Does your code of conduct actually get the message across?
Among the essentials of building a culture are the code of conduct and its companion training. Your code of conduct establishes expectations, while training helps employees recognize when those expectations apply. Together, these are building blocks for your organization’s culture.
However, the distinction between the two matters because ethical decisions rarely arrive neatly labeled. An employee may be deciding whether a gift from a business partner is appropriate, how to handle confidential information, whether an outside relationship creates a conflict, or how to use artificial intelligence responsibly. In each case, employees need more than just awareness of a rule — they need to understand how to apply it.
The ninth edition of NAVEX Ethics and Code of Conduct training is built around these everyday decisions. Updated content, modern visuals, realistic workplace scenarios, and practical questions help organizations reinforce their code while addressing the risks employees encounter at work.
With 30 focused modules to choose from, generally around five minutes each, select the topics that reflect your workforce, roles, and risk profile. We recommend 4-6 topics, plus intro and conclusion. And, you can add your own leader video to make it personal and meaningful. Each year, you can swap the modules to keep the learning material fresh and relevant.
Start with the foundation: ethical decision-making
A code of conduct can’t possibly anticipate every situation an employee might encounter.
That is why effective code of conduct training should establish a common foundation for decision-making. The Introduction and How to Make Ethical Decisions modules help employees understand their responsibilities, recognize situations that may require additional consideration, and know where to turn when they need guidance.
This foundation connects to the rest of the training. Whether an employee is handling sensitive information, working with a third party, or navigating a potential conflict of interest, the objective is consistent: recognize the issue, consider the organization’s expectations and take an appropriate next step.
From there, organizations can build a training experience around the risks most relevant to their employees.
Address ethical business conduct and financial integrity
Some of the most consequential workplace decisions involve how employees conduct business on behalf of the organization.
For these scenarios, modules covering Anti-Bribery, Anti-Money Laundering, Competition Law, Conflicts of Interest, Financial Integrity, Gifts, Entertainment and Hospitality, Insider Trading and Trade Regulations help employees identify situations where ordinary business activity can create compliance concerns.
These topics become more useful when employees can see how the rules apply in realistic situations. Scenario-based training brings compliance concepts to life through workplace vignettes that put the “rule” in context, helping employees recognize situations where it may apply and consider the appropriate response.
Scenario-based training gives employees an opportunity to work through these situations before they encounter them on the job.
For instance, the Insider Trading module addresses new topics, such as prediction markets, helping organizations connect established compliance principles with changing employee behaviors, emergent cultural norms, and financial tools.
Protect information, technology and organizational assets
Employees regularly make decisions about information: what they can access, where they can share it, how they should protect it and which technologies they can use to work with it.
The ninth edition brings these responsibilities together through modules covering Artificial Intelligence, Confidential Information, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, Intellectual Property, Protecting Assets, and Records Management.
These risks increasingly overlap. An employee using an AI tool, for example, may also need to consider whether the information being entered is confidential, whether personal data is involved, and whether the tool is approved for use at their organization. Cybersecurity practices can affect the same information employees are expected to protect under privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property requirements.
The updated course helps employees see those connections while applying established ethical expectations to newer workplace situations. Refreshed content helps organizations address current risks without separating them from the broader responsibilities established by the code.
Reinforce expectations for workplace conduct
A code of conduct defines working relationships, but building strong culture demands more than policy – it requires people to genuinely practice those values.
Training on topics such as Belonging and Inclusion, Discrimination and Workplace Harassment can help employees recognize conduct that’s at odds with your company’s expectations and understand their responsibilities before concerns arise.
This is particularly important because culture is shaped through everyday behavior. Employees need to understand both the standards an organization has established and how those standards apply to interactions with colleagues, managers, and others they encounter through their work.
Connect third-party and supply chain risks to employee decisions
Your company’s ethical responsibilities don’t end with your workforce – they extend to third parties, too. Though these connections can seem remote when we see them in the news, third-party risk is closer than you think.
Employees who select suppliers, engage business partners or oversee third-party relationships can influence risks across the extended enterprise. The training collection includes modules addressing Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery, Supply Chain Due Diligence, and Working with Third Parties, alongside topics such as Environmental Health and Safety and Environmental, Social and Governance.
These subjects can involve complex organizational requirements, but employees still need clear guidance about their individual responsibilities.
Training can help translate those requirements into practical questions: What should an employee consider when engaging a third party? What warning signs require additional review? When should a concern be escalated?
Connecting broader risks to individual actions helps employees understand the role they play in managing them.
Help employees communicate responsibly
Employees also represent their organizations through what they say, share, and do outside traditional compliance processes.
Modules including Political Activities, Social Media, and Speaking for the Organization help clarify boundaries between employees’ individual activities and communications made on behalf of the organization.
These topics are especially valuable as communication channels continue to expand and social media continues to proliferate in our personal and professional lives. Employees need practical guidance for understanding when company policies apply, when authorization may be required, and where to go with questions.
Give employees the training that fits their roles and risks
A major advantage of a modular code of conduct course is the ability to build training around the organization rather than forcing the organization into a fixed curriculum.
The ninth edition includes 30 focused modules you can select and combine according to your company’s needs. Organizations can choose modules based on employee responsibilities, organizational risks and compliance priorities to create different, concurrent versions of the training to suit audiences.
For example, a broad employee population might receive training on ethical decision-making, cybersecurity, data privacy, and conflicts of interest. Employees responsible for vendors or other external relationships might also receive anti-bribery, third-party and supply chain modules. Other roles can receive additional training based on the risks associated with their work.
Modularity also makes it easier to adjust training as risks change. New technologies, regulations, business relationships and workforce practices can create different priorities over time. A flexible course structure allows the training program to evolve with them. And, with every module self-contained, self-editing is easier. You know an edit made for one topic won’t require a similar change in another.
Respect employees’ time while reinforcing important knowledge
Relevance also depends on how employees experience the training. Our unique backgrounds mean that each learner experiences the training differently.
Once modules are selected, you can use adaptive learning with test-out questions to assess what an employee already knows. Employees who demonstrate sufficient understanding can advance to a summary and continue to the next module. Employees who need additional instruction receive the full module.
The result is a training experience that directs more learning time toward areas where employees need it while still assessing their understanding of the topics their organization has selected.
This approach alongside crisp, engaging modules, can help build training that is easier to align with different audiences without losing sight of important compliance risks.
Turn the code into everyday guidance
An effective code establishes a common standard; effective training helps employees put that standard into practice.
The ninth edition of NAVEX Ethics and Code of Conduct training gives you a flexible way to connect your company code with the situations employees encounter across business conduct, information and technology, workplace behavior, third-party relationships, and communication.
With updated scenarios, current risk topics, modular course selection and adaptive learning, you can create training that reflects your company priorities while giving employees practical guidance for making ethical decisions at work.
NAVEX Ethics & Compliance Training offers engaging, legally vetted, and interactive training across a comprehensive range of governance, risk and compliance topics. Organizations can tailor training to employee roles and responsibilities, customize content to reflect their organization, and manage training as part of a broader ethics and compliance program.
