Explore every episode of the podcast The HR Bartender Show

One of the last things we might think about when it comes to ethics is efficiency. There’s no rule that says organizations can’t accomplish both. In this episode, Jakub Ficner from Case IQ talks about the framework organizations can use to be ethical and efficient at the same time. It starts with creating guidelines and using technology to monitor risk.

HR needs to create a safe environment for employees to feel comfortable reporting concerns. But employees also need to understand HR’s role in both protecting the company and maintaining confidentiality. In this episode, we discuss the role of HR in facilitating workplace investigations to ensure that the process maintains legal integrity.

Organizations create codes of conduct and ethics training. And employees agree with them. But then concerns still arise. In this episode, we discuss the connection between ethics, compliance, and the business. We also talk about how building ethics into the investigatory process, will bring more credibility to investigations and help organizations get to the truth with fairness and respect.

Ethics isn’t a one and done activity. If organizations really want an ethical culture, ethics should be a part of everything - recruiting, onboarding, training, performance, and even offboarding. This Season 3 wrap-up episode talks about how organizations need to shift from discussing ethics in a reactive way to creating a speak up culture.

Talking about ethics does not mean the organization has an ethics problem. In fact, talking about ethics could be exactly the reason that the organization doesn’t have an ethics problem. In this episode, we discuss why organizations resist ethics training and the components of a successful ethics training program – and it starts with being realistic.

Workplace ethics isn’t just a HR policy or program. It’s something that needs to be communicated and demonstrated throughout the organization. In this episode, we discuss the three components to unethical behavior (rationale, need, and opportunity) and why communication is the key to creating an ethical culture.

Organizations want to be fiscally responsible. Part of being fiscally responsible means paying people what they’re supposed to be paid. That means addressing the issue of pay equity. It’s a complex topic but fixing pay inequities helps the organization build trust, better performance, and improve the bottom line.

When it comes to compliance, it can be beneficial to take a proactive approach. Not only understanding what legislation could be on the horizon but having some sense of how employees might react to it. Societal issues are becoming regular workplace conversation. This is where compliance puts the human back in human resources.

The key to effective organizational change is giving managers the support and tools they need. Change is hard. Even good changes that we’re looking forward to. And it’s something we will continue to deal with. If organizations want managers to be successful, they need to help everyone learn how to manage change effectively.

As HR professionals, we can often get so caught up in helping others manage change that we forget to take our own advice. Learn how the PDCA model (Plan – Do – Check – Act) can help individuals and organizations manage change more effectively so we can focus on the right things.

HR is often referred to as a change agent. But that doesn’t mean we have to supply all the answers. In this episode, we talk about how questions can be our best friend during organizational change efforts and the importance of building relationships with the management team.

Candidates and employees want to work for organizations that share their social values. For organizations, that means doing more than talking about diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice (DEIBJ). It means creating impact. In this episode, we discuss how organizations need to act with intention to have an impact with their employees.

Learning is not a “one and done” activity – especially when it comes to technology. Organizations will continue to rely on technology for business success, which means employees need regular learning opportunities. In this episode, we discuss three strategies for staying tech relevant

Workforce management is about making sure that organizations have the right talent at the right time. It’s a discipline that belongs to everyone on the senior leadership team not just the HR department. Because it’s not about simply hiring as many people as possible. HR pros have an opportunity to become embedded in the business by aligning talent strategy with business strategy.

In today’s business world, there’s so much information available online that people sometimes don’t know what to trust or how to use it. Organizations and individuals need to figure out how to effectively have a relationship with technology. That doesn’t always mean disconnecting from it.

If organizations want to hire the best talent, they need good information. The way to get it is via feedback and technology can help. Chas Fields and Julie Develin from UKG’s human capital management group talk about how companies can use candidate and employee feedback to improve the recruitment process and achieve better retention.

Organizations are often focused on the here and now. Taking time to plan the future is very necessary. Not just planning future sales and marketing campaigns. But planning what the future workplace looks like.

Many organizations have made the commitment to creating workplaces that are more diverse and inclusive. Now it’s time to turn those words into action. The first action that organizations need to take is listening to employees and find ways to make them feel they truly belong.

Career success involves taking a proactive approach. We cannot simply step back and wait to see what the business world is going to look like after any challenging time. The good news is there’s a lot of information available to help us. We just have to be willing to go looking for it.

Whether you’re an employee or employer, the answer to our never-ending business challenges is learning. Not necessarily big, fancy, formal learning programs. But instead, thinking about career durability allows individuals and organizations to meet their goals.

In the future, organizations will need the technology to quickly and efficiently hire the best employees and deliver excellent customer service. It’s time to realize that having the latest technology doesn’t mean giving up the human touch. And implementing technology solutions doesn’t have to disrupt the operation.

Regardless of what’s happening in the job market, organizations differentiate themselves by having the best talent. But in the future, you won’t be able to hire the best talent if you don’t equip recruiters with the tools to find candidates. And that includes an employee value proposition which will make a candidate say “yes”.