The era of annual performance reviews is coming to an end. More companies are moving to frequent meetings between supervisors and subordinates to discuss objectives and performance.
This is good news for E&C professionals. Working with HR, we can insert ourselves into this regular process and help managers have more conversations about corporate culture and ethics.
Here are some conversation starters that any supervisor can use:
- “You are still new here. What do you think of our team’s culture? Is it different from your previous department/company?”
- “You have been with us for many years. How does our culture today compare to what it was when you started?”
- “These meetings are great to raise concerns you might have. But I realize that some people might prefer to talk to someone else. Are you familiar with our confidential line? Please know that I am a big supporter.”
- “The holiday season is approaching and I’m sure you saw the reminder about our gift policy. Do you have any questions about that policy?”
- “I’ve been reading the news about the latest corporate scandals. Sometimes, I wonder if we are doing enough in this company to prevent that from happening to us. What do you think?”
As you can see, we can easily insert a short ethical discussion in these performance meetings. After all, ethics and performance are inseparable.
I am in the process of writing a long list of these conversation starters to use in my own company. And I would love your help. Would you please contribute by using the comment feature below?
Thank you.
The Ethical Leader 