October 6, 2010

SHRM Poll: Ethics Officers in Organizations

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 2

Key Findings

• How integrated are ethics officers in the workplace? Nearly 50% of organizations have an ethics officer or a professional in similar role, according to HR professionals. Publicly owned for-profits (73%) were more likely than privately owned for-profits (36%) to have this position in place.

• To whom do ethics officers report? 44% of organizations say that their ethics officer reports to the organization’s top executive (e.g., president, CEO, chair, partner).

• What functional areas are ethics officers housed in? The HR department topped the list of departments where ethics officers typically work within organizations.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 3

Yes; 48%

No; 52%

Does your organization have an ethics officer or a professional in a similar role?

Note: n = 392. Excludes respondents who answered “don’t know.”

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Does your organization have an ethics officer or a professional in a similar role?

• By Sector: Publicly owned for-profit organizations (73%) were more likely than privately owned for-profits (36%) to report that their organizations have an ethics officer or a professional in a similar role.

• By Operations: Organizations with multinational operations (68%) were more likely than organizations with U.S.-based operations (45%) to report that their organizations have an ethics officer or a professional in a similar role.

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Comparison by Organization’s Sector and Operations Location

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 5

Which one of the following most closely matches the job title of the direct supervisor of the ethics officer or a professional in a similar role in your organization?

Other

Other C-suite executive

Board of directors

Ethics board/committee

HR director

Chief compliance officer

Chief operating officer

Chief finance officer

Vice president or assistant/associate vice president

Legal counsel

Chief human resources officer or chief human capital officer

President, chief executive officer, chair, partner or principal

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

3%

1%

2%

2%

3%

3%

3%

3%

7%

10%

20%

44%

Note: n = 178. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 6

In which department does your ethics officer or a professional in a similar role work?

Other

Ethics

Quality management

Compliance

Finance and administration

Legal

Executive office

Human resources

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

4%

2%

2%

2%

8%

18%

22%

41%

Note: n = 176. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Demographics: Organization Industry

Industry

Manufacturing—other 16%

Health care, social assistance (e.g., hospitals, clinics, doctor's offices, in-home care, nursing homes, EAP providers, hospice)

12%

Services—professional, scientific, technical, legal, engineering 9%

Financial services (e.g., banking) 7%

Educational services/education (e.g., universities, schools) 7%

Government/public administration—federal, state/local, tribal 7%

Retail/wholesale trade 5%

Insurance 5%

Consulting 4%

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Note: n = 368. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Demographics: Organization Industry (continued)

IndustryOther services (e.g., other nonprofit, church/religious organizations) 3%

Construction, mining, oil and gas 3%

Publishing, broadcasting, other media 3%

High-tech 2%

Telecommunications 2%

Services—accommodation, food and drinking places 2%

Arts, entertainment, recreation 2%

Transportation, warehousing (e.g., distribution) 1%

Manufacturing—auto/auto-related 1%

Pharmaceutical 1%

Real estate, rental, leasing 1%

Utilities 1%

Biotech 1%

Association—professional/trade 1%

Other 5%

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Note: n = 368. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Demographics: Organization Sector

Other

Government sector

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit organization

Privately owned for-profit organization

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

3%

10%

17%

21%

49%

9

Note: n = 367

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Demographics: Organization Staff Size

1 to

99

emplo

yees

100

to 4

99 e

mplo

yees

500

to 2

499

emplo

yees

2500

to 2

4999

em

ploye

es

2500

0 or

mor

e em

ploye

es0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

16%

28%

22%24%

10%

10

Note: n = 180

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

Demographics: Other

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Note: n = 391

U.S.-based operations 75%

Multinational operations 25%

Single-unit company: A company in which the location and the company are one and the same.

36%

Multi-unit company: A company that has more than one location.

64%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices

55%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices

2%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies and practices

44%

Is the organization a single-unit company or a multi-unit company?

Are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work location or both?

Does the organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only or does it operate multinationally?

Note: n = 362

Note: n = 253

• 16% of organizations indicated that employees at their work location were unionized.

Note: n = 366

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010

SHRM Poll: Ethics Officer in Organization

• Response rate = 15%.• Sample comprised of 392 randomly selected HR

professionals with the job title of manager and above. • Margin of error is +/- 5%.• Survey fielded September 10 – September 21, 2010.

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Methodology

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