And therein lies the root cause of the ethical quagmire for so many retailers today. Clearly, for any corporate ethics or compliance program to be successful, it must be visibly supported and openly embraced by senior management. To this end, providing incentives and rewards to leaders who do a good job of managing people can be a highly effective tool. During the interviewing process, make your company's policy regarding misconduct on the job clear to candidates. By communicating this message upfront, you'll immediately weed out a class of undesirable applicants who would feel much more at home working for an employer where integrity is not emphasized.
Retailers can also consider conducting background checks on prospective candidates.
Clarify for all employees the company's code of conduct. To be effective, the code must clearly identify what types of behavior are considered unacceptable. Put these policies in writing, making sure they are as concise and unambiguous as possible. Give employees who observe misconduct or have a concern a valid place to go. The fact is, many employees won't ask questions or report misdeeds to their supervisor because they fear reprisal.