Best practices workshop shows how to communicate ethical expectations

In a post Dodd-Frank era, it seems that communicators and governance professionals are increasingly collaborating to ensure that ethical codes are enforced by working across the C-suite to promote and sustain operational transparency.

Recently, the second annual ‘Best Practices in Ethics Communications Workshop’, held October 24 at the New York Stock Exchange, highlighted the importance of 'working across the C-suite’ to create an ethical business culture. The workshop is intended to help companies create a culture that engages staff and enables organizations to earn and maintain the Ethisphere Institute’s ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ (WME) designation.  

Paul Argenti, professor of corporate communication and corporate responsibility at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth reminded attendees that they are now on the front lines of a new regulatory era, and there is nothing more important than establishing and maintaining trust across all business operations. ‘Ethics is how you should act and what you should do; it means going beyond legal requirements,’ said Argenti. ‘After all, trust gives us our license to operate; it is based on the notion that employees and companies will always provide collective trust.’

‘The success of the workshop was made possible by the active engagement of the more than 130 participants,’ added Tim Erblich, chief executive officer, Ethisphere Institute. ‘From corporations and small businesses to government, the military and academia (professors and students), we engaged in meaningful dialogue around external communication programs that highlight ethics as a differentiating brand attribute and positively position the business community with external stakeholder audiences.’

As regulators continue to zero in on unscrupulous practices and unethical behavior, the notion of tone at the top has never been more important. While it is the board’s duty to set an ethical tone, corporate secretaries and governance professionals are tasked with keeping the board informed through effective communication.

Holly Gregory, a partner at Weil Gotshal Manges and a speaker on the expert discussion panel, believes that there is an emerging focus on reputational risk in the boardroom and directors should work with communicators to help drive transparency to alleviate ethical issues. ‘One of the key drivers of a company’s credibility is your ability to be authentic in your communications,’ said Gregory.  ‘During a crisis, silence is important when you don’t have all the facts; in such cases, you need to strike the right balance and avoid rushing out with false information which can discredit you and your company.’  

A breakout session led by Dr. Edward Queen, director of the Ethics and Servant Leadership Program within Emory University’s Center for Ethics, featured a wide range of topics intertwined with the dominant theme of ethics and communication.  ‘Creating ethical people is not merely about training them about how to behave in today’s society,’ said Queen. ‘It depends on the consistency between values, rules, and practices which should always remain strong.’

Paul Gennaro, AECOM senior vice president and chief communications officer, who also chairs Ethisphere’s Communications Advisory Board, concluded the event by emphasizing the importance of brand reputation as it pertains to ethics, social responsibility and transparency.

‘All of us, across the C-suite, are in the midst of a truly defining time — one when we have a responsibility to lead the way and an opportunity to transcend the implied limitations of our job descriptions or titles,’ said Gennaro.  ‘We have the ability — and the responsibility — to rebuild trust within our respective organizations, for our customers and clients, and within society as a whole.’