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If you think compliance is expensive…

A few years ago we suffered serious water damage at my house. Not wanting to hire some Joe Blow contractor to do the repairs, my wife and I turned to a Big Box home renovation store. We soon found out that their standard practice is to subcontract to Joe Blow contractors.

So it’s not surprising to read about Home Depot getting in trouble for this practice (we didn’t hire Home Depot, by the way). They tried to save $100 here, $200 there, putting their customer’s health at risk, and now they must pay a $21,000,000 penalty and implement a compliance program. Had they created a compliance program from the get go, it would have been cheaper and it would have been the right thing to do for their customers, their shareholders and for the industry.

As they say, if you think compliance is expensive, try non-compliance.

My Top 5 Ethics and Compliance Influencers for 2020

Every workday, I aim to write a post on this blog.

My process is simple. I read, then I write. I read about current events and I read what others have written on ethics and compliance.

The world’s news often offers a good idea for a post. When that fails, I can rely on other writers for inspiration, people who think deeply about what it means to be human, to fail and to strive always to do better.

This post will highlight 4 individuals and one organization who most inspired my writing this year. Of course, there are many others, too many to list here. But these 5 were with me all year as we all tried to navigate an uncomfortable world.

I encourage you to follow them*.

Richard Bistrong. Before becoming an advisor on corruption risks, Richard was an international sales executive. At some point along the way, he stepped on the proverbial slippery slope and was eventually sentenced to federal prison for corruption. Richard doesn’t blame anyone for the choices he made. By sharing his story (in person and online), Richard helps others identify and avoid risky situations. He teaches by being transparent and vulnerable.

Carsten Tams. Carsten doesn’t blog just anywhere; his posts are featured on two separate blogs of Forbes Magazine. After over 15 years in various roles linked to ethics and culture in a global media company, Carsten now helps clients solve organizational challenges by using the latest findings of behavioral science. He reads broadly, thinks deeply and write clearly.

The Ethics & Compliance Initiative. This organization is dedicated to helping its members create and sustain high-quality ethics and compliance programs**. It does so by providing research that doesn’t aim to sell you a product or a service, but rather helps you understand what truly drives behavior in an organization. With its daily email briefings, monthly stats and annual surveys, the ECI helps me bring value to both my organization and my readers.

Ricardo Pellafone. Ricardo changed how I look at compliance training. I now understand the difference between risk-based training – the kind that’s great for lawyers – and task-based training – the kind that’s perfect for employees trying their darn best to do their job compliantly without having to spend eons learning about compliance. Ricardo and his team at Broadcat write sharp, no-nonsense posts on their blog, often spiked with funny GIFs and videos.

Seth Godin. Seth is not an E&C professional. He is a writer and a marketer. A marketer is not the same as an advertiser; advertisers try to make you buy stuff. Seth tries to make you see the world as it is and urges you to make a difference. He does so with short, daily blog posts (he hasn’t missed a day in over 10 years). Seth often write about the importance of trust in business, which often inspires my writing.

* As with all posts, my views are not expressed on behalf of or at the request of my employer.

** Full disclosure: I am a board member of this organization.

A safe WFH workplace

Companies have a duty to provide a safe working environment to their employees.

Before the pandemic, this meant that companies ensured their facilities were safe. It also meant that the odd employees who worked from home (WFH) where often on their own.

What does it mean now for companies that have tens, thousands or even tens of thousands of employees working from home? What is the corporate responsibility when we see a surge in physical threats to executives and rank-in-file employees alike, usually for taking a stand on social issues (or for not taking a stand)?

Some companies started to offer ergo-perks to their WFH employees, like office chairs and monitors. Should they also offer alarm system installation and security patrols?

The answer may be case-specific, but the question is worth asking.

Looking back, looking forward

Go to your “Sent” folder and search for 2020 emails containing the word “ethics”.

How many are they? What’s the average per week? Did you send them to your direct reports, your peers or your supervisor? Were you praising a good outcome, raising a concern or simply reminding people to complete their online training?

2020 offered us plenty of opportunities to demonstrate ethical leadership. Did we grab them?

Can we do better in 2021?

Click here to see what your employees are searching for.

