MANAGEMENT/ETHICS SPECIAL..Five Ways To Build Work Ethics in Your Team

Five Ways To Build Work Ethics in Your Team 

Work ethics are a set of values and principles unique to a company’s culture, and managers can do much to reinforce their importance in a team.

1 Start Early
Companies that are successful at instilling work ethics in their teams start at the time of induction, says Kaustubh Sonalkar, executive director, people and change practice at PwC. “It is important to make the employees aware of the work ethics of your company during initial interviews too,” he says.

2 Engage with the Team
Regular communication by managers, quizzes, training programmes and dipstick surveys that demonstrate nonnegotiable principles can help in reinforcing them, says Sonalkar.

3 Walk the Talk
It’s important for managers to demonstrate work ethics in their own behaviour. “Work ethics flow top-down,” says Sonalkar.

4 Motivate and Reward
Awarding and recognising those who adhere to work ethics through monetary and other incentives will motivate them to continue doing so, and will also inspire others to follow suit.

5 Choose Role Models
Most companies have role models who are valued and appreciated and managers can get role models to interact with their teams to drive the point home. “To have someone who works as expected can help in expressing what the company expects out of others,” says P Thiruvengadam, senior director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Anumeha Chaturvedi ET121204