For many companies in New York the importance of providing stringent protocols for employee behavior is prioritized in an effort to reduce shady behavior that could potentially damage the company’s reputation, tarnish their brand and destroy their success. While there are many effective approaches that organizational leaders can take in developing an ethical workplace, one of the concepts they may consider is implementing transparency.
The concept of transparency is that employees are honest and open about their behavior. In situations where they identify someone else doing something inappropriate or unprofessional, there is an atmosphere that encourages disclosure and the protection of whistleblowers. With the right approach, organizational leaders can create an environment that encourages employees to be professional and honest, and work with integrity while creating an atmosphere where they feel comfortable coming forward if they suspect someone else is responsible for bad behavior. According to Entrepreneur, there are some valuable ways that companies can instill transparency into their operations. These include the following:
- Leaders should be timely in sharing news that is negative. They should present the information with ideas of solutions.
- While access to information is important, when classified information is available to certain parties, there should be clarification provided as well to eliminate misunderstanding.
- Departmental managers should be trained in effective communication tactics and the organization as a whole should maintain clear and open lines of communication.
- Employees should receive training in how to give, receive and understand feedback that is constructive and honest.
An interesting idea that Forbes Magazine suggests to help reduce incidents of white collar crime is to assign each employee an “ethics buddy.” These partnerships are designed to encourage responsibility and professional behavior while promoting teamwork at the same time.