In this article I explain the intricacies of Integrity in the Workplace and posit a plan to implement it using a roadmap and timeline of things to do and when.
What is Integrity?
Integrity is driven by a combination of internal and external factors, both psychological and social, that influence an individual’s commitment to ethical principles and moral behaviour.
What is important to say from the outset is businesses do not ‘have’ integrity.
That is a big statement to make. But when you think about it, it is intuitive. Because it is people that have (or do not have) integrity. Businesses set the desire for the trait in their staff by deploying various processes and policies to guide their staff to be ethical and have a moral compass. And that is what this article discusses, how an individual’s moral compass is important to a business and how business can inculcate a sense of ‘right’.
Here are some of the key drivers of integrity…
Personal Values and Beliefs
Integrity is often rooted in deeply held personal values such as honesty, fairness, and responsibility. These values shape one’s sense of right and wrong, guiding behaviour even in challenging situations.
A strong moral compass, shaped by cultural, religious, or philosophical beliefs, helps individuals make decisions that align with their principles.
Self-Respect and Identity
People with high integrity often have a strong sense of self-respect and self-identity that is tied to being honest and principled.
What you will immediately notice from this initial few paragraphs is the drivers of integrity are innately personal. This identifies a challenge to employers because it is difficult to get to know staff until they are actually in a role. This is why who you employ is fundamentally critical to your business. Not just for their competence in role, but for their beliefs and values. That subject, how to select the ‘rght’ staff is a whole other subject and I only briefly touch it here.
How does culture impact personal integrity?
Culture plays a significant role in shaping personal integrity by influencing the values, norms, and behaviours that individuals consider acceptable or ethical. But how does culture impact personal integrity?
Cultural Values and Norms
In collectivist cultures, integrity may be closely tied to loyalty and adherence to group norms, emphasising the welfare of the community or family over individual preferences. In contrast, individualistic cultures might stress personal responsibility and the integrity of the self, encouraging individuals to stand by their principles even if it means going against the group.
Some cultures prioritise directness and transparency, viewing these as integral to integrity, while others may value harmony and indirect communication, where integrity might involve protecting relationships, even if it means not being entirely transparent.
I witnessed this type of cultural norm in Afghanistan where a general rule of thumb was: Family, then village, then tribe, then country. With the country often not even a consideration when the populus considered their options. Loyalty always started with family and few trusted each other outside of their immediate close associations. This kind of cultural background is informed by those in power, including in business.
Coming to a conclusion whether the UK is a collectivist or Individualist culture is no mean feat. The drive from the top of politics and the media would have very different viewpoints on it. What actually is UK, of British culture? The battle with ‘wokism’ and the recent riots surrounding the right of others to live here example two very different points at the end of a long continuum.
As a company HX5 Encrypted connect people within companies to improve not only the culture of the company but also the ability to protect the brand and reputation of it. Consider whistleblowing and the story around Jes Staley the Barclays chairman. The damage done by Staley wasn’t just to internal trust in their own systems to be an ethical business. It also damaged their brand externally. And for me, most importantly, he damaged Barclays perception of integrity. This is because culture, tone and ethics are set from the top. When the top then show a side that lacks in morality, it pervades right through the organisation to lose trust in the businesses policies and processes. That can take years to repair because employees are adults and understand the tacit world about them. They understand words are not deeds and actions. When a person at the pinnacle shows bad form, it is understood to be company wide not just in that one individual.
Social Expectations and Pressure
Cultural expectations can create pressure to conform to societal norms, even if they conflict with personal values. For example, in a culture where corruption is widespread, maintaining personal integrity might be more challenging due to societal acceptance of unethical practices. While I was in Afghanistan, one of the most corrupt countries in the world (transparency International index), it was immediately evident trust in each other was a hard won thing. Certainly coming from outside the culture, the first six months was spent building trust with a mentee, not actually achieving any forward progress. This exemplifies, for me, the importance of understanding cultural norms within cultures other than our own – especially when recruiting new staff or contracting long supply chains outside of a businesses operstional culture.
We can help with this to reduce your exposure to trade compliance and supply side risk.
In cultures with strong concepts of honour and shame, personal integrity is often linked to maintaining the honour of oneself and one’s family or community. The fear of bringing shame can drive individuals to uphold integrity, even in difficult circumstances. However, it can also drive behaviours that are abhorrent, in particular in honour based crime.
