How to set up ethical management in your company?

Ensuring the well-being of employees, acting for the protection of the environment, demonstrating integrity and transparency to stakeholders… The ethical dimension can take many forms within the company. To establish and transmit such values, the manager plays a decisive role. Here are some tips for Implement ethical management in your company.

 

What is ethical management?

Ethical management is based on moral values integrity, respect, ethics, benevolence and fairness, in parallel with a search for performance and profitability. Ethics, in the business world, can be translated both at the collective level (i.e. the actions of the company as a legal entity), and at the individual level (i.e. the behaviour of employees, managers, leaders, etc.).

The challenge for a manager who adopts an ethical line of conduct is therefore to respect the various rules established while ensuring the productivity and operational efficiency of the teams.

 

 

Why adopt ethical management?

Integrating an ethical dimension into one’s management style is a major challenge for the company. This initiative, if carried out effectively, can lead to the

Boost the attractiveness of the company, enhance the brand image, strengthen the competitive advantage, but above all solidify the support and commitment of employees.

There is also a legal issue important. Indeed, many laws now govern business ethics, such as the GDPR (Personal Data Protection Regulation); the Sapin 2 law (Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics), on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernisation of economic life, which requires the adoption of a code of conduct ; the law on the duty of vigilance…

In addition, adopting ethical practices that reflect a true moral sense will also play an important role in the acquisition of talent and in the attractiveness of the employer brand.

 

 

How to set up ethical management?

Here are some concrete steps to establish ethical governance and management within your company.

 

Carry out an inventory of fixtures

The first step prior to any profound transformation is to carry out an inventory of the situation meticulous. In particular, the following questions will need to be answered: What are the Ethical practices already existing? Can they be strengthened? What are the possible failures? What practices can be deployed to ensure an ethical code of conduct at the individual, collective and organizational levels? Management style Is the current policy aligned with the company’s values? Is the company in Compliance with the various legal obligations that govern business ethics?

This analysis can be carried out with the various managers and key employees.

 

Define an ethical charter

Drafting an ethical charter is a central action in the implementation of ethical management. This document must exhaustively list the different Rules, procedures, practices, behaviours and management methods encouraged on the one hand, and prohibited on the other. This must be achieved at all levels of the company, both internally and externally to stakeholders. All these elements will have to be gradually integrated into the the culture of the company.

This charter can include a code of conduct to be respected, CSR (corporate social responsibility) actions to be carried out on the environmental level (better management of resources, eco-gestures, etc.), social and economic, and the ethical practices to be adopted on a commercial, legal, fiscal, managerial level, etc.

This reference framework must then be communicated to the various employees, and be the subject of regular monitoring and revision of the various rules of conduct established.

To strengthen this initiative, it is possible to appoint an ethics officer, or to create an ethics committee within the company.

In addition, it can be very beneficial to call on an interim manager to carry out such change management, or to train your managers in this type of leadership.

 

Putting the well-being of teams at the heart of management

Responsible, ethical and fair management puts the well-being of employees first.

The manager must therefore show fairness, respect, benevolence, listening… He helps his teams progress by developing their skills, training them regularly, promoting the autonomy of each person and rewarding employees.

The human resources department plays an essential role in this approach, in order to ensure non-discrimination in hiring, a good work-life balance, quality of life at work, and a gender pay balance.

 

Setting an example

In order to establish a professional ethic, managers must also set an example, through behaviour that advocates transparency, honesty, trust and respect for others, even in emergency situations, stressful situations, or in potentially conflictual contexts.

Here again, the strategic challenge lies in the implementation, on a daily basis, of codes of ethics despite the search for economic results and performance.