Where are HR's ethics?

Are there ethics in HR? Of course they exist, in the form of numerous guidelines, codes and nebulous policies – either generated within organisations or handed down from industry bodies. But does HR carry out its duties in an ethical manner on a consistent basis?

A glance at the business pages – or even the front pages – of any decent newspaper will throw up stories about some of the issues businesses are under pressure to perform better on. Some of these are being treated with even greater urgency at the moment, due to the impending election.

Zero-hours contracts, diversity and inclusion, social mobility – all things that receive a ‘could do better’ mark on businesses’ report cards. And significantly, they are all areas in which HR could play a key role in delivering outcomes that are more palatable from an ethical perspective.

A business benefit

Research regularly shows consumers are more likely to use the goods and services of companies that behave ethically (indeed, there are numerous websites dedicated to helping the public keep an eye on the behaviour of the big brands).

This might typically relate to broader elements such as supply chains, environmental credentials or how they invest their money. But increasingly, people policies are coming under the spotlight as consumers decide where to take their custom.

So, is it a no-brainer that HR departments should be helping their organisations to drive ethical improvements? Well, it would be, if not for the age-old question about who HR exists to serve.

Philippa Foster Back CBE, director of the Institute for Business Ethics (IBE) suggests the seemingly perennial uncertainty around whether HR’s responsibility is to serve the business or its people can be an obstacle to establishing an ethical culture.

She uses the example of whistleblowing policies, a key component in an ethical organisation, but one that often suffers due to the involvement of HR.

“One of the issues is staff don’t know whose side HR is on,” she says. “Elements such as whistleblowing policies often fail because they’re owned by the HR department.

“They’re not as widely used as they would be if handled by an external provider or another business department, because employees are fearful of saying anything contentious to their HR representative. They don’t know what the outcomes will be.”

Does this mean HR’s involvement in an organisation’s ethics is, through no real fault of its own, more of a hindrance than a help?

In Foster Back’s view, an ideal scenario involves the company’s ethics being owned by a dedicated function in the organisation, but with HR liaising closely to ensure the ethics contribute to the wider organisational culture.

Research carried out by the IBE identified which departments are typically responsible for ethics. Alongside HR, these included legal departments, corporate affairs, CSR, internal affairs and even finance.

Significantly, in the ten years since the research was first carried out, the proportion of HR departments responsible for ethics had reduced, while other functions had increased their ownership.

But, even when HR is closely involved in a company’s ethics, does it always carry out this role effectively?

Unethical processes

There is a suggestion that, as HR departments have become more driven by processes and technology, there is less visibility for the softer people skills that might still lie within them.

Foster Back says: “We somehow expect HR to have more empathy and people skills. The difficulty is that a lot of HR is now process-led. We’ve moved so far away from the tea-and-sympathy perception of HR that there is little room for the softer side of HR.”

However, while the nature of HR might have changed – with some HR professionals undoubtedly pleased to have shaken off the ‘tea and sympathy’ soubriquet – and while HR might have its hands tied when it comes to driving ethical behaviour on a grander scale, there is still an opportunity for it to have a positive ethical impact through its strategic contribution and day-to-day responsibilities.

One of these is obviously recruitment. Some 63% of FTSE 350 respondents to another piece of IBE research said ethics play a part in their recruitment process. In Foster Back’s opinion, this is a positive thing, enabling HR to identify and recruit people that demonstrate ethical attitudes alongside the capabilities required for the role.

“HR should be looking at building an ethical pipeline as well as a talent pipeline,” she says. “By ensuring new recruits have the right ethical qualities as well as the right skills, they can help to build a future ethical culture for the organisation.”

She adds that HR’s ownership of L&D is also a valuable consideration, putting it in a prime position to ensure even-handedness in who it helps to develop and progress in the business, further bolstering an ethically sound culture.

Foster Back also recommends the inclusion of ethics-related topics and questions on staff surveys, and in inductions, performance management processes and appraisals – as well as exit interviews.

Collaboration is crucial

Meanwhile, the IBE’s research suggests that, even when HR isn’t the ethics owner, it can play a valuable role in enforcing a code of ethics, by helping to disseminate and communicate it, followed by monitoring employee acceptance and performance against it.

The research also found that, when HR is not the owner of a company’s ethics, there is still an appetite for it to contribute through collaboration.

It surveyed HR professionals and owners of organisations’ ethics from 214 global companies, 77% of whom said they would like to see a more collaborative approach between the two functions than their company is currently taking.

It also pointed to additional research which found a willingness by both functions to learn more from each other and cross-fertilise their knowledge to achieve a positive outcome on ethics.

However, for values to be truly communicated throughout a company, management input was required. Unsurprisingly, there’s a need for this to start at the top and filter through the organisation – not something HR can necessary accomplish.

So, perhaps we should be more forgiving in our view of how HR operates on an ethical basis. As Foster Back points out, even when HR is involved in ethics it can sometimes backfire – not an outcome that is strictly HR’s fault; it’s more of an image problem than anything else.

And for all HR can do to drive a company’s ethics, it can only operate within the ethical parameters the company lays down. And for every John Lewis there’s a Sports Direct.

For all its input, in some cases it’s simply not possible for HR to reform an organisation from within. For the HR professional, it’s a question of how and where they want to carry out their work and help to achieve any sort of greater good.

About the author

John Eccleston

John is a writer and editor who has written about HR and recruitment, among other topics, for as long as he can remember. If he's not at his keyboard, you'll probably find him in the kitchen, at a pub quiz, or buying more trainers.