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Where Ethics and HR Collide

June 24th, 2008 @ 3:03 pm

5 Comments

Categories: Ethics, Office Life, Personal Conduct, Workplace

Tags: Human Resources, Ethics, Business Ethics, Leadership, Management, MikeM

HR and EthicsThe great majority of companies can’t afford a full-time on-board ethicist to deal with delicate conflicts of interest and other moral dilemmas. Most employees turn to their Human Resources departments.

So a study released this month by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and The Ethics Resource Center is especially interesting. The “Ethics Landscape in American Business” report surveyed some 3,000 SHRM members (all HR pros) to get their takes on such topics as organizational ethics, the role of HR in ethics, the ethical behavior of top management and the pressure to compromise ethical standards.

Among other things, the study found that:

  • 23 percent of respondents said their companies did not offer a comprehensive ethics program
  • 50 percent said they had no means of seeking ethics advice
  • 57 percent said that ethics played no part in employee evaluations
  • 19 percent said that they, as HR professionals, felt pressure to compromise their ethical standards, the pressure coming from all sides: top brass, supervisors and coworkers

Even though:

  • 83 percent said that the HR department was their organization’s primary resource for ethics-related information
  • 71 percent said HR was involved in creating their organization’s ethics policy

Judging from this survey, when it comes to establishing and upholding a code of ethics it appears that HR pros are really caught in a web of many competing interests — the company’s, managements’, employees’, the law’s and of course their own. Not a happy place. Makes you wonder if making HR responsible for ethics presents an ethical dilemma itself. But if HR can’t do it, who can and, moreover, who should?

So, where do you turn for ethics advice within in your company?

(Image courtesy matt.doane, via Flickr, CC, 2.0.)

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  •  
    1

    susanferrari

    06/25/08 | Report as spam

    Where Should "Code of Ethics" Lie within an Organization

    Interesting... we have quality control on all our products and services to ensure we satisfy our customers, however, when it comes to quality control within the personnel of our company, well, where lies the responsibility to uphold the integrity of the personnel within the company? I don't have the answer, however, in my opinion, I don't think this function should lie within HR mainly becuase HR needs to also be included in this quality control process. Hmmmmm?

  •  
    2

    ExtremeGeek

    06/25/08 | Report as spam

    better the devil you know

    Well what a quandary. I?d prefer outside review process personally. Simply because, at least the people I?ve worked with, lie for each other to protect their respective groups. I?d be fully in favor of recording all interaction so as not leave anything up to who do you believe more.

  •  
    3

    mbmattis@...

    06/25/08 | Report as spam

    Where Ethics and HR Collide

    I think you're probably right. But where does it reside if not in HR? Should it be outsourced to a 3rd-party organization you can hire on a part-time basis?

  •  
    4

    mbtompkins

    06/25/08 | Report as spam

    employees spend more time at work- than home

    Send an email stating hirng policies.

    I would talk to the leaker and have them explain what
    identity theft was and who they were trying to hurt, and how they think I should handle the other employees outrage towards them for violating them, the company and themselves. I would ask them to send an email apologizing for the violation of their privacy and the release of employees home addresses, phones, socialsecurity numbers, etc to each individual and family harmed with the release fo information.

    I would give the employee 2 weeks off with pay and if/when they return I would place them if possible in a place that they would not be able to access such sensitive documentation or grossly violate the other employees, I would not seek retaliation. However, I would make it very clear that they need to earn my trust again and that I am giving them an opportunity to do that.
    If there is no place to effectively place this person I would ask them to consider taking a severance package and explain that we have a responsibility to protect other employees. I would ask them what they think a fair severance package would be enough to get through the 13 weeks before unemployment kicks in and I would not fight it. I'd probably increase it a little too. Then I'd make it clear that upon acceptance, I would give them a verification of employment to use elsewhere (to be sure that HR would not have the opportunity to retaliate) and their record woud be sealed to prevent dislosure of the atrocity. I would wish them well.

    There is a reason for "equal pay for equal work" laws and they are good for all concerned. I would have a third party audit the HR practices of the company and if discrimination was committed I would face it with my insurance company and attorney.

    If HR was found to be abusing the staff with illegal/unfair practices, I would certainly begin the interview process of HR people and outsourcing companies that could provide the same services and would be likely to take away the accessibility to the payroll or any other thing that could violate or put my employees at risk of such exposure.

    In the meantime I would simultaneously hold meetings with management. I would already know who the informal leaders are and bring them in to see how they are as a person, and how they and others are interpreting the email and explain how difficult that it is to determine whose skills are what and how much they are worth and how well the person uses them, etc. I would assure them that I am committed to equality and have an open door policy and that anyone can call or come in anytime.

    The morale of my employees is of utmost importance to me... they are selling their lives to me one day at a time and, more oftn than not, spemd more time at the company than they are with their own families.

  •  
    5

    ndlicht1

    09/09/08 | Report as spam

    RE: Where Ethics and HR Collide

    You can not mandate ethics. It is a core belief system.

    Right and wrong, correct behavior, ethical standards, what does all of that really mean.

    Start it as acompany culture. Use assesment toos that can uncover a potentially unethical person who would lie, cheat, steal then hire using it.
    Make to comittment to creating ethical behavior by precicting it scientifically and weed out nthos who are not honest and dependable.

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