Sponsored by
Supported by
Mary Connaughton
Director, CIPD Ireland
The challenge for HR in
maintaining an ethical
workplace
The challenge for HR in
maintaining an ethical
workplace
Mary Connaughton
Director, CIPD Ireland
Economy
Increasingly
More volatile and less predictable
Value
Increasingly
Continued shift toward Intangibles
Work
Increasingly
Networked, collaborative, flexible
Workplace
Increasingly
Formal organisation and informal
social structures. Digitalisation
Workforce
Increasingly
More diverse, more demanding
Individualisation
CIPD
Can HR create a culture of ‘doing the right thing’?
Why are business ethics so important?
• 74% of the public (24 countries surveyed) believed organisational
social responsibility is an important factor when deciding which
product or service to purchase. 84% believe that companies should
do more to contribute to society
Ipsos MORI, April 2013
• societal expectations giving businesses 'a license to operate‘
• stakeholders aspirational association with responsible organisations
• fair, honest and consistent treatment of customers, suppliers,
investors and employees builds trust
• avoidance of costly crises and scandals damaging reputation
• clearly articulated values and an ethics policy = good governance
• operating with integrity is a key part of sustainable success for
business
HR as ‘guardian’ of ethical practice in business
• develop codes of corporate ethics and disseminate to all
employees
• ensure appeal processes are in place to highlight unethical
practice
• train/educate employees at all levels on ethical behaviour /
conduct
• appoint internal compliance officers to monitor ethical
behaviour
• incorporate ethical behaviour in performance systems and
as a parameter for rewards
HR as ‘guardian’ of ethical practice in business
• leadership - design systems that:
• hold leaders accountable for the ethical dimension of their
leadership and own behaviour
• identify ethical leaders and rely on them for role modelling and
mentoring others
• incorporate the ethical dimension of leadership into all
leadership training and development programmes
• regular assessment of organisational culture – and how it
supports ethical conduct
How much time do we assign to this?
The need for ethical HR itself
• ethical behaviour and role modelling - essential for
development and maintenance of positive relationships with
workforce
• workforce needs to trust the HR function - only possible if the
function acts fairly and decently at all times and practice what it
preaches
• ethical standards - key determinant of employer brand and
reputation
• prospective and existing employees are increasingly considering
ethical factors when deciding which companies they are willing to
work for
Ethical HR practices ???
• lack of transparency in internal reward and performance
management systems
• inequity in favouring graduates for fast track promotion
• failure to promote equality, diversity, dignity, well-being, etc
• failure to maintain employee confidentiality
• employing low-pay (sweatshop) workers
• breaching data protection (unlawful as well as unethical)
• incorrect application of internal disciplinary and capability
procedures
How do we support those who challenge the
system?
HR’s struggle?
“HR struggles to debate and challenge
organisation issues with sound reasoning”
CIPD Labour Market Outlook, Autumn 2013
10
Which three behaviours are you trying to encourage most within
your HR function?
Courage to
challenge
50%
51%
44%
46%
Driven to deliver
41%
Skilled influencer
45%
Personally
credible
38%
42%
36%
Decisive thinker
31%
35%
34%
Collaborative
25%
22%
Role model
12%
11%
Curious
Don’t know
None of the
above
4%
4%
3%
2%
All HR Professionals Wave 3 (n=1033)
All HR Professionals Wave 1 (n=1315)
Base: HR Professionals who have responsibility for running an HR function
The CIPD Profession Map
Leading with integrity, consideration and
challenge
Insight
Challenges
Integrity, compassion and
challenge stops business savvy
becoming boardroom servility.
Compassion does not mean
avoiding difficult decisions
Serving stakeholders not
power structures
Values, integrity, conviction are
key
Challenging our own impact
first and foremost
Face and manage the
emotional consequences of
business decisions
Business perceptions
Line managers:
HR Directors:
•
76% feel HR keeps data close
to its chest
•
88% want to empower line
managers
•
42% feel HR are slow to
respond
•
71% think line managers
expect an immediate response
•
39% believe Google is a better
source
•
58% believe policies are
inefficient
•
34% feel unempowered re HR
•
•
30% believe HR actively
obstructs
43% believe they spend too
much time dealing with line
manager queries
So, what’s going on…….?
