A great code of conduct is concise, easy to understand and reflects the values of an organization. Write or update your own code of conduct using these outstanding examples.
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Request a DemoIn February 2022, CNN president Jeff Zucker was forced to resign when the network discovered he had been hiding a romantic relationship with another employee. While office romances are not prohibited at CNN, employees are required to disclose them. Though this incident ousted a top figure in the company, CNN did the right thing by enforcing their policy as soon as they discovered an infraction. Your organization's code of conduct should be clear in both its rules and consequences, as well as applied consistently, regardless of the person's position. A strong code of conduct can also reduce your company's risk of embarrassing public scandals and protect your employees from harm. For example, a zero-tolerance approach to harassment could deter a manager from yelling at their employees. Or, explaining your company's conflict of interest policy might keep an employee from unwittingly committing fraud. Encouraging an ethical culture with your code of conduct creates a safer, more productive workplace while helping you prevent internal incidents. Not sure where to start when writing yours? These simple code of conduct examples from honorees on Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies list show how to create a document that's thorough, engaging, on-brand, and helpful.
If your code of conduct isn't up to date with your company's current vision, values, and mandate, it won't work to prevent misconduct. Write or update your document today using this free code of conduct template.
Get My TemplateWriting a strong code of conduct requires a thorough understanding of your company, including its culture, mission, values, and vision. A great code of conduct is:
Below are 18 outstanding code of conduct examples that you can use as inspiration to update or write your own. (A ✓ denotes a particularly exceptional feature of the code of conduct)
AT&T's Code of Business Conduct is readily available online. It's published under the policies section of the "About AT&T" portion of its website for current and future stakeholders to review. AT&T emphasizes the values it maintains and employees' responsibilities to the company, shareholders, customers, and each other. The document also includes other relevant policies the reader can reference within each section. Each section of the code includes its own frequently asked questions box, with real workplace examples of confusing scenarios. Finally, a visual decision-making model helps employees decide how to approach a situation and, if they still aren't sure, offers contact information for further help.
✓ Concise
✓ FAQs
A quick glance at the Hanes Brands Global Code of Conduct reveals a clear, unifying theme: excellence. This theme acts as the foundation for every component of the code of conduct, including rules about the use of company assets, interacting with coworkers, conflicts of interests, and workplace safety. By embedding one of its core values into its code of conduct, Hanes Brands is able to demonstrate its strong commitment to the business standards it has developed. The company's code of conduct for employees also includes addenda that outline necessary definitions, explanations behind the rules, and links to other relevant policies. This code of conduct for employees is well organized and designed, easy to understand, and comprehensive.
✓ Visually Appealing
✓ Well Organized
The Kellogg Company's Code of Ethics serves the same purpose as a Code of Conduct, but bases the document around the company's core values and ethical standards. The policy is attractive and appealing, drawing inspiration from the grain farms that gave us the company's first cereal products. Beyond its visual appeal, however, this code of conduct is extremely well written and organized. The code is divided into employee responsibilities, complete with how and why each one is key to the Kellogg's way of conducting business. The Kellogg Company also provides training on their code of conduct by including several quizzes, definitions, and question-and-answer boxes. These tools are designed to help employees make decisions when confronting problems, ranging from personal social media use to conflicts of interest. This sample code of conduct does an excellent job of promoting the company's culture while clearly indicating how employees should act.
✓ Visually Appealing
✓ Great Situational Examples
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The Starbucks Standards of Business Conduct begins by outlining the mission and values that Starbucks aims to uphold as a company. The document then dives into detailed descriptions of organizational expectations with respect to the work environment, business practices, intellectual property, and community involvement. In many instances, the company indicates where or who employees can refer to for assistance or more information. Starbucks' code of conduct also answers several questions that employees can reference when facing uncertainty. These short Q&A sections help readers understand how they should act in certain situations and why that behavior reflects the standards created by Starbucks. Additionally, Starbucks has included a unique ethical decision-making framework to assist employees when they are faced with ethical dilemmas in the workplace.
✓ Well Organized
✓ Great Situational Examples
✓ FAQs
PepsiCo's Global Code of Conduct is an extensive document that covers a variety of topics including responsibilities of individual employees, respect in the workplace, and responsibilities of the company to its shareholders. As a massive global entity, PepsiCo has ensured that its code of conduct is easy to understand (in several languages) and very clear in its expectations for employees. As with any strong code of conduct, PepsiCo's code has rooted its expectations in one of the key behaviors of "The PepsiCo Way": "Acting with Integrity." The company has also dedicated an entire section of the code to explaining how the code will be administered. This includes information on investigations related to misconduct and disciplinary actions the company may take. PepsiCo's code of conduct also encourages employees to report bribery, violence, or other misconduct by contacting the company's hotline.
✓ Well Organized
✓ Visually Appealing
✓ Great Examples and Definitions
Use this social media policy checklist to set expectations for appropriate online behavior.
Social Media Policy Checklist