The cost of a wrong cultural turn

The bagger at the grocery store is fixing a problem. Most of us have been hired to fix a problem.

Once we are hired, new problems show up. If we are lucky, our boss gives us the freedom to fix those problems too.

How do we choose the best solution to a problem? It depends on what matters to us, to our boss and to the organization. Too many leaders care about time and money, so a solution is often a function of how long it will take and now much it will cost.

One thing is certain: every possible solution creates a different cultural outcome. Yet, how often do you hear a leader ask “What will be the cultural impact of this fix?”

Those who ask that question understand that taking a wrong cultural turn now will cost a lot of time and money down the road.

Fair wages and generous tips

A waiter paid $2.13 an hour is as vulnerable as a salesperson who lives almost exclusively from commissions. Neither can earn a living without the tips or the commissions. In good times, that might not be a problem. In a downturn, that financial pressure will often lead them to engage in wrongdoing.

A recent study of “tipped service workers” show that many do not enforce COVID-19 safety measures at their bar or restaurant for fear of losing their tips (the study also shows in increase in harassment of such workers). In an economy where tip workers have lost half their income because fewer people go out to eat, workers cannot afford to lose their tips. Even if this means putting themselves and others at risk.

So when a patron gets up from their table to go to the bathroom and doesn’t wear their mask, the waiter reluctantly looks the other way. Or, worse, when a patron asks his server to take off her mask so he can decide how much to tip her (gasp!), she puts her health, and other people’s, at risk. According to the CDC, adults who had contracted COVID-19 were twice as likely as virus-free adults to have recently dined at a restaurant (source).

A big part of the solution is to pay employees a fair wage, so they don’t feel pressured to break the rules. A salesperson who can pay the rent is less likely to forge the signature of a customer on a fake contract to make his monthly commission. A waiter who can keep the heat on this winter is more likely to keep her mask on too.

And for goodness’ sake, let’s tip generously.

Don’t lose your patience

I wrote 140 posts so far this year.

Curious about what single post had the most views in this year of pandemic and social injustice, I was surprised when my stats showed a 2017 entry, which was viewed twice as often as my most popular post from 2020.

In this post on stoic patience, I quote Marcus Aurelius’ advice that we should live life truthfully and rightly, and be patient with those who don’t.

2020 has indeed been a year when many have suffered, and in some cases died, because of the lies and wrongdoings of a few. In the face of injustice, many lose patience. But losing patience comes at a cost. Suffering and injustice should strengthen our resolve, not diminish our patience. It should propel us into just action, not into other forms of injustice.

Marcus would remind himself every morning that he would meet, in the course of his day, people that are rude and selfish and lying. He knew that a world without jerks is impossible. And so he simply accepted this reality and prepared himself to respond with kindness.

And so must we.

Let’s end 2020, and start 2021, with more truth and kindness and patience.

Breaking the rules

Today you might be sitting quietly by yourself and have this strange idea about doing something wrong. You’ll probably dismiss the idea quickly.

Or an acquaintance might suggest that you do something wrong. You’ll probably politely decline.

Or your boss might ask you to do something wrong. That will be uncomfortable.

Or the law might ask you to do something wrong.

Today in 1955, the law asked James. F. Blake to use his police powers as a bus driver to sign a warrant for the arrest of Rosa Park after she refused to give up her seat to a white man. To be fair, Blake did not hesitate. Twelve years earlier, Blake had made Parks disembark after she entered his bus from the front door and paid her fare; he wanted her to enter from the back door. But not all bus drivers agreed with the law. What were they supposed to do? What would you have done?

Today we have laws that separate children from their parents at border crossings. We have laws that criminalize sharing our food with the homeless. Perhaps you have rules in your office that are unfair.

Will you enforce them?

Time to think about a mandatory vaccination at work

If you work for a company that has a Code of Ethics, chances are your employer promises to create a safe working environment for you.

This means clear paths (no tripping hazards), low-noise environment, safeguards on the machines (so you don’t lose fingers) and a no-alcohol/drug policy – among many, many other obligations.

Soon, your employer will also have to decide if this commitment includes mandating that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. To be clear, employers can legally impose such a mandate.

But will everyone in the c-suite agree on what the right thing to do is?