We often think that issues of conflict of interest only apply to government employees, politicians and other people with high ethical standard. However, these issues are present to any workplace can affect employees and employers.

Every time an employee finds himself in a situation where his interest is opposite with the goals of his employer, it is already considered to be a conflict of interest. Although most employees do not result to any negative behavior for their personal gain, time may come when an employee reach an ethical crossroads and may not know what to do since they don’t understand the principles of conflict of interest. Some instances that can cause conflict of interest are: a manager dating an employee who reports directly to him, an employee starting his own business that offers the same product or services the company he is working for is offering, and a company’s board member accepting fees to give professional advice to a direct competitor of his company where he sits as board member. In other words, conflict of interest occurs when a person’s interest or the interest of his family or business partner can influence his workplace decision and can ruin the ability to act for the betterment of the organization.

Since conflict of interest can affect the company’s reputation, employers must be responsible in ensuring that their employees fully understand the ethical standards that they must follow. In order to plan how to handle reputational risks, organizations must create steps to maintain a culture of integrity and one way to do this is by having a code of conduct.

A code of conduct is a policy that governs and clearly states the expectations from all employees. It must clearly indicate the desirable actions, behaviors and decisions that the organization thinks to be acceptable and ethical. If your company has a lot of employees, you can have an overall code of conduct and then some separate codes to guide each office and department. In creating a code of conduct there are some things to be considered and these things will be explained in the succeeding paragraphs.

When you create a code of conduct for your company, it is important that you first determine the key behaviors that need to abide by the ethical values of your company. Include values that are based from your existing rules and regulations and the necessary behaviors to deliver your services and products, to settle present workplace issues and achieve strategic goals.

In your code, it is also necessary to state that all your employees are expected to follow the specified behaviors. Add some wording to this effect and also indicate where they can direct their questions in case they have any. Moreover, before finalizing the code, be sure to review it with the key members of your company.

Once the code has been finalized, distribute copies of the document and discuss it with the employees. It is a must that every employee has a copy of the code and it is also posted in the accessible area of each office. Employees must not have a chance to say “I didn’t know it was wrong” as an excuse for a wrong behavior hence they each must be provided with a copy. It will also be wise to have each employee sign a code acknowledgment form yearly.

You must also know that there is no perfect code of conduct hence your company code must be regularly reviewed and updated. There is no simple way to cover all wanted behavior for every ethical predicament that can happen in the office. You must include policies like avoiding conflict of interest, keeping confidentiality, not taking gifts from stakeholders, avoiding use of drugs and alcohol, not using company’s information and properties for personal gain and reporting immoral activities. Also, be sure to include examples of sensitive behavior specific in your company.

These are the basic things to do in creating a code for your company or organization. Just remember to keep your code updated and make sure all the rules indicated there are relevant.

Author Bio: Shaun Z. Stevens Manitoba Canada Job Bank Alberta Fort McMurray Canadian Jobs Online –