It’s Always the Right Time to Do the Right Thing

Written by: Dr. Kathy Gennuso

Yes, it’s January – holidays are over and it’s cold! But it’s getting lighter with occasional brilliant blue skies offering hope while we struggle. That’s why it’s a great month to reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr., and his words. And what better time than the New Year to bring them into the workplace?!

A culture of ethics and compliance goes beyond good policies and procedures, dedicated staff, sufficient compliance resources, or electronic management reports. It articulates a sense of responsibility “to do the right thing” and mitigate risk consistently throughout the organization.  Building and sustaining this culture requires both top-down and bottom-up support — from boardroom to front line — providing all employees tools to identify, manage, and reduce risk.

In an institutionalized culture lacking direction, discipline, and visible ethical expectations, misguided employees may unwittingly do the wrong thing even in the face of seemingly good policies.

Honest review time. . . does the culture you work in do the following?

• Provide employees means and opportunities to raise issues and identify/discuss risks
• Practice transparency – accessibility to past assessments, issue resolution, and historical trends — allowing managers to understand likelihood of adverse events and potential impact
• Streamline assessment processes and standardize terminology, scoring and weighting systems across the organization
• Centralize the library of information, regulations, policies, and procedures — a single, reliable, comprehensive source
• Foster intelligent decision-making with accurate, timely, relevant risk data.

Hope your organization scored well and is doing the “right thing.” If so, 2015 should be a great year for you and colleagues!