Ethical HR Practices

Source: (Wickramaarachchi, 2018)

 

HR professionals are the people in an organization that make sure the human resources are taken care of and their well-being. Hence practicing ethical HR practices is a must. Ethical HR practices simply referred to the actions, policies and principles set up and taken by the HR professionals that would promote fairness, justice and respect for all individuals within the organization (SHRM, 2014).

Some of the key ethical HR practices could be briefly elaborated as follows. First and foremost, Fairness and equity is a major ethical practice. Fairness and equality for all and in more importantly all organizational processes and practices, which would be including recruitment, selection, compensation, and career development should be thoroughly and strictly practiced. This also would mean ensuring fair and unbiased processes that would not discriminate anyone based on factors like gender, race, age, or disability (SHRM, 2014).

Secondly, HR professionals should strictly practice Ethical Decision-Making. They should make decisions that would be grounded in the organization's ethical principles and most importantly on the organizational codes of conduct. This involves identifying and addressing potential conflicts of interest without a bias or prejudice, as well as being transparent about all HR policies and practices with all (Panel®, n.d.).

HR could also involve in promoting Ethical Culture in the organization. HR usually plays a key role in fostering a culture of ethics and integrity within the organization (SHRM, n.d.). This would essentially include providing ethics training, establishing clear codes of conduct, and also always encouraging employees to report any unethical behavior (SHRM, n.d.).

Ethical HR practices always will be ensuring that employee rights would be protected, and that the organization complies with all relevant labor laws and regulations always. This includes fair compensation for all, reasonable work hours for all levels, and a safe and harassment-free work environment (Gordon, 2021).

Finally, HR must be able to handle sensitive employee information with the utmost care and respect for confidentiality and privacy. This would essentially build trust and demonstrate the organization's commitment to ethical practices (SHRM, 2014).

By upholding these ethical principles, HR could be able to majorly contribute to the long-term success and sustainability of the organization by building a positive reputation of the organization, attracting and retaining the top talent, and also fostering a culture of trust and accountability (www.linkedin.com, n.d.).

 

List of References

Gordon, C. (2021). Importance of Ethics in Human Resource Management. [online] HR Lineup. Available at: https://www.hrlineup.com/importance-of-ethics-in-human-resource-management/.

Panel®, E. (n.d.). Council Post: Why Ethical And Transparent HR Decision-Making Is Crucial To Team Success. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2023/05/25/why-ethical-and-transparent-hr-decision-making-is-crucial-to-team-success/?sh=58d440721583 [Accessed 11 Apr. 2024].

SHRM (2014). Code of Ethics. [online] www.shrm.org. Available at: https://www.shrm.org/about/bylaws-and-code-of-ethics/code-of-ethics.

SHRM (n.d.). Introduction to the Human Resources Discipline of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. [online] www.shrm.org. Available at: https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/introduction-to-human-resources-discipline-ethics-corporate-social-responsibility-sustainability. ‌

Wickramaarachchi, B. (2018). People and Organisations:Principles and Practices in Global contexts(MN7181): The Ethical Context of HRM. [online] People and Organisations. Available at: https://bugzi94.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-ethical-context-of-hrm.html.

www.linkedin.com. (n.d.). Principles of ethical human resource management. [online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/principles-ethical-human-resource-management-farheen-lodhi.