Religious and Ethical Systems
Many cultures are deeply influenced by religious teachings that prescribe ethical behaviour. Adherence to these teachings can be a major driver of personal integrity, as individuals seek to align their actions with their religious values.
Philosophical and ethical traditions within a culture provide frameworks for what is considered moral behaviour, which in turn shapes personal integrity. For instance, Confucianism emphasises the importance of righteousness and moral duty, which can influence how individuals in Confucian-influenced societies view integrity.
Cultural Models and Role Models
Cultural heroes, leaders, and historical figures who are celebrated for their integrity can serve as role models, shaping how individuals within that culture understand and aspire to integrity. This type of role model can also lift morale and so in organisations where there are over 100/150 staff, it is important the leadership visibily lead on integrity and ethics. Setting standards that others will naturally follow as the workforce culture inculcates into staff norms.
Stories, literature and media within a culture often highlight examples of integrity or its absence, reinforcing what behaviours are valued or condemned. In society, this can be seen in drink-driving in the UK, which was once widespread and accepted, it is now shunned in public life. During my time in the Cayman Islands I experienced drink-driving in society that was accepted and it was responsible for horrendous road traffic accidents – of which there were many. This evidenced, for me, that even when repeated stories of the accidents in the press, societal acceptance is a hard concept to influence and change. Especially when leadership fail to set standards and are complicit with the bad behaviour – stories of acceptance at the top of politics preventing meaningful change.
Legal and Institutional Frameworks
In cultures with a strong rule of law, integrity may be reinforced by legal systems that uphold justice and accountability. Conversely, in cultures where the rule of law is weak (or perceived corrupt), maintaining integrity may require individuals to navigate complex moral dilemmas. This is evident in Albania where a societal ruleset replaces an ineffective judiciary, this ruleset called ‘Kanun’ is a customary rules based system that goes back centuries. The system holds families to account for crimes committed by their members and can cause feuds that go back generations between families.
Cultural Change and Globalisation
As cultures interact through globalisation, individuals are exposed to diverse ethical standards, which can challenge or reinforce their personal integrity. This interaction can lead to a re-evaluation of one’s values in light of new perspectives.
Culture deeply influences what is considered integral or ethical behaviour, shaping personal integrity through a complex interplay of values, social expectations, religious and ethical systems, and legal frameworks. The question is how does a company influence personal integrity to ensure their operations and culture remain ethical? Especially as they go global and operate through internal operations or external supply or trade chains.
How can a business implement strong integrity and ethical behaviours in a workforce?
Implementing strong integrity and ethical behaviour in a workforce is crucial for a business’s long-term success and reputation. There are several factors to influence it.
Establish a Clear Code of Ethics
Create a comprehensive code of ethics that outlines the values, principles, and standards expected from all employees. This document should cover issues such as honesty, fairness, respect, confidentiality, and conflict of interest.
Ensure that all employees are aware of the code of ethics through regular training sessions, onboarding processes, and internal communications. The code should be easily accessible, possibly on the company intranet and/or in employee handbooks.
Lead by Example
Leaders and managers should display model ethical behaviour in their daily actions. When leadership demonstrates integrity, it sets the tone for the rest of the organisation and encourages employees to follow suit.
It creates trust.
Maintain open and honest communication from the top down. Leaders should be transparent about decision-making processes, especially in difficult situations, to build trust within the organisation and keep staff engaged and following ethical leadership, trusting in a new found set of cultural norms.
Embed Ethics into Corporate Culture
Integrate ethical principles into the company’s mission, vision, and core values. Make these values a central part of the company culture by recognising and rewarding ethical behaviour.
Provide ongoing ethics training that helps employees understand how to apply ethical principles in their work. This could include workshops, seminars, and e-learning modules focused on real-life scenarios and dilemmas. It could be just as simple as reinforcing messaging in each daily contact by managers. Training can take the form of inculcating behaviour through daily interactions, not just formal training. Seeing and doing, not just ‘telling’.
Implement Accountability Mechanisms
Establish confidential reporting channels (e.g., hotlines or online platforms) where employees can report unethical behaviour without fear of retaliation. This encourages accountability and helps identify issues early.
