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1. FEATURE STORY:
THE ETHICS EPIDEMIC

Headlines about unscrupulous corporate executives cooking the books and the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have forced many employers to take the ethical temperature of their workplace. And what they're finding is an outbreak of seemingly innocent, yet clearly inappropriate, workplace behaviors — such as lying about the reasons for missing work, falsifying time cards, and stretching expense accounts — that are often a breeding ground for unethical conduct.

To prevent such behaviors from spiking into an illegal fever, a number of companies have taken steps to not only treat, but also inoculate their companies against, the ethical epidemic. Here's a prescription you can take for encouraging ethical behavior and preventing ethical disasters.

• Take the ethical pulse of your workplace. Conduct surveys that ask employees how they would react to hypothetical scenarios. Or ask questions based on the company's ethical standards; then solicit employee opinions as to whether they agree or disagree.

• Get the support of top brass. Stress the importance of ethics to your company by asking the company president to write a letter or memo expressing the company's commitment to ethical behaviors. Distribute the memo to employees or include it in an ethics guidebook.

• Enforce by committee. Create an ethics committee that is responsible for compliance with your ethics policy and/or code of conduct. Select committee members that have a high level of credibility with rank-and-file employees.

• Go public with your commitment to ethical conduct. Release an annual report of ethical challenges faced by the company or accomplishments achieved.

• Get the word out. Constantly communicate with employees about the importance of ethical behavior. Train managers and supervisors to communicate the company's goals and expectations to employees on a regular basis.

• Measure success. Establish a simple system to gauge whether or not your employees are walking the ethical walk. For example, audit the number and type of complaints filed or disciplinary warnings handed out.

• Practice what you preach. Creating and distributing a code of ethics will have little effect if employees witness higher-ups engaging in behaviors the code clearly prohibits.

Encourage management employees to take an objective look at their own behavior. Have them pose the following questions to themselves.

• Am I always scrupulously honest in my dealings with employees? Even little white lies that are meant to spare an employee's feelings or to make a negative situation seem more positive can set an unethical example. Resist the temptation to sugarcoat the details when having to deliver bad news.

• Do I take office supplies home or use company products for personal advantage? You may think nothing of grabbing a box of staples or making copies of personal documents. But if employees see you dipping into the stock room, they might feel entitled as well. What may have started out as grabbing one box of supplies every now and again can turn into empty stockroom shelves and the company having to spend more money on supplies.

• Do you treat your employees professionally and with respect? Everybody has his/her bad days. But snapping at employees or talking down to them out of frustration not only leads to morale problems, but it also shows employees that it is okay to behave that way themselves.

• Do you take extended lunch hours or breaks? Do you come into work late or leave early often? Just because you're the manager doesn't mean you have the right to come and go as you please. If you disrespect the value of time to your company, so will your employees. Then, those who see their manager taking extra time away from the office are bound to resent it, and may start extending their time as well.

• Do you spend a lot of time on personal calls or taking care of personal business during work hours? Don't expect your employees to keep their private lives at home if you don't.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD-PARTY KIND

You may think that the behavior of a customer or other third party is out of your control. But it's not. Just because an employee complains to you of sexual harassment by a non-employee doesn't mean...View the full story on our website.

FREE REPORT OF THE MONTH:

Check out the new Free Report, "Q&As With HR Pros," which gives you real-life problems along with real-life solutions contributed by real-life HR execs just like you. Who better to get answers and ideas from on myriad HR issues and dilemmas than those who have been there, done that.

Kick back, relax, and take a few minutes to check out the HR Soapbox, "How's This For A Workplace Issue?" in which one editor discusses ways to keep employees from exposing their toes in the workplace.