new findings from erc’s national business ethics survey...2009 national business ethics survey...

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New Findings From ERC’s National Business Ethics Survey

Patrick J. Gnazzo, Member of ERC Board of Directors Skip Lowney, Sr. Project Manager ERCMatt Robbins, Project Manager/Researcher ERC

September 23, 2010

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Sponsors

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Agenda

Overview of NBES Research

Highlights from NBES supplemental reports

Overall findings and recommendations

What’s next?


About ERC

Non-profit organization; established in 1922

Advances high ethical standards and

practices in public and private institutions

Key activities:

Analyze current and emerging issues

Identify objective indicators for

benchmarking programs and cultures

Inform public dialogue on ethics, ethical

behavior

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About NBES

Sixth administration of NBES since 1994

3,010 participants in 2009

Surveyed over 16,000 employees since

1994

Survey in field July – August, 2009

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Timeline

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2009 National Business Ethics Survey released

November 2009

Observed Misconduct

Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers

Importance of Ethical Culture

Ethics and Employee Engagement

Retaliation for Reporting

Reporting Misconduct

February 2010

June 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

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Key Findings From NBES 2009

Misconduct at work was down

Reporting was up

Ethical cultures were stronger

More employees felt pressure to cut corners

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How does this translate into everyday

business practices?

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Questions Answered by Supplemental Reports

Do belt-tightening tactics increase employee

misconduct?

Does an ethical culture reduce risk?

Is employee engagement affected by ethics?

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Questions Answered by Supplemental Reports

How do generations view ethics and

misconduct in the workplace differently?

What are some of the trends in employee

reporting behavior?

Does retaliation really damage employee

engagement and commitment?

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Saving the Company Comes at A Cost

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Success Factors:

Regularly ask your employees how the tactics affect them

Offer career programs to employees who have been laid

off

Create a line of communication from employees to

management


The Importance of Ethical Culture

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Although overall culture and coworker culture are on the

rise, perceptions of management (top and supervisors)

are declining

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Success Factors:

The best programs are fluid and ready to adapt to

situations.

Design measurement programs tied to ethics that will

ensure management’s accountability

Have a dedicated Ethics department for the

organization



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Positive perceptions of an organization’s ethical culture

are associated with higher levels of engagement



Employees who observed misconduct were less

engaged than those who did not

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Engaged employees are more likely to report

misconduct when they witness it



Success Factors:

Host management discussion sessions with small

employee groups

Highlight ethics measurements in the annual report to

show its importance to the organization

Allow employees to donate time to local

charities/projects on the clock

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Generational Differences

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Success Factors:

Understand that the younger employees need

different information and communication strategies

If you have an “Ethics Advisory Group”, ensure there

are representatives from all age groups


Employee Reporting

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Employee Reporting


Employee Reporting

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Employee Reporting


Employee Reporting

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Employee Reporting


Employee Reporting

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Employee Reporting

Success Factors:

Include specialized reporting training for managers

Have the anonymous reporting system go through the

corporate office or offsite instead of at a local level

Provide a program that emphasizes the importance,

safety and effectiveness of reporting


Retaliation

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Retaliation


Retaliation

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Retaliation

Place holder


Retaliation

Success Factors:

Create a monthly “Ethics Report” that highlights issues

that were raised and how they were handled

Demonstrate pride in the company standards and

discuss/display them whenever possible

Be very meticulous with your process preventing

retaliation

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Top Management’s behavior has a huge impact on a

company’s ethics and culture

During times of higher scrutiny, a more favorable perception

of a company’s culture will occur

Younger employees are at a higher risk to be affected

negatively by a company’s culture

Cost saving techniques negatively impacts employees

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What We Learned


Important Tips

Executive officers provide talking

points about ethics for

supervisors and managers

Recognize the risk groups in your

organization

Train managers to handle ethical

dilemmas

Show that the leadership “gets it”

Live it

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Discussion

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Ethics Resource Center

www.ethics.org

703-647-2185

[email protected]

Thank You!

new findings from erc’s national business ethics survey...2009 national business ethics survey...

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