A company code of conduct is a document that defines the character and culture of your organization. It articulates your organizational values as well as the rules and regulations that employees must follow while working for your company. The code also explains what behavior is expected from employees while they're at work—and what consequences they might face if they engage in misconduct. However, writing a code of conduct does not automatically change the culture of your organization. It’s important to educate your team members on what’s included in your code and how those elements apply to their day-to-day work. This is where code of conduct training comes in.
Code of conduct training teaches employees about your company’s code of conduct. This type of training is designed to help your employees understand their ethical and legal responsibilities to each other and the wider organization. Code of conduct training also helps prevent violations of the company code and maintain an appropriate working environment for everyone. You can learn more about the code of conduct training LRN offers in our course catalog.
Code of conduct training is a must-have for anyone who has contact with employees or customers—for example, managers, directors, and executives. It’s also important to consider the impact that your company code can have on other parties. Certain business practices or decisions may require that your investors and board members complete code of conduct training as part of the process.
You need to have code of conduct training because it's the right thing to do. A code of conduct influences your organizational culture in terms of how your employees and other stakeholders behave, make decisions, and pursue business objectives to safeguard integrity, respect, fairness, and honesty. Because they are a reflection of your company, you want all stakeholders to be able to represent your organization in the best light possible.
Training also helps your organization meet DOJ guidance. The US Department of Justice notes in its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs that “...prosecutors should examine whether the company has a code of conduct that sets forth, among other things, the company’s commitment to full compliance with relevant Federal laws that is accessible and applicable to all company employees.” Educating employees on how your code relates to their role and where they can locate it is a key step to ensuring your code of conduct is accessible and applicable to everyone.
Code of conduct training is also required under certain circumstances, including:
When you create a code of conduct training course, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you need to ensure that the content is appropriate and relevant for all your employees—including middle management and senior leadership. It should also be engaging and interactive, so that learners don’t get easily bored.
Use clear language when writing your course so that the material is easy for everyone to understand, regardless of employee role or level of expertise. Finally, make sure that all employees understand how important code of conduct training is for them personally; proper training can help prevent situations where people might cause harm or unwanted disruption in the office environment.
Like most things ethics and compliance, code of conduct training will look and feel different for every organization depending on your industry, values, and learner population. But there are some topic areas, like the ones below, that are worth including in your training no matter what.
While it might seem obvious, it’s worth introducing your training with a quick refresher of what a code of conduct is: a set of rules and guidelines that define your company values and the behaviors that everyone should adhere to throughout their workday—employees, managers, and senior management alike.
The following are examples of guidelines that might be in a company code of conduct:
(Side note: If you’re looking for good examples of codes of conduct to refresh your own code, we’ve put together a list here.)
While code of conduct policies will vary from one organization to another, it can generally be broken down into two categories: internal and external. The first category covers violations like discrimination, harassment, and misuse of company assets. The second category outlines things like conflicts of interest and confidentiality issues. Explaining these types of violations—and their consequences—are worth covering in code of conduct training. You can start with the following definitions as a foundation:
Code of conduct training is an essential part of ethics and compliance for any business, regardless of size, industry, or region. It helps ensure that all employees know what is expected of them as members of your organization—which can ultimately improve your company’s culture, productivity and overall performance.
To learn more, request a demo of LRN's newly designed code of conduct training or check out our collection of resources on creating an effective code.