Outline the consequences of unethical behaviour clearly. Ensure that disciplinary actions are consistently applied, regardless of an employee’s position within the company. This is fundamentally critical. There is little point writing policies and putting staff through training because what they see influences more than what they are told.
Seeing is believing.
Encourage Open Communication and Ethical Dialogue
Encourage employees to discuss ethical dilemmas openly with their peers or managers. Creating forums or discussion groups can help in tackling complex ethical issues collectively. Spending time to discuss issues outside of work to ensure employees know what the ‘company’ thinks and reassure staff around the intent to always be ethical and reinforce integrity.
Foster a culture where feedback is encouraged and valued. Employees should feel comfortable raising concerns or suggesting improvements to ethical practices. As the new workforce begin work, the generations coming through into the workplace in the 2020’s expect more from their employer. They have been taught to expect good standards and they have opinions that in days gone by employees would have kept to themselves. They are more challenging and more likely to report transgressions of bad behaviour. While some organisations might see this as a challenge, those that are ethical and have a strong culture will harness this challenge, see it as positive and use it to drive positive change. Poor organisations will shune it, close it down, lose staff through it and hold on to a risk that poor behaviour leaks externally exposing wrongdoing and damaging reputation and brand.
Align Incentives with Ethical Behaviour
Create incentives that reward ethical behaviour, such as recognition programs, bonuses, or career advancement opportunities tied to ethical conduct.
Ensure that performance metrics and rewards do not inadvertently encourage unethical behaviour. For example, if sales targets are set unrealistically high, it might tempt employees to cut corners. This was seen globally in the financial crash of 2008/9. The performance bonuses of the banking profession drove ever more risky and borderline criminal strategies that brought the whole world financial system to its knees. This details the importance of ethics and integrity in the workplace and the impact of it when it goes horribly wrong in graphic detail.
Regular Audits and Assessments
Conduct regular audits to assess the ethical climate of the organisation. This includes reviewing compliance with the code of ethics, employee behaviour, and the effectiveness of reporting mechanisms. Some would say, a sign of an organisation that is ethically on the right path is one where they get zero whistleblowing reports. However, it is impossible to maintain an organisation, as it grows, with ethics and integrity aligned fully to where the organisation thinks it is at. Underlying issues will be present in large organisations and frequently the C-Suite do not know about them, despite having a whistleblowing system in place. This identifies the need to not ‘just put’ a system in place but reinforce its efficacy. A business needs to ensure staff are encouraged to use it, to ensure the system is hosted externally to the business servers and that reporting people can report anonymously. This encourages reports to enable the C-Suite to truly grasp the real culture, ethics and integrity that pervades their business.
Use the findings from audits to make necessary adjustments to policies, training, and practices. Ensure that the organisation is always improving its ethical standards. A company that rests on its laurels can fall by its naivity.
Foster a Supportive Environment
Promote a healthy work-life balance to reduce stress and burnout, which can lead to unethical decisions. Employees who feel valued and supported are more likely to adhere to ethical standards.
Build an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are respected and valued. A diverse workforce can help challenge groupthink and promote ethical decision-making. This is more important than ever as Gen Z challenge leaders to think more broadly and accept difference. Getting this wrong can significantly damage a business brand.
Integrate Ethics into Business Strategy
Ensure that the company’s business practices align with ethical standards, including in areas such as environmental sustainability, fair labour practices, and corporate social responsibility. This includes an analysis of those in the company’s supply chain to ensure ethics and integrity run through the business eco-system. We can help in this area with reporting mechanisms so the senior leadership stay abreast of trade and supply side risk with reports from ‘the frontline’. We can see here in the news where companies faling to manage external supply chains can drag their own reputation through the mud.
Make decisions that consider the impact on all stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and the community. This holistic approach reinforces a commitment to ethical behaviour and reduces risk in the business.
Evaluate and Adapt
Periodically review and update the company’s ethical guidelines and practices to ensure they remain relevant and effective in a changing business environment.
Stay ahead of emerging ethical challenges, such as those related to technology, data privacy, and global supply chains, by adapting policies and training accordingly. This is critical as business never rests.
By embedding these strategies into the fabric of the organisation, a business can cultivate a workforce that values and practices integrity and ethical behaviour, contributing to long-term success and a positive reputation.
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