How HR Consultant should Manage Ethical Issues and Ensure Compliance

1. HowHRConsultantshouldManage EthicalIssuesandEnsureCompliance? Organizationsfunctionaccording to somenormsandvaluesaswellashave characteristic organizational culturethatistheproductoftheaboveelements.Compliancewithethicalnormsisan integralaspectofeveryemployee’sworkandorganizationsstrivetoensurethatpoliciesarebeing followed, no norms arebeingviolated,andaboveall,employeessticktothe rulesand regulations governingtheiremployment. Indeed,giventheproliferationofbusinessscandalsarisingfromunethicalconductandunacceptable behaviour,organizationsareeven more keen toensurethatsuchinstancesofbadbehaviour that havethepotential todestroy theirreputations,aswellascausemonetary losses,andalsoleadto punitiveactionsbythe authoritiesdonothappen. Inthiscontext,organizationstypicallyentrusttheHumanResourceFunctionwitheducatingthe employees aboutthe ethicalnormsandrulesandregulations.They alsotasktheHR Managers withensuringcompliance,punishingviolations,enforcingthecodesofconduct,aswellaskeepingan eyeonpotentialbreakofrulesandregulations. Thus, theHRManagershaveapivotal role toplay in the overallorganizational ecosystemasfaras ethicsandvaluesareconcerned. Letusnow turntothespecificwaysinwhichtheHRManagersfunctiontofulfiltheirresponsibilities andmandates.Ethicsstartsfromthe timethepotential employeesapplyto theorganizationsasthere can becaseswhereaspirants“fudge”theirresumesaswellashideinstancesofpast violationsin othercompanies. Indeed,insomecountries,therearelawsandrulesandregulationswhichempowerorganizations toreportsuchviolationsnotonlytothemanagementoftheircompaniesbutrecordthemina centralizeddatabaseaccessedby all firmsthathavesignedup for theserviceso thatpotential cheatscanbe marked andtaggedwhichwouldhelp the entireindustry. Indeed,thepre-selectionphaseisveryimportantasgiventhefactthatMillionsofgraduatesaspireto beabsorbedintotheindustry;itisindeedthecasethatthe“WeedingOut”of“BadApples”isdone as earlyandassoonaspossible. Even duringtheselectionphase, theHRconsultantmustbeonthelookout for possible misrepresentationsofdata,wronginformationpertainingtotheaspirants’education or previous employment historyinadditiontothe “gamingthe system”aspectwhichinlayman’swordsmeans aspirantscolludewitheachotherandwith“insiders”intheorganizationssothatthey areselected throughdubious means. Next,theprimarytaskoftheHRconsultantinindiabeginswhentheemployeesareon-boarded,or thephasewheretheselectionismadeandtheemployeesjointheorganizationandareinthetraining phase.Indeed,thisisthemostcriticalphaseasfar astheeducationofthefreshandthe new employeesregardingtheorganizationalpolicies are concerned. To takeexamples,the new recruitsmust begiventheCodesofConductand clearlytoldthat any violations,wouldresultinterminationofemploymentorotherpunitive actions. Indeed,someorganizationshavepoliciesandrulesthatspecifythatevenminortransgressionssuch asclaiminginflatedexpensesandacceptinggiftsandotherfavoursfromexternalpartiestoprovide benefitsto themarenottolerated.Thisisthecasewith manyMNCsorMultinationalCorporations which take theseviolationsveryseriously. Turningtothemeat ofthepolicies,the mostfrequentviolationisoftenlinkedtothe practiceof violatingthe organizationalpolicies. Some instancesofthiscanberecordingattendance for others byswipingtheiridentityand authenticationcardsin orderto“maskandhide”thetime thattheotheremployeeclocksinpractice; the practice ofusingcompanyresourcesfor personaluse whensuchuseisexplicitly prohibited, impersonatingotheremployees;andmost importantly,usingtheinternetandexternalnetworkaccess to transmit confidentialandrestricted informationanddata. In recentyearsbecauseoftheboominsome sectors,therehasbeenanotherformofviolation whereinemployeesapproachtheircolleagueswithoffersofjobsinothercompanies,andthisisa violation thatis takenveryseriouslyin almost allfirms.

2. Indeed,thereareseveral firmsthatroutinely dismisstheemployeeswhensuchviolationsare brought totheirnotice.Inallthesecases,theHRconsultantinindiaplaysavitalroleasitishis orherjob tonotonlymonitorsuchviolationsbutalsotoenforcetherulesandregulationsas well as punish infringements of the rules. Apart fromthis,anothertrend thathasbeennoticedoflateisthe practice ofcyberhackingwherein employeesmisuse theconfidentialinformationthatisgiven tothemaspartofnormalworkbysending ittoexternal parties,stealingpasswordsandotherpersonalinformationandpassing themonto dubiouscharacters,andaboveall,atendencyto overusetheinternetandvisitprohibitedsites. Indeed,theproblemissoacutethattheHRManagersregularlymonitorthebrowsinghabitsof employeesandkeepacheckonwhethertheemployeesare misusing thefacilities. Ascan be seenfromthediscussionsofar,thereare any numberofethicalviolations.andwehave coveredsome oftheminthisarticleinadditiontodetailinghowtheHRconsultantinindiacandeal withsuchviolations.Asmentionedintheintroductorysections,withtheincreaseintheinstancesof businessscandalsandunethicalbehaviour,ithasbecome veryimportant fororganizationstotrack violationsandperhaps,ensurethatsuchviolationsdonothappeninthefirstplace bylayingdownthe rulesand enforcing themwith anIronhand.