Business Code Of Conduct Examples – The Code of Conduct has evolved over the past 20 years. Once written as a textbook-sized rulebook, today’s best code of conduct examples are visually appealing, readable and useful to employees as guides to help them make ethical decisions and do the right thing. A good code of conduct provides a framework of behavior for business professionals, teams, leaders and individual organizations regardless of affiliation, level or geography. They also leverage advanced technology for easy access, better employee engagement and timely insights to navigate the inevitable gray areas of the new world of work. But what exactly is an example of a “good” code of conduct? To break down goals into more actionable practices and identify examples of effective ethical codes of conduct, LRN evaluated nearly 150 codes of conduct from several leading companies headquartered in Europe and the United States. The result of our research, the LRN Code of Conduct Report 2022, looks at the company codes of the top 40 organizations in the CAC (France), DAX (Germany), FTSE (UK) and S&P (USA) stock exchange listings. Let’s dive deeper into the nine examples of code of conduct we found in our analysis, each of which scored highly on the dimensions our report identified as key to effective code. LRN Code of Conduct Report code dimension definition We use LRN’s proprietary Code of Conduct Assessment Tool to produce a concrete, objective and comprehensive measure of excellence based on 47 questions that map to eight dimensions of code of conduct effectiveness. Dimensions include: Tone from the Top: Inspirational messages from senior leadership that demonstrate commitment to ethical behavior and internalize the organization’s values. Purpose and Values Orientation: A clear statement of the company’s values and how they translate into behavioral expectations for how employees treat each other, customers and the communities they serve. Applicability and Administration: Determines to whom the code applies and how it is implemented and enforced. Speak Up: A summary of the reporting channels available to employees and a description of the process for addressing concerns raised. Risk Topics: High-level guidance on risks in organizations and the wider industry, together with principles and standards that employees can follow to help avoid or manage these risks. Knowledge Reinforcement: Integrated learning aids—eg, real-life scenarios, ethical decision-making models, links to policies, and links to resources such as exercises and videos—that are easily referenced in code. Usability: Make the code accessible to all employees through easy navigation, readability and content structure. Look and Feel: Make the code a visually appealing reflection of the organization’s brand, including the use of imagery and graphics to enhance the reader’s understanding of the material. 9 ethical codes of conduct that scored the highest on each dimension of effectiveness Below are the company’s codes of conduct that scored the highest on each dimension, as well as examples of codes that show a great combination of all dimensions and are considered effective overall. Dimension 1 – Tone from Above: 3M Dimension 2 – Purpose and Values Orientation: Barclays Dimension 3 – Usability and Governance: Coca Cola Dimension 4 – Speaking: Amgen Dimension 5 – Risk Topics: Imperial Brand Dimension 6 – Knowledge Reinforcement: Air Liquide Dimension 7 – Usability: Glencore Dimension 8 – Look and Feel: Bristol Myers Squibb Overall effectiveness: General Motors, 3M, Imperial Brand Note: Some companies have made adjustments to their codes since the initial LRN analysis. Tone from Above: 3M Why this code works Leadership messages inspire employees. The readability rating is high, which means that the language is accessible to all employees and generally avoids legal or technical terms. The code refers to the purpose of the company’s organization, links to the company’s values and emphasizes the company’s values as a whole. Images and graphics enhance the reader’s experience. What could be improved The Code could add clarification on how it increases sensitivity to ethics and compliance risks, improves decision-making and helps strengthen culture. It can also have an ethical decision-making model that incorporates organizational values in a meaningful way. This code may add to the explanation of the code’s role in the larger E&C program. The code could provide a more detailed explanation for the procedure for investigating alleged wrongdoing. Purpose and Values Orientation: Barclays Why this code works Leadership messages inspire employees. The code refers to the purpose of the company’s organization, links to the company’s values and emphasizes the company’s values as a whole. These codes have their own themes that link specifically to the organization’s purpose, brand identity and business activities. The theme is carried throughout the code. Code content is structured according to clear and logical organizing principles, with images and graphics that enhance the reader’s experience. What could be improved The Code could make more detailed reference to leaders and supervisors who have additional responsibilities related to E&C—e.g., being the first point of contact to raise issues, listen, lead by example—with an emphasis on their role as “carriers ” culture and values. The code may identify additional resources for seeking guidance, raising concerns and reporting violations. It may also provide additional helpline details including further information on confidentiality and privacy. The code can add more risk topics that are in line with the industry and sphere of operations of the organization. Additionally, it can articulate more clearly the business rationale for providing guidance on risk topics. Individual code allocations can follow a more consistent structure to aid clarity and readability for users. Usability and Administration: Coca Cola Why this code works The readability rating is high, which means that the language is accessible to all employees and generally avoids legal or technical terms. Tone of voice also includes, using the words “we,” “we,” and “us.” The Code expressly applies to all employees, officers, directors and contractors. It makes specific reference to the employee’s responsibility to comply with the code and the additional E&C responsibilities of leaders and supervisors. There are various resources for seeking guidance, raising concerns and reporting violations. There are helpline details along with steps to address privacy and confidentiality issues. The code also indicates that proven retaliation will result in disciplinary action. These codes have their own themes that link specifically to the organization’s purpose, brand identity and business activities. The theme is carried throughout the code. Code content is structured according to clear and logical organizing principles, with images and graphics that enhance the reader’s experience. The code has navigation and highlights expected behaviour, important resources and important principles of each provision. The code has a scenario-based Q&A. Things that could be improved The Code could have a concise leadership message and address unique aspects of the organization, inspire employees and link to business values and performance. These codes can better highlight the organization’s values, describe their importance, express them in behavioral terms and integrate them as a whole. Speaking: Amgen Why this code works The code refers to the company’s organizational purpose, connects to the company’s values and emphasizes the company’s values as a whole. The Code expressly applies to all employees, officers, directors and contractors. It makes specific reference to the employee’s responsibility to comply with the code and the additional E&C responsibilities of leaders and supervisors. There are various resources for seeking guidance, raising concerns and reporting violations. There are helpline details along with steps to address privacy and confidentiality issues. The code also indicates that proven retaliation will result in disciplinary action. The content of the code is structured according to clear and logical organizing principles. The individual provisions also have a consistent structure designed for readability and clarity of guidance. The code has scenario-based Q&A and contains an ethics-based decision-making model that incorporates organizational values in a meaningful way. Things that could be improved The Code could better highlight the organization’s values, explain their importance, express them in terms of behavior and integrate them as a whole. The code may have a clearer theme that links specifically to the organization’s purpose, brand identity and business activities. The code can have a more comprehensive range of risk topics, in line with the industry and sphere of operations of the organization. The code can use more graphic design and imagery to increase visual impact, use more call-out boxes to emphasize key content, reduce large blocks of text, and improve layout and formatting for a visual style that is more consistent with the organization’s brand identity. Risk Topic: Imperial Brand Why this code works The code refers to the company’s organizational purpose and connects to the company’s values. In addition, the code describes the importance of values, expresses them in behavioral terms and integrates them into a whole. The Code makes specific reference to the additional E&C responsibilities of leaders and supervisors. The Code addresses a wide range of risk topics and
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