BRING YOUR CONSCIENCE TO WORK. PLEASE!

Of course, once you manage to build a corporate conscience you're faced with the now more confusing than ever dilemma of how to get your employees on board with it.

Current political correctness rules say you should hire folks who have a “detachable conscience”. You know, a conscience that they take out and put in a jar each morning as they enter the workplace.

The idea, of course, is that every individual will put aside their own beliefs about right and wrong; replacing those ideals with whatever more morally flexible, more “sensitive-to-the fringe”, more politically correct whim of the moment that happens to be in vogue (or should I say “in vague”?).

But as anyone who's spent more than a few minutes living or working in such an overly sensitive; artificially concerned organization knows, the folks who find it easiest to ignore their own ideals are the ones most likely to ignore (or even sabotage) yours.

To build an organization that does the right thing in every situation, you need people who have a clear sense of right and wrong. You need people whose understanding of right and wrong coincide with yours. You want people who are willing to stand up and say “this is wrong” and who'll work to correct it.

So what do we do? How can we ensure that our hard earned corporate conscience is strengthened by regular use? How do we make sure our organization's conscience doesn't simply atrophy and disappear; becoming simply one more failed corporate manifesto hanging in a dusty frame on the wall of the employee lounge?

First, stop worrying about offending folks. Every idea of any value offends someone. You just need to make sure you're offending the right people...and in the right way.

Second, start focusing on doing the right thing first time, every time. Nothing helps create a culture focused on doing good faster than having executives and management who's first question in a crisis is “What's the right thing to do?”; not “What's the cheapest way out of this?”.

Third, Make “following the Corporate Conscience” a part of every employee's job...and part of their regular evaluation. Acknowledge your people when they live up to your ideals. Praise them when they point out the company's faults with a sincere desire for improvement. Reward them when they work to correct the faults they find. Promote them when they work quietly to help others do the right thing.

Fourth, hire people whose have a conscience; particularly if it's compatible with your corporate conscience. You can do this without running afoul of the employment laws. Just be up front with prospects about who you are, what you believe and what you will expect from them if they're hired. Give them examples of situations that might arise in the job they're pursuing where they might feel some moral conflict (there are any number of standardized employment tests that address these situations).

Fifth, review the corporate conscience and how it's implemented with the organization often. Encourage employees to identify conflicts, inconsistencies and errors. Change it if it needs to be changed.

If you do this right, you'll have an organization with a sincere desire to do the right thing first time, every time. You're people will be happier in their job and you'll have a whole lot of jars to add to your next recycling campaign.


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Got questions about this posting? Post them here or e-mail me at: TomFawls@CouncilforSmallBusiness.com.