When not to revise the workers’ Code of Conduct

IN THE WORKPLACE

- REY ELBO

Our chief executive officer (CEO) wants to toughen the penalties in the Code of Conduct. This is due to the increasing number of employee absences without official leave, tardiness, insubordination, and in some cases theft. He instructed me to hire a consultant to revise the code. Is this the right approach? — Velvet Vicky.

A company’s Code of Conduct is the corporate equivalent of traffic rules. It must be clear, simple, and updated as it is designed to prevent collisions, confusion, and chaos. In practice, however, some Codes look like they were last updated when people still used dial-up internet and Nokia ringtones.

Worse, some employees only read it once — on their first day — before signing the acknowledgment form like they’re accepting terms and conditions for a new app.

But wait. If your Code is less than five years old, your first priority is to upgrade the leadership capabilities of your line executives because people problems rarely come from written policies alone.

The real issues stem from ineffective leadership, inconsistent enforcement, poor communication, or a weak workplace culture. Updating the Code may look like action, but it doesn’t guarantee meaningful change.

Moreover, revising it is time-consuming. It requires interviews of key line leaders and some employees, back-and-forth management consultation, multiple drafting, reviews, and approvals.

On top of that, hiring a management consultant can be expensive, and some consultants merely recycle templates or copy other companies’ standards without tailoring them to your organization’s unique context. Or else they would simply use AI to make their work easy and faster, but not necessarily better.