Improve Your Employee Conduct Policies with Document Control
As part of your quality management policies and procedures, it is important to ensure that the code of conduct is written in a clear, concise way that leaves little room for misinterpretation. This document should also be easily accessed by employees, and should outline the areas that are most crucial to your specific business. Some of the criteria that can be integrated into this document could include the following:
General Business Guidelines:
- Policies on business records and documents
- Financial integrity and insider trading
- Use and protection of company assets
- Non-disclosure and confidentiality policies
- Policy on patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyrights
- Usage of electronic media
Employment Practices:
- Overall consideration and respect towards co-workers
- Equal employment policy
- Safety and health standards
- Substance abuse policy
- Harassment and workplace violence policy
Conflicts of Interest:
- Nepotism guidelines
- Outside business interests or employment policy
- Solicitation and/or acceptance of gifts and entertainment
Compliance with Laws, Rules and Regulations:
- Antitrust laws
- Environmental practices and protection guidelines
- Advertising, sales and marketing policies
- Competitive information policy
Code of Conduct Administration:
- Senior management or supervisor guidance outline
- Reporting procedures
- Code of Conduct waivers and enforcement guideline
- Incident handling and investigation guidelines
- Personal responsibility declaration
While smaller companies may not find the need to include every criteria within their code of conduct document, certain important elements can be used as part of a more general overview of conduct guidelines. If needed, specific quality management policies can be linked to criteria for further clarification. Once a template has been created and approved by upper management, it is far simpler to revise this document when and if the need for updates arises. With the help of document control software, the process is kept as simple as possible from start to finish, thereby saving time even further.
