SUMMER 2025
Best of the Best of the Best

Showcasing some of the most compelling
best practices from the 2025 World's Most Ethical Companies^® honorees

by BILL COFFIN

_{SUMMER 2025 |}_FEATURE

Best of the Best of the Best

A look at some of the most innovative best practices among the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies^® honorees

by BILL COFFIN

The World’s Most Ethical Companies review team spends thousands of work-hours going over the large volume of applications they receive. After all, the Ethics Quotient asks for a significant amount of information and detail, and all of that receives close inspection. As part of the review process, team members can leave narrative notes on certain aspects of an application that seem especially interesting or innovative.

This recognition program was launched to elevate and celebrate best practices in ethics and compliance so that good behavior would receive support and acknowledgment—which, in turn, helps prevent misconduct.

What follows is a selection of notes taken from the 2025 application reviews. All notes have been anonymized to protect the confidentiality of applicants and to highlight how these best practices are not confined to a particular industry, geography, or business. These are all ways in which every company can further advance its ethics and compliance program, and in so doing, make the company—and the world—a better place for everyone. ■

Performance Management

“One applicant’s performance management process includes the expectation that senior leadership incorporate ethics, compliance, and values into staff meetings, and they’re measured on that. This is an area where many companies seem to struggle, yet it is incredibly important. Performance management is one of the most effective ways to incentivize ethical conduct because it is literally what an employee is measured on and connects directly to their compensation.”

Measuring Effectiveness

"This applicant was very focused on collecting measures of effectiveness and using them for continuous improvement. To that end, they developed an impressive Compliance Dashboard that integrates proactive and reactive components into snapshot views.

Proactive components include: Disclosures/Pre-approvals, Third-Party Due Diligence, Training Analytics, Code of Conduct/Policies Usage, and Employee Surveys.
Reactive components include: Hotline Data/Benchmarking, Spend Monitoring, Audits, and Investigations.

All of this integrates into a single-page dashboard that can be filtered by time period (e.g., by year or month) and region."

Root Cause Taxonomy

“One applicant broke their misconduct root causes into six different categories with 40+ root causes, all with definitions and training to ensure consistency in application. They also created a taxonomy for remedial actions, countermeasures, and disciplinary actions—all of which go a long way toward ensuring consistency and supporting organizational justice. By this method, people are treated the same based on their reported misconduct, regardless of whether they’re a top salesperson or a junior staffer.”

Policy Design

"One applicant’s policies had a great structure and visual design that made it clear what is expected of employees. Plus, they were even engaging to read. In a world where policies are often boring even when simplified, the approachability of this applicant’s content is something everyone can learn from. Their Code does a great job of connecting all risk topics to their organizational values, their commitment to customers, and their purpose. They expressed a strong tone from the top and orientation around values and integrity. Their consistent “how, why, what” approach provides clear guidance across sections with inclusive, readable language that includes plenty of examples and scenarios.

Another applicant featured a digital, interactive Code experience (or Code microsite). It had a terrific structure; each section opens with why a particular Code topic is “good for business,” followed by a statement about the company's commitment to integrity and what it will do to uphold that. It also has a “do your part” section that brings the Code down to the employee level, including relatable “values in action” scenarios. References to the speak-up program were prominent throughout the Code, and the Code’s corresponding analytics report is an excellent example of code analytics."

Communications

"One company provided a wide variety of communications examples that were engaging, fun, and supported by examples designed to be deployed in a drip method to build engagement. The tone from the top in these materials—including monthly messages from the CEO regarding the importance of ethics and integrity—was particularly impressive. This applicant also did a great job of targeting communications specifically to managers with content such as toolkits, emails, scenarios, and videos for managers to use when having ethics and integrity conversations with their team members. Especially impressive was this company’s “welcome” email from local ethics officers to all newly joined managers.

Following E&C training, this company also sends a survey to a sample of employees to gain feedback on the training, knowledge gained, and more. This is a much more effective way of measuring training effectiveness than simply going by what percentage of employees participated.

Another company includes a short ethical culture survey on all internal program audits. This is notable because while the company audits to test the effectiveness of the internal control environment, its use of culture surveys demonstrates that culture itself is also a control."

Manager Training

"One company requires its managers to hold ethics and compliance discussions with their teams twice a year, which they tracked in their learning management system (LMS). This is something we emphasize at Ethisphere, because we have a lot of employee data showing how managers speaking to their teams about E&C has a significant positive impact on culture. Seeing such a strong best practice in this area is encouraging, because many companies struggle with how to track whether their managers are having E&C conversations with direct reports.

