Vienna, VA (June 28, 2018) – The Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI), the oldest ethics research and best practice community in the U.S., today released the second installment of the 2018 Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES). The report’s findings focus on the impact that an ethics and compliance (E&C) program has in the workplace, and the return on investment (ROI) for program development and improvement.
The results of the report, Measuring the Impact of E&C Programs, are significant. The report finds that when organizations adopt ethics and compliance principles, even to a minimum standard, employees were 132 percent more likely to report misconduct and 270 percent more likely to be satisfied with the organizations’ response compared to an organization with no program.
In 2013, ECI convened an independent panel of experts to develop the 5 Principles of a High-Quality E&C Program (HQP). Since its release, hundreds of E&C practitioners have been trained using these principles.
The report demonstrates that as the quality and strength of ethics and compliance programs increase, organizations see improvements in several key performance areas: the establishment of a stronger, more resilient culture and significant decrease in misconduct. ECI also found that adhering to any of the 15 operational standards of HQP resulted in dramatic return on investment. In organizations where HQP objectives are present, employees demonstrated a tenfold increase in confidence and trust in the organization.
“This report makes the case that when it comes to ethics & compliance programs, every effort by an organization makes a difference” said Patricia Harned, CEO of ECI. “Yet program quality matters – the higher the quality, the bigger the ROI for the organization.”
The full report can be found at http://ethics.org/research/gbes
About the Ethics & Compliance Initiative
The Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) is a non-profit organization that empowers its members across the globe to operate their businesses at the highest levels of integrity. The organization provides research and a best practice community, as well as certification opportunities for ethics & compliance professionals. Through its membership, ECI represents entities across nearly every industry, located in 37 countries on six continents each dedicated to promoting the highest levels of integrity.
