HR
professionals are unsure about the tangible benefits of ethical employment
policies, but say they are certain that employee volunteering and other
corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are good news for business,
according to a new survey.
Research
released today by Personnel Today’s sister publication IRS Employment Review,
surveyed 51 organisations to find out how UK employers are adopting ethical
policies.
Key
findings include:
–
Almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) organisations have introduced an ethical
employment policy, and almost one in 10 (9.8 per cent) plans to develop one in
the future
–
More than eight in 10 HR professionals (88.23 per cent) believe that the HR
function has made a genuine difference to the organisation’s ethical profile by
promoting positive behaviour and relationships in the workplace
–
More than half (58 per cent) say that ethical employment practices have made a
real difference to the organisation’s success
–
Just over half (51 per cent) of the respondents surveyed felt able to assess
the impact of ethical employment policies on areas such as staff loyalty,
morale, productivity, recruitment and retention. Recruitment is most likely to
be affected positively and productivity the least, but in many instances, no
effect was reported
–
Around two-thirds of respondents are involved with either community or
charitable work. The most popular are
cash donations and event or project sponsorship.
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