Another company provided examples of its manager training documents, some of which were geared toward new managers, and others aimed at more high-level “ethical leadership training” for all managers. The “first-time manager” training document was excellent. It didn’t simply cover the company’s values or tell managers how to talk to employees without context. …

… Instead, it explained the company’s values to new managers, why those values are important to employees, how to apply them in daily work, and tips on how to do so. (They even incorporated some Ethisphere talking points, which was nice to see!)

Similarly, this company’s two examples of manager training for existing managers did a great job of covering all aspects of the issue. They included a strategic view of how managers, in particular, and the company’s values more broadly tied into the daily lives of each employee. They also included practical applications to help managers use these topics in daily activities and inspire their employees. An added bonus was a straightforward section on “how to respond” when an employee comes to report misconduct.

This company did a nice job combining a broad strategic message with tactical applications that allow managers to see the big picture and apply it at a micro level. Too many companies miss this."

Ambassador Program

“One applicant’s ambassador program was especially well-designed, well-publicized, and broadly implemented (with all sites and business units exhibiting 70+% employee engagement). This company really celebrates its champions. Their responsibilities are clearly articulated (as well as what they're not responsible for), and they are provided with resources and quarterly training to fulfill their responsibilities. Their role as Champions is also recognized in their performance evaluations.”

Documenting Culture

"In the culture section of the WMEC application, two areas with a wide variety of responses and documentation are communication of culture measurement results and action planning post-measurement. Some of the most solid examples of success in these areas were surprisingly simple.

One applicant had a straightforward infographic explaining results and necessary remediations in a “You said…We did” or “You shared…And we’re acting” format. While not elaborate, this was a great way to draw connections for respondents between survey questions and the actions the company was taking as a result of the survey data.

A second applicant had a detailed Excel file outlining a roadmap of actions planned, in progress, and completed. The file was a simple tool, but it formalized actions, detailed the data supporting the necessary actions, tracked responsible parties, and documented completion toward success. It wasn’t an elaborate tool or PowerPoint, but instead an intentional document formalizing improvement (arguably the most important step in a cycle of culture measurement)."

Culture Survey Dashboard

“One reviewer noted an applicant that had an intranet dashboard for culture survey insights, including detailed data made available to all employees. Hypothetically, any employee could do a shallow review of the results or a deep dive into the survey outcomes. This was an encouraging example of an organization putting data into employees’ hands and encouraging their investment in the culture survey and improvement process.”

Board Reporting

"A lot of board reporting we receive is feast or famine: either the company produces 50 pages of 8-point font with every imaginable piece of info, chart, graph, and statistic, or it’s four to five pages of high-level platitudes and summaries that don’t deliver much value.

One applicant, however, provided several different examples of materials they give to the Audit Committee, to the full Board, summaries, and both quarterly and annual reports. The quarterly reports were the perfect length—nine to 12 pages that covered high-level strategic updates as well as specific details of recent exams, audits, and investigations. The annual report was 10 pages but considerably different. It was well put together and packed with information, starting with an executive summary and focusing on the strategic: key risks, a maturity self-assessment, and insights on culture, all packaged into a visually stimulating yet straightforward presentation. If I could, I would use this as an example for other companies that struggle with what to give to their Board or Audit Committee."

Culture Measurement Action Plan

"Following a culture survey, a strong and strategic action plan is critical to ensuring that employee feedback is meaningfully addressed and organizational culture continues to improve. One organization's approach stands out as a best-in-class example due to its comprehensive and thoughtful execution. After reviewing its culture survey results, the organization effectively categorized areas of opportunity into clear, actionable themes—Governance, Guidelines and Policies, Case Management, and Awareness. This structure ensures that improvement efforts are targeted and manageable. Moreover, the organization’s use of specific survey data to substantiate why certain areas need attention demonstrates a data-driven approach that builds trust and transparency with stakeholders.

What further elevates this action plan is its recognition of the interconnectedness of cultural elements. By highlighting how progress in one area can positively influence another, the organization promotes a holistic view of culture change. Their inclusion of a documented communication plan, complete with a calendar of events, trainings, and updates, ensures consistent engagement and accountability. Finally, the organization sets clear, measurable goals that define success in concrete terms—turning intentions into outcomes. Altogether, this approach reflects not just a reaction to survey results, but a proactive commitment to cultural growth that is strategic, transparent, and sustainable."

Bill Coffin is Editor in Chief of Ethisphere.

Performance management is one of the most effective ways to incentivize ethical conduct because it is literally what an employee is measured on and connects directly to their compensation.