Operationalize a Code of Ethics

Code of ethics (CoE)—an outline of organization’s values and its desire to conduct business with integrity—have been around since AD 275. And although leaders—and employees—may believe the ethical documentation is appropriate for a company to have, they may be hesitant to invest the time and resources to create and implement it. In this issue of TD at Work, Robbi-Lynn Watnik guides you in how to create awareness and understanding with employees and stakeholders about a code of ethics. Further, she details:

• Reasons for creating and implementing a CoE
• How to identify stakeholders and the level of training they require
• Training and communication tools to consider
• Ideas for measuring training efficacy

Tools & Resources in this issue are an annual communication training calendar template and an incident communication plan template.

About the Author

Robbi-Lynn Watnik has built healthcare compliance programs to, and provided compliance guidance for, government and private sector healthcare entities. For each program, she has overseen development of policies and procedures focusing on the elements of an effective compliance program to include codes of conduct and risk areas specific to the entity. Currently, Watnik is a compliance consultant for Strategic Management Services.