Fostering Ethical Integrity To Navigate Complex Dilemmas
In today's dynamic corporate landscape, cultivating a robust ethical foundation and fostering employee engagement have become critical pillars of organisational success. Jaikrishna B, president and group CHRO, Amara Raja Group, believes in creating an engaged workforce that is aligned with the company's purpose and values is essential for achieving sustained growth. He delves into strategies to address ethical dilemmas, building an ethical culture while enhancing employee engagement.
How should organisations handle ethical dilemmas and ensure that employees and leaders have a strong ethical foundation?
To ensure a robust ethical foundation within an organisation and effectively manage ethical dilemmas, a series of crucial steps need to be implemented. Starting with defining a clear core purpose, encompassing its mission, overarching vision, and fundamental values that serve as guiding principles for all. These core values and the organisation's 'code of ethics,' must be communicated effectively and deeply embedded. Rather than imposing these values, interventions should be introduced to make them relatable to each employee, fostering a deep sense of connection and appreciation for these principles. It is imperative to continuously nurture and reinforce these core values, making them central to the organisational culture.
Developing comprehensive guidelines that define the expected behaviors and attitudes for both employees and leaders is pivotal. These guidelines should cover a spectrum of scenarios and provide guidance for addressing various challenges. Moreover, these behaviors and attitudes should be integral to the performance management system and other pertinent processes, ensuring consistent reinforcement. At our company, these practices have been consistently upheld and institutionalized. A range of strategies, including symbols, colors, artifacts, uniforms, rituals, role modeling, and training, are employed to impart and uphold these values on a daily basis.
What are some ways to assess the effectiveness of culture-building initiatives and employee engagement?
Assessing the effectiveness of culture-building initiatives and employee engagement entails a multifaceted approach. Conducting regular employee surveys, pulse checks, deploying listening tools etc. allows organisations to gauge sentiments, perceptions and well-being levels. Monitoring performance metrics such as retention, engagement, productivity, absenteeism etc provides insights into the impact on the outcomes. Participation rates in recognition and learning programmes, along with alignment with core values, indicate the depth of engagement. Today, social media activity of employees unveils broader engagement patterns. Stories shared by employees, external reviews, and innovation outputs also contribute to the assessment. By combining various quantitative and qualitative measures, organisations can obtain a comprehensive view of the success of its culture-building efforts and the level of employee engagement. This further helps in refining strategies for an enriched workplace environment.
How can companies emphasise the importance of emotional intelligence in employee interactions and relationships? What steps can be taken to provide resources or training to develop emotional intelligence?
Every organisation should establish systems that consistently communicate the significance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. This communication should elucidate how emotional intelligence enhances teamwork, communication, productivity, well-being, and overall effectiveness. It is imperative that these aspects are ingrained as expected behaviors, especially for those tasked with managing people and teams. Furthermore, it's essential to provide continuous training and retreats on this subject, enabling employees to practice emotional intelligence in their daily lives.
At our organisation, we've implemented a comprehensive "Wellness Structure" aimed at fostering a robust peer support network and promoting emotional well-being among our employees. We have also augmented our Employee Assistance Programme, known as AR Buddy, to prioritize mental health and overall well-being by expanding the programme's scope to encompass aspects beyond psychological well-being and making it accessible to employees' family members as well.
How can organisations incorporate CSR initiatives into its culture-building efforts?
Incorporating corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives into culture-building efforts can be achieved through various means. First and foremost, it's crucial to ensure that these initiatives align closely with the larger purpose and core values of the organisation. This alignment establishes a clear link between social responsibility and the organisation's collective identity. When leaders actively champion CSR initiatives and lead by example, it sends out a powerful message. Equally vital is the engagement of employees. Involving them in shaping and participating in CSR projects fosters a sense of ownership and connection. To bolster this engagement, effective training and communication are essential, helping employees understand the significance of CSR and their role in contributing to it.
Measuring and reporting the impact is crucial for accountability and transparency. This practice demonstrates to stakeholders (including employees) that the organisation is steadfast in its commitment to its CSR goals. Collaborating with external stakeholders to assess social impact provides valuable feedback to the organisations. Ultimately, the objective is to seamlessly integrate CSR into the organisation's fabric. This means that CSR should not be treated as a standalone effort, but rather a fundamental part of the organization's identity and actions.
