I am delighted to have been awarded a research grant by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to look into how organisations use internal communications to support ethical values and employee behaviour.

How do you communicate ‘integrity’?

This builds on the Good Practice Guide I wrote for the Insitute of Business Ethics back in 2015 which explored ways of communicating the ethical standards of an organisation effectively, so that they are not only understood by employees, but are embedded in decision-making and behaviour.

The focus of this new research is to share successful practices of how ethical values can be communicated internally, empowering workers – at all levels of seniorrity – to do the right thing.

What has changed ?

Since the IBE Good Practice Guide, there has been little published research looking specifically at the intersection between internal communications and ethical culture, and yet there have been seismic changes in the world of work.

AI driven communications, remote working, and the ethical imperative to be inclusive have altered the internal communications landscape, creating a need for further research.

Since the pandemic, hybrid work has made organic culture harder to maintain. How can internal communications bridge the ethical gap when teams may not be in the same building, city or even time zone?

In the last decade, we have also seen more discussions on equity and inclusivity, which have thrown up ethical debates of their own. How can we communicate ethics, and make sure we do so ethically?

Using my work in the NHS with Freedom to Speak Up guardians, I will also look at how communications can address psychological safety and speaking up at work.

Take part

If you work in communications, business ethics, compliance or organisational culture, I’d be really interested in your views.

In the first instance, please take part in this short survey.

Take part in the survey:

https://forms.gle/1A9oKY9gWj37AQD5A

The main output will be a report sharing a strategic framework and toolkit, illustrated by real examples of successful practices.

Do get in touch if you’d like to know more.