This week, May 25-31, is National Compliance and Ethics Week. It is a good time to reflect on what you can do to promote a culture of ethics and compliance at UNMC.
Here are some tips that will foster compliance in the workplace:
- Lead by example — Exhibit the type of behavior you wish to see in others. According to the 2005 Ethics Resource Center Research Report, “employees must see their managers, supervisors and co-workers demonstrating ethical behavior in the work they do and the decisions they make everyday to substantially improve workplace ethics.”
- Support others in adhering to ethical standards — Structure programs and work processes so that it is easy for employees to do the right thing. Provide guidance and assistance to co-workers who have questions. Be careful about pressuring others to do work the convenient way instead of the compliant way — while you may be able to rationalize improper conduct by thinking that it saves time and money, violations of state and federal regulations can result in heavy fines and penalties, increased external auditing and loss of hard-earned reputation.
- Understand rules and regulations related to your job responsibilities — Attend training sessions and educational offerings applicable to your area of expertise. UNMC operates in a very complex regulatory environment with rules designed to protect others from harm and to properly allocate public resources.
- Ask questions and report problems so issues can be corrected — UNMC has several subject matter experts available to assist you — use the UNMC Compliance Web site as a resource. Report compliance issues forward so they can be investigated and corrected. There are several channels available to report concerns, including an external compliance hotline where concerns can be shared anonymously.