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Ethics 101 Communicating and training employees on your ethics policy is vital to the success of your organization. Many organizations have a policy in place but have not communicated it fully to achieve its optimum success. You’ve taken the time to put a policy in place in order to promote your organization as a responsible employer who values its employees and you want to protect them and your business. But if your employees don’t know about the program, how can it be effective? So what's the best way to train your employees on ethics? According to the Chief Audit Executive at the Campbell Soup Company, it all depends. A company’s ethics program depends entirely on the company.

Many businesses fear that when they launch a new Code of Conduct, or whistleblower hotline, there may be employee pushback. There's also fear that such things may create their own cluster of issues like managing internal investigations, employee discipline, and retaliation. Rarely does implementing a hotline receive employee pushback. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Not only do these reporting mechanisms satisfy the mandate of Sarbanes-Oxley for public companies, and the credibility for non-profits and private organizations, management can look better in the eyes of because they are seen as taking a stand against workplace misconduct, and valuing employee feedback.