Hay Group 2013 – UK, US & China
Importance of issues facing HR in
Ireland
Least important (3)
Employee engagement
Leadership
Talent acquisition and
retention
24%
Medium importance (2)
40%
37%
39%
Most important (1)
36%
30%
30%
33%
31%
CIPD members survey, 2015 Ireland
Engaging managers…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
are effective performance coaches
empower their people to grow
are tuned-in to people.
are assignment-assignee match-makers
promote open two-way communication
"walk the talk”
build team spirit
are hands-on with their teams
are self-confident
Aon Hewitt Manager Survey 2012
Line managers deliver HR processes
• Bringing policies and procedures to life
• Giving development planning and team briefings the time and
care they deserve.
• Making a connection with employees
• talking to employees, listening to their concerns, coaching and
counselling them.
• Leading by example
• taking a lead on important issues like work-life balance and
equality and diversity.
• Managing performance
• praise for work well done
• guiding and coaching to improve performance that is not up to
standard, including holding that difficult conversation when
needed
Checklist: Are your managers:
• recruited and selected to ensure they have the right
people qualities to motivate staff and deal with
difficult problems
• trained so that they can carry out their duties
effectively and develop their own careers
• given a balanced workload that recognises the need
to allocate time for performance management duties
• coached by senior managers so that they openly
discuss problems and actively participate in decision
making
What practical steps do you take to
support managers?
• Do you have skilled HR people assigned to support
managers?
• Is there visible support coming from your senior
leadership team?
• Do you have efficient tools and technology to support
your managers?
• What sort of support networks do managers have?
• Where does accountability lie?
What employees want…
Organisation culture
Preferred Current
An organisation with a family feel, held
together by loyalty and tradition
55
26
A formalised and structured place to work,
where procedures govern what people do
20
46
A dynamic, entrepreneurial, and creative
place to work
15
6
A result-oriented organisation whose major
concern is with getting the job done
10
22
CIPD Employee Outlook, 2015
Using workforce analytics to help us
• provide reliable, evidence-based insights
• have the ‘right’ conversations
• develop insights into how changes in the business
affect the workforce, and vice versa
• monitor, and explain changes in the performance of the
workforce
• demonstrate the effectiveness of policies and
processes (Cap Gemini, ‘Making Sure People Count’, 2012)
58% business and technology executives agree that
moving from data to insight is a major challenge… (PwC, 2014)
Protected Disclosures Act 2014
• The Act aims to protect workers in both the public
and private sector in circumstances where they
disclose information about alleged wrongdoing in the
workplace based on a reasonable belief.
•
•
•
•
Policy in place
Organisation response
Support for whistle-blower, discipline, bully
Ethics Officer
Championing better work and working lives
but
Requires good
HR and people
development
Good HR is
context specific
and we can’t
predict the
future
HR becomes a
trusted and
credible profession
which can
CBW&WL
regardless of
context
so
so
We need to
move from
prescriptive
best practice to
broader
principles
We need to
build and
maintain
professionalism
in HR
so
so
but
It takes true
professionalism
to apply those
principles in
practice
What does it mean to be a professional?
Social and
ethical
responsibility
Body of
knowledge
and skills
Situational
judgement
Commitment
CPD
Identity
Championing better work and
working lives (for the benefit of
individuals, businesses,
economies and society)
24
What’s important and what’s not?
Philosophical ethics!
• Is HR there to serve the people or the business?
• Do hard-working, talented people deserve more money than
those who need it the most?
• Does the wellbeing of one person matter just as much as that of
the entire organisation?
• Should people have a say in what happens to them at work, or
would it make more sense to leave the decision to those who are
competent in making it?
Bucket list of options
25
What are the possible ‘lenses’
for looking at workplace dilemmas?
Merit
Wellbeing
Fairness
Market
Rights
Handing
down
Democracy
Character
26
Practitioner survey findings
8 out of 10 say it’s the “right”
thing to do, but only 23% apply
it in current practice
‘Right’ thing to do
Handing down
Wellbeing
Character
Greater good
Rights
Merit
Prevalent in
current practice
Less prevalent in
current practice
Democracy
A quarter apply this
principle, but another
quarter say it’s
inapplicable or a “nice
to have”
More than half always
apply this, although
this drops if talking
about the categories
of staff who aren’t
“part of the family”
Justice
Market
Not a priority
27
Finally….
“Whether we will succeed or fail in the work
ahead will be determined by the response we
bring to the irrefutable evidence of science, the
degree of our moral courage, our ethical values,
and the inspiration we can call upon.”
“The first ethical test is in accepting that there
can be no compromise with truth.”
PRESIDENT MICHAEL D HIGGINS. The Power of Ideas for Climate – Making a New Beginning.
Address given to the Summit of Consciences for the Climate, Paris, France, 21 July 2015
Thank you