How do you create an effective ethical culture?

At Risk Advisory’s most recent Women in Compliance event, we looked at how companies can create an ethical culture that can support compliance.

We had two great speakers: Imogen Haddon, Group Chief Compliance Officer for News Corp UK; and Ruth Steinholtz, former general counsel for Borealis and co-author of Ethical Business Practice and Regulation: A Behavioural and Values-based Approach to Compliance and Enforcement.

With Imogen and Ruth’s diverse backgrounds they certainly provided valuable insights on how to approach the topic of creating a corporate culture. Imogen joined News Corp in the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal and had a “burning platform” from which to drive change, while Ruth has had to manage that process of change in companies where there has been no investigation and no scandal to raise awareness. Both present their challenges. But what was interesting, was that Imogen and Ruth agreed on many of the things that were key to making compliance work. Both firmly believe that culture and compliance go hand-in-hand and if you’re missing one, you’ll be on rocky ground.

During their presentations, and in the discussions afterwards, Imogen and Ruth suggested some ways that you can positively influence the culture of your organisation:

Think about how you approach the process of building an ethical culture: it always helps to put compliance in context. Therefore it is worth making sure that your colleagues understand that an ethical culture, which is built on strong values, not only drives compliance but is good for business.

Drive home your message in values that really matter to your employees - only then will they really hear what you are trying to say.

Build trust: share information, provide insight into the challenges the business faces and get the business involved in and skilled at ethical decision-making. The more you do so, the more engaged they’ll be and you will reap the rewards. One way to do this is to create ethics and compliance champions who cut across the different divisions within the business. They will help you to understand the way the company works and are invaluable in helping you to get your message across.

Create an open, just culture: think carefully about how you deal with issues. Not only is everyone from the regulators to the press following things with interest, your colleagues will be too.

Ethical Business Practice and Regulation: A Behavioural and Values-based Approach to Compliance and Enforcement

Transforming culture takes time and patience, no matter whether you are responding to a crisis or managing it as part of business as usual. It also relies on the wholehearted support of both senior management and the board.

If you would like to learn more about their approaches, contact Ruth or Imogen via LinkedIn. Also, for those of you who would like to order a copy, Ruth has kindly shared a discount code for her book: click here and use HE2 at the check out.

If you would like to join Women in Compliance networking group to discuss this or other ethics and compliance issues, contact us here. And to read more about Risk Advisory services, visit www.riskadvisory.com