October 6, 2010 SHRM Poll: Ethics Officers in Organizations

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 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. 2

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 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. 4 Comparison by Organization’s Sector and Operations Location

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 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? 5 Note: n = 178. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 In which department does your ethics officer or a professional in a similar role work? 6 Note: n = 176. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 Demographics: Organization Industry Industry Manufacturing—other16% 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, engineering9% Financial services (e.g., banking)7% Educational services/education (e.g., universities, schools)7% Government/public administration—federal, state/local, tribal7% Retail/wholesale trade5% Insurance5% Consulting4% 7 Note: n = 368. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 Demographics: