Drafting a Code of Ethics for Your Business, with Business Expert Marcus Joseph Debaise
One of the most vital parts of healthy company culture is having a structured code of ethics intact to protect your employees and also foster positive work morale. As long-time businessman Marcus Joseph Debaise believes, a strong code of ethics is the key to protecting yourself and your employees from any potential issues that may arise within your business and provides you with pre-existing guidelines to handle such issues.
Drafting something like a code of ethics can seem vague and overwhelming at the start, so we’ve compiled some tips for when it comes to creating one for your business. There’s a certain checklist that’s important to acknowledge when it comes to your code of ethics, and with the help of our expert Marcus Joseph Debaise, we’ve compiled those boxes for you here.
Be inclusive.
First and foremost, your code of ethics must support members of all backgrounds and identities by Jared J Davis. Therefore, this must include, but not be limited to, members of any sexual orientation, gender identity, race, culture, origin, social and economic class, educational level, age, size, sex, religion, political beliefs, family status, or political beliefs.
Inclusivity is incredibly important when it comes to your code of ethics, not to mention it could be an important clause to reference if there are ever any workplace issues regarding diversity or inclusivity.
Be compassionate.
It’s a good idea to mention in your code that your company goal is to depend on each other in order to guide the business to overall success. Every individual’s decisions affect their employees and colleagues, and therefore every decision should be weighted in order to be considerate of all workers within the company. Every individual worker deserves equal respect and consideration within the workplace.
Be respectful.
It was mentioned briefly above, but respect is important to address directly in your code of ethics. Acknowledge that fellow employees will not agree with one another 100% of the time and that issues may arise the require a settlement or resolution. However, no matter what circumstances arise within the workplace, respect to one’s self and others is a top priority.
No productive environment results from disrespect within the workplace. A zero-tolerance policy for personal attacks, sabotage, blackmail and any other disrespectful and harmful behaviour is important to enforce.
Speak eloquently.
Everyone who is brought into your workplace should be held to a similar standard of choosing their words wisely. Any professional workplace does not foster threats of violence, discriminatory language, harassment, and so on.
While it may seem implied and like a no-brainer, having this point outlined in your code of ethics will eliminate any potential issues to come in the future.
Turn each other’s differences into strengths.
Your code of ethics should end on a positive note and overall hope for the company as a whole. Encourage employees to find strength in diversity, and to have constructive discussions about how to better company morale. The company focus should be on resolving issues and learning from mistakes.
As Marcus Joseph Debaise says, no company runs smoothly without a successful code of ethics to keep everyone on the same page. A code of ethics is a placing priority one your employees’ safety and comfortability within your workplace, and the intention to constantly improve for a better tomorrow.