Businesses, organizations and nonprofits based in Lancaster County have an opportunity to participate in a free, comprehensive ethics audit through Samaritan Counseling Center's Ethics in Business program. The in-depth process consists of four steps that allow companies to examine their commitment and overall approach to ethics.
The first step is to submit an online nomination before Saturday, Jan. 15, by an employee or a Lancaster County resident who admires the company. Upon nomination, the organization will be contacted to confirm its interest in the ethics audit.
The second step of the process is the provision of documents to the Ethics in Business program coordinator at Samaritan. These documents should demonstrate how ethics and policies are communicated to employees, as well as the overall framework of the company. Documents requested from companies will include an organizational chart, an ethics statement, an employee policy manual, a mission and vision statement, a core values statement and, if applicable, a recent annual report. Internal newsletters or notes from regular staff meetings, documents illustrating the communication of core values, and strategic planning documents can also be provided to further illustrate the company's commitment to ethics.
The third step of the process is the administration of an employee survey with questions around the culture of ethics at the company. Available online and in print, this survey will be distributed to individuals at all levels of the company and will be anonymous.
The fourth and final step of the process includes an in-person or virtual site visit with trained local business professionals who work in concert with Samaritan.
The site visitors will request interviews with a number of different individuals at the organization and structure their questions around the five criteria included in the Ethics in Business award: integrity, fairness and justice, stewardship, life-enhancing, and transparency. The report generated by the site visitors, who will also review the employee survey and all provided documents, will be used by an anonymous selection committee to determine the year's award recipient.
After the ethics process is completed, two members of each nominee will be invited to attend the annual awards ceremony, which will honor all organizations and announce the award recipient for the year. This year, nominees will also participate in an expert panel around how they incorporate ethics into their business.
This year's Ethics in Business awards program is scheduled for Friday, July 22, with plans of an in-person event at Lancaster Country Club.
In addition to the learning process and the opportunity to participate in a panel at the event, all nominees will receive an Ethics in Business final nominee or award recipient logo that can be used in their marketing materials, a certificate commemorating the organization's position as a final nominee or award recipient, the results of the anonymous employee survey, and a free hour of consulting around the employee survey or other areas of interest that came up during the process. Additionally, the company selected as the award recipient will receive an engraved award and a video from Emmy award-winning director, producer, editor, and videographer Andrea Campbell of Natural Light Films.
For details and a nomination form, visit http://www.scclanc.org, and under Business Consulting, click on Ethics in Business.
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