Code of Conduct Survey Reveals Serious Weaknesses

Published 01-16-08

Submitted by OCEG - Open Compliance & Ethics Group

CLEVELAND, OH - January 16, 2008 - Axentis, providers of the industry's most comprehensive and widely deployed governance, risk and compliance (GRC) management solution, and the Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG) today announced survey results on how companies develop and manage their codes of conduct (CoC). A code of conduct typically includes issues such as integrity in relationships with contractors, appropriate use of company property and diligent fulfillment of legal and regulatory requirements.

"The survey results bring to light several areas where organizations are letting their fundamental ethical principles go unaddressed," said Brett Curran, vice president of GRC and privacy practices for Axentis. "Our organizations advocate applying consistent, closed-loop, and effective GRC practices to code of conduct so that companies can truly set the context for ethical decision-making."

The survey findings include:

Corporate codes of conduct are often inadequately driven by real-world inputs. Less than 10 percent of respondents were able to claim their CoC was driven by any input from their own workforce. Only four percent receive input from key business partners and less than three percent receive input from key customers. Those at the front lines of daily business operations have the first-hand awareness of emerging risks and ethics issues. As such, having the content of CoCs driven by a full range of relevant inputs, can help address real-world risks and challenges.

Code of conduct management starts off better than it finishes. About half of all respondents felt they had consistent processes for defining and launching CoC initiatives. However, only about a quarter have a process for training or testing. This is a sign of a week CoC because communication, training and testing of CoC content across the enterprise is vital to effectively enforce a CoC. Companies should constantly monitor compliance in order to discover performance shortfalls and pursue continuous improvements to reduce risk.

Code of conduct insecurity is characterized by inadequate metrics. Over 20 percent of respondents track the number of people completing required training and over 15 percent track certifications that were met. It seems those are the only metrics being tracked, as other metrics associated with CoC best practices did not even break the 10 percent mark. If these metrics are not measured, organizations have no way to assess what improvements need to be made.

Automation of code of conduct attestation management still has a long way to go. Only 13 percent of all companies surveyed use a single automated system to manage training delivery and track confirmations associated with that training. It is costly, difficult and inefficient for organizations to pull together results from all aspects of CoC training across the enterprise in a single place to identify gaps in attestations or to detect trends in where such gaps are chronically occurring.

"During the past few years, we've seen a tremendous effort put behind establishing codes of conduct. People rightfully take great pride in such initiatives," said Scott Mitchell, chairman and CEO of OCEG. "As the survey results show, we're now ready for the next step-rolling out effective management techniques to ensure those codes are enforced across the board. We hope to raise awareness that there are solutions out there to help organizations do just that."

Axentis and OCEG surveyed the 169 registrants to the OCEG Code of Conduct Illustrated Series, sponsored by Axentis, for this analysis. The full survey results can be found via Axentis here or OCEG here.

To participate in or receive the results of similar surveys conducted by OCEG, register for free here.

About Axentis

Axentis is the world's leading provider of on-demand solutions for enterprise governance, risk and compliance. For more information, please visit www.axentis.com.

About OCEG

OCEG is the only nonprofit organization offering comprehensive guidance, standards, benchmarks and tools for integrating governance, risk management, internal control and compliance (GRC) processes. Its unique platform and organizational structure helps organizations take advantage of contributions from thousands of experts and companies. OCEG's guidance, benchmarking, custom tools and communities of practice help organizations achieve Principled Performanceâ„¢. To learn more about OCEG, visit www.oceg.org.

OCEG - Open Compliance & Ethics Group

OCEG is the only nonprofit offering comprehensive guidance, standards, benchmarks and tools for integrating governance, risk and compliance (GRC) processes. Our unique platform and organizational structure helps you take advantage of contributions from thousands of experts and companies - many of them just like yours. Our guidance, benchmarking, custom tools and communities of practice help you perform - not just comply. OCEG offers value you can exploit today, tomorrow and as your company grows.

Code of Conduct Survey Reveals Serious Weaknesses

Code of Conduct Survey Reveals Serious Weaknesses

OCEG - Open Compliance & Ethics Group

OCEG - Open Compliance & Ethics Group

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