Why an ethics assessment should come before a promotion

"Research shows employees who engage in unethical behavior-surprisingly-are not new to their organizations. They have been there for a considerable amount of time, typically at least six years, and have risen through their companies. Worse, the longer they have been with their organizations, the greater the financial and reputational damage when unethical behavior occurs. And though we might think of corporate misconduct as C-suite malfeasance, unethical behavior can occur at all levels-and many offenders have a steady career path."

"While there are numerous resources available to help gauge someone's ethics during the initial hiring process, in our experience in executive search and career coaching (Ellie) and ethics consulting ( Richard), we've seen that such screening is at best "one and done." Once the onboarding process is completed, it's vanishingly rare for companies to evaluate employees' ethics as part of the promotion process."

"By following these four key strategies, you can design an ethical assessment for mid- to senior-level leaders, to ensure they don't disregard ethics as their careers advance-because, as the research behind numerous scandals demonstrates, ethics isn't a fixed state but can be dramatically impacted by changed context and professional circumstances. Yet, with planning and design work, you can help keep ethics and career advancement aligned-while protecting your company from reputational or regulatory trouble."

Research shows employees who engage in unethical behavior are typically long-tenured, often at least six years, and have risen through their companies. Unethical acts by such employees produce greater financial and reputational damage the longer those employees have been with organizations. Misconduct can occur at all levels, and many offenders follow steady career paths. Initial hiring screenings and resources for gauging ethics exist but are often a one-time measure, and ethics rarely get evaluated during promotions. Designing ethical assessments for mid- to senior-level leaders can detect heightened ethical risk during career progression and protect companies from harm.

Read at Fast Company