4 Resources: How to Operationalize Ethics & Compliance Programs into Business Operations

Many organizations ask us: how do the best companies ensure that their Ethics & Compliance (E&C) programs result in improved ethical workplace behavior?

To answer this question, we refer to our recent 2020 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, our study of 500 ethics, compliance and legal practitioners from around the world.

The findings were clear —  values-based initiatives are crucial to fostering ethical, values-based behavior. In fact, our report found that 89% of training programs communicate organizational values, as well as rules.

Another reason why organizations should operationalize their E&C programs? The Department of Justice issued an eight-page set of questions in February 2017 centered on how  E&C programs must be embedded in – and reflect the realities of – business operations.

Here are four resources where organizations can learn how to take the reins and operationalize E&C programs into their own business operations:

1. I led a discussion with two ethics officers who shared 10 practical ways to operationalize an E&C program at ECI’s Annual Impact Conference.

2. We created a report that includes a 7-step roadmap for organizations to use to ensure their E&C training fosters ethical, values-based behavior and aligns with the Department of Justice’s compliance criteria.

3. Last July, I moderated an ECI-sponsored webcast, “Learn How Your Ethics & Compliance Program Can Help Business Leaders Make Better Decisions”, with three leading industry executives:

  • Michele Brown, Senior Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel, Leidos
  • Laura K. Kennedy, Senior Vice President, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Emergent BioSolutions
  • Kimberlee Yapchai, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Tenneco

Listen to the webcast recording here to learn:

  • How to operationalize your program.
  • The strategies these three leaders have used to drive change in their organizations.
  • How embedding E&C programs directly into their businesses have positively impacted decision-making at all levels.

4. We recently published a premium content guide to measuring compliance program effectiveness, highlighting ways that E&C professionals can measure and improve the efficacy of their efforts.