No one could avoid seeing the viral moment that was lived during the Coldplay concert in the United States, when the kiss cam He focused on a couple who enjoyed the concert. It was not any couple, it was Andy Byron, CEO of the Astronomer company, and Kristin Cabot, director of Human Resources of the same company.
Beyond infidelity, this shows that the issue of ethics is only on paper. As explained by Fernando Senties, CEO de Amitai, a company focused on giving solutions and consulting on organizational ethics and normative compliance for companies, so that a company is certified as more ethical, these programs must come from senior management, that is, from the CEO, and are usually disseminated by the Human Resources area.
“Murphy’s law. The person who is supposed to give an example for all other employees and the one who disseminates it, were involved. People know that the programs are paper and they do not make any sense to pay attention to them when the same general director and the human resources are violating them. The message they are sending to the whole company is: this we do because we have to do it, but nobody cares about the author and creator Ethics
But what are ethics and compliance programs for? According to the specialist, to protect organizations from the acts of the individuals who form them.
And he adds that, on the side of the authorities, there is also a relaxation regarding compliance. In February of this year, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to suspend the application of the Law of Corrupt Practices abroad, which prohibits US companies and citizens from offering bribes to foreign officials in order to obtain or maintain business.
Read also: Astronomer’s directive resignation after scandal in Coldplay concert
“These cases that become media are actually the tip of the iceberg because they only represent what is happening right now while you and I talk in hundreds or thousands of companies in Mexico, the United States and in the world,” says Senties.
Aitai has given the task of developing a ranking that evaluates the most ethical companies, but the challenges persist for the programs to spread throughout the organizational culture, from senior management to supply chains.
The path of ethics and compliance
Fernando Senties explains that when a company has an effective ethical and compliance program, it allows it to reduce risks and the possibility of investigation by the authority that brings with it expensive, both economic and reputational sanctions.
At the same time, it brings benefits that are not valued on many occasions, as greater chances of remaining over time, economic benefits when opening opportunities with commercial suppliers or allies and if at any time the company is sought to sell the company, financial assets will be evaluated, but also the risks they represent.
“For example, if the company is related to a person who is involved in acts of corruption, simply and simply buy it,” says Senties.
The specialist points out that generations and and Z represent an important part of the workforce in this year’s ranking (41%) and a characteristic they share is that they do not work in places where they do not identify with the values of companies, so having recognition about ethics and compliance helps them to position themselves and attract the best talent.
“Those companies that are involved in acts of corruption and scandals, nobody wants to work for them (and) have great personnel outings and many problems to hire people,” he says.
It is also something that comes in waterfall, from national laws, such as article 25 of the General Law of Administrative Responsibilities, to those present in international agreements, as in the T-MEC and its anti-corruption chapter.
But the big pending theme is of the sanctions. If the Coldplay concert case is resumed, those involved renounced until it came to light. So the company should have a sanctions policy, as well as a person in charge of the ethics program that reviews it annually to have data to analyze and make proposals, improvements and update or change policies.
Among the challenges that Fernando Senties stands out is to generate the conviction that having a program of ethics and compliance is good for the company and the lack of application of sanctions. “People normally act because they are afraid of some consequence or because they see the opportunity for a benefit.”
Lee also: Companies launch campaign to strengthen national products consumption
Companies + Ethics
The Amitai methodology contemplates only those that obtain a result of 60 out of 70 through a mathematical algorithm, they also contemplate the areas responsible for the programs and also carry out surveys to employees.
Within the pillars included in the ethical philosophy of the business, ethical leadership, promotion of ethical culture and normative compliance, such as having a money laundering prevention policy, “(this) to prevent what happened with Cibanco, with vector and intercam, or have a policy to prevent conflicts of interest as it happened in the case of the Astronomer company and its CEO Andy Byron,” Senties.
The specialist says that companies that occupy the first places in the ranking share something in common: a genuine interest in employees.
