Promoting Integrity in the Workplace

Recruiting and Hiring

• Add the Penn State Values and the Smeal Honor Code to the header or footer of the candidate’s interview itinerary.
• Introduce the Penn State Values and the Smeal Honor Code during the interview process, and explain how your department, unit, or team subscribes to the Penn State Values and the Smeal Honor Code (i.e., how does your department, unit, or team “live” these values on a daily basis).
•  Ask questions related to integrity during the interview process. For example:
  
  

  Drawing on your individual values, which ones do you believe also align with the Penn State Values?

  What does it mean to have an “ethical culture”? If you can, provide an example of an ethical (or unethical) culture that you have experienced.

  Tell me about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma. What did you do and how did you decide what to do?

Orientation and Training

• Communicate the ethical standards of Penn State and the Smeal College of Business, as well as your expectations for promoting ethical behavior in the workplace. If you hire a senior employee to your department, unit, or team, do not assume that they automatically understand and subscribe to your expectations. Provide all new employees with the opportunity to ask questions for clarification.

• Arrange for new employees to meet with the Human Resources Manager as well as the Honor and Integrity Director.

• Identify opportunities for questionable activity in the workplace, especially as it relates to new employees’ responsibilities (e.g., data breaches, conflicts of interest, fraud or theft, research misconduct). Inform new employees of these activities during orientation and/or training, and provide employees with the opportunity to ask questions for clarification.

• If your unit or department utilizes work-study students and/or student volunteers, meet with the students and explain your expectations for ethical behavior in the workplace and how your expectations apply to their responsibilities. Share examples of ethical dilemmas previous work-study students and/or student volunteers have encountered and explain how they should be addressed.

• Inform all new employees about what to do and where to go to report questionable activity in the workplace. This list of people and places may vary by department, unit, and team, but all Penn State students, faculty, and staff, should be able to raise questions or voice concerns by contacting the Penn State hotline (1-800-560-1637, www.hotline.psu.edu) anonymously and without fear of retaliation.

Day-to-Day Operations

• Lead by example; it’s not only about what you say (or don’t say) to your employees but it is also about the decisions and actions that you make (or don’t make) that your employees observe on a daily basis.
• Display the Penn State Values and the Smeal Honor Code at your workspace.

• Encourage your team to sign the Honor Code, and encourage your team to volunteer to staff the college’s biannual Honor Code signing. Some supervisors may wish to incorporate the signing experience into their team or department meeting time. If this interests you, contact Honor and Integrity Director Michelle Darnell to coordinate a time to sign the Honor Code.
• Add the Penn State Values and the Smeal Honor Code to the header or footer of your meeting agendas.
• Start every department or team meeting with a standing agenda item related to promoting integrity such as, “Do you have an ethical dilemma that you’d like to discuss with the department or team?”
• Encourage your team to share their ethical concerns and openly share your concerns. And, provide guidance and support to an employee who reports questionable activity to you. If you have questions and/or concerns about how to address the matter, contact your supervisor (if he/she is not involved in the matter) and/or Human Resources for guidance.
• Host a department or unit-specific workshop on integrity in the workplace for your team. Contact Michelle Darnell to plan and coordinate a workshop for your team.
• Encourage your team to participate in college-wide events such as Coffee & Conversations and Corporate Compliance and Ethics Week, as well as to attend focus groups and complete the college’s biennial ethical culture audit.

• Revisit your expectations for promoting ethical behavior in the workplace from time to time, especially during goal-setting and planning meetings, performance reviews, and annual stay-treats or retreats.

• Recognize an employee who goes above and beyond for doing the right thing by nominating him/her for the RISE Above Staff Award or RISE Above Faculty Award.
• Hold employees accountable when they behave in values-inconsistent ways. If you have questions and/or concerns about how to address the matter, contact your supervisor and/or Human Resources for guidance.