2000 October Report of the Auditor General of Canada

October 2000 Report—Chapter 12

Exhibit 12.11—Best Practices and Benchmarks

Leadership

Heads of organizations and senior managers are trained in values and ethics and are expected to educate their staff and encourage discussion of values and ethics dilemmas in the workplace.

Managers are responsible for leading focus group sessions to explain the statement of values and ethics and any codes of conduct, mentoring for leadership based on sound values and ethics, and generating discussion of values and ethics.

Over time, different managers and staff are selected on the basis of their reputations for ethical conduct to lead ethics initiatives in their units and be a source of guidance.

Managers are responsible for discussing any conflict-of-interest code with their employees before employees are asked to sign a statement that they understand and are in compliance with the code. Managers and employees are responsible for signing a statement that such a discussion has occurred.

More stringent conflict-of-interest declarations are used at increasingly senior management levels.

Appraisals of senior managers and potential senior managers include an assessment by their superiors and staff of whether they are leading by example.

Statements of values and ethics

These statements

• recognize that most employees have sound values and ethics;
• reflect extensive consultation at all levels of the organization, but especially with middle managers;
• are clear, succinct, and relevant to the organization;
• are approved and supported at the highest levels of the organization;
• recognize that loyalty and trust is a two-way street and contain explicit commitments to employees;
• provide detailed explanations, case studies, and guidance;
• subscribe where possible to recognized national or international standards;
• contain explicit provisions for guiding interaction between the public and private sectors;
• apply to contractors, suppliers, and recipients of funding; and
• specify consequences of non-compliance.

Management policies

Establish a clear policy empowering front-line employees to take ownership of a conflict or problem and to resolve it quickly and efficiently.

Establish infrastructure such as a decision-making model that explicitly requires consideration of values and ethics.

Establish formal procedures to align all management policies against the values and ethics of the organization.

Guidance and training

Provide a decision-making model that includes values and ethics.

Establish integrated program support services.

Develop facilitators and design training programs.

Develop case studies of work dilemmas.

Develop information resources that managers can use to discuss values and ethics with their staff.

Obtain advice from qualified professionals.

Place all information relating to values and ethics on the organization's intranet and Web sites.

Good-faith intervention

Establish a range of options for employees to seek advice and resolve issues, including ombudsmen, ethics advisors, confidential help lines, and alternative dispute resolution procedures.

Clearly require managers to proactively address values and ethics incidents rather than wait until an employee takes the initiative.

Clearly state the responsibilities of employees when they become aware of questions of values and ethics as well as wrongdoing, and make formal commitments to protect employees who report wrongdoing.

Require suppliers of goods and services to report issues relating to values and ethics.

Treat infractions and wrongdoing fairly and uniformly.

Assessment and reporting

Report publicly against highest relevant organizational, national, or international standards.

Share information to establish benchmarks.

Periodically conduct employee focus groups or surveys to assess perceptions of values and ethics and the effectiveness of training and communication.

Conduct focus groups or surveys of stakeholder confidence in the organization.

Conduct audits to assess progress in establishing a sound infrastructure to support values and ethics in various parts of the organization.

Source: Federal government departments and Canadian private companies