A code of conduct states the rules, values, ethical principles and vision for your business. Having a code of conduct in your workplace provides staff with clear standards and expectations of how to do their job.
It's important for staff to understand and agree to your code of conduct, as their compliance with the code helps to build your business's reputation.
Your code of conduct should be followed whenever employees are working for or representing your business. This includes when they are:
- performing work in the workplace
- taking business trips
- attending work-related social events
- representing you or your business.
This guide explains how to develop, implement and review a code of conduct for your business.
- Last reviewed: 17 Jul 2017
- Last updated: 29 Jun 2016
- Career development
- Professional Code of Ethics: Definition and Examples
By Indeed Editorial Team
Updated June 28, 2022 | Published January 3, 2020
Updated June 28, 2022
Published January 3, 2020
This article has been approved by an Indeed Career Coach
A professional code of ethics offers a set of guidelines teams or organizations can use to make good decisions in the workplace. It allows you to set a baseline expectation for what is socially acceptable and how to approach problems. A professional code of ethics can help employees work honestly and with integrity, which can help create a healthier work environment.
In this article, we explain what a professional code of ethics is, share examples of different ethical codes and offer some tips for how you can create your own.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Professionalism
What is a professional code of ethics?
A professional code of ethics is a set of principles designed to help a business govern its decision-making and distinguish right from wrong. Often referred to as an ethical code, these principles outline the mission and values of an organization, how the professionals within the organization are supposed to approach problems and the standards to which employees are held.
In some industries, such as finance or public health, specific laws dictate professional conduct. In other industries, a code of ethics may be voluntarily adopted. For example, a business that doesn’t necessarily focus on climate change might still detail its commitment to sustainability in its official code of ethics.
Related: Integrity: Definition and Examples
Why is a code of ethics important?
A professional code of ethics is designed to ensure employees are behaving in a manner that is socially acceptable and respectful of one another. It establishes the rules for behavior and sends a message to every employee that universal compliance is expected. It also provides the groundwork for a preemptive warning if employees break the code. A code of ethics can be valuable not just internally as a professional guide but also externally as a statement of a company’s values and commitments.
Related: Leadership Skills: Definitions and Examples
Examples of a professional code of ethics
Here are some examples of a professional code of ethics in different professions:
Lawyers
Lawyers are bound to a professional code of ethics that exists independently of their employment.
For example, Rule 1.1 in the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct reads, “A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.”
Physicians
Like lawyers, physicians are held to a universal code of conduct because of their chosen profession. The American Medical Association addresses everything from patient care to relationships with other staff members. For example:
A physician shall provide competent medical care, with compassion and respect for human dignity and rights.
A physician shall uphold the standards of professionalism, be honest in all professional interactions and strive to report physicians deficient in character or competence, or engaging in fraud or deception, to appropriate entities.
A physician shall respect the law and recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient.
Financial advisers
Financial advisers are legally bound to a code of ethics known as a fiduciary duty. This code requires them to act in the best interest of their clients. Certified public accountants (CPAs) are expected to follow similar ethical standards of truthfulness, objectivity and integrity.
Teachers
Professional educators are typically held to a universal code of ethics that is designed to protect the rights of all students. The code of ethics can vary from school to school or differ slightly in each state, but the basic principles always remain the same: Teachers are required to show impartiality, integrity and ethical behavior in the classroom and in their conduct with parents and colleagues.
Businesses
Businesses often establish a professional code of ethics to help employees decide if certain behaviors are acceptable. Some examples of this are:
Confidentiality and privacy policies: Companies may require employees to maintain confidentiality when handling clients’ private information or when dealing with the company’s own proprietary data.
Obeying the law: Companies may specify guidelines that require employees to abide by the law. For example, they may discuss profiting from—or enabling others to profit from—inside information regarding a company’s financial stability, performance or internal problems.
Caring and consideration policies: Companies may establish policies requiring employees to behave in a caring and considerate manner. For example, if you provide home healthcare services to senior citizens, treating the patient and their family with care and consideration can impact your ability to obtain new clients. Employers could also include these policies about how employees treat one another. This can ensure everyone understands that behaving with consideration and compassion is a baseline expectation and that other behavior will not be tolerated.
Related: Valuable Examples of Integrity at Work
How to develop a code of ethics
Here are the steps you can follow to create your own professional code of ethics for your company:
Set your priorities
Ask employees for input
Put someone in charge
Have someone to turn to for help
1. Set your priorities
The first step to creating a code of ethics is deciding the values that are important to your company. Putting these rules in place early on will help your company grow the way you want it to. For example, as your organization develops and expands, you will be hiring new employees, and you want them to understand the values of your organization before you bring them into the workplace.
One way you can identify your company’s values is to consider what your limits are when trying to acquire clients or meet your revenue goals. It is also important to think about your company’s work environment as well as smaller factors like attendance and dress code.
2. Ask employees for input
Request your employees participate in crafting your code of ethics. Employees need to understand why it is important to put the code of ethics into writing and why it contains the tenets it does. If you ask them for input when you are creating the code of ethics, they will be far more likely to support the idea, and the code may encompass a more well-rounded selection of principles.
3. Put someone in charge
Even if you have the support of senior management and employees alike, someone still needs to be put in charge of applying your code of ethics. Often known as an ethical or compliance officer, this person needs to have a strong commitment to the success of your organization, be reliable and have strong interpersonal skills. Usually, this role will fall to someone in your HR department who may also be responsible for monitoring and reporting misconduct.
The employee you put in charge of maintaining your company’s code of ethics should also be responsible for updating it. The code should be a dynamic part of your business that changes as your company grows and develops. Each year, you should ask yourself if it continues to represent your business and who you want to be.
4. Have someone to turn to for help
If you are part of a smaller company in a low-risk, low-liability field, you can typically draft a code of ethics yourself. However, if you have more than 20 employees, you may want to consider consulting with a human resources specialist or an ethicist. It can be beneficial to ask for help to make sure you have covered every necessary principle in your code of ethics.