? By the unwritten ‘rules’? How are messages circulated and communicated in your organization? How do you know what is acceptable behavior and what is not?
Therefore, when it comes to ethics training and developing a culture of integrity, values and ethics, a well planned, fully integrated, ongoing training program is definitely worth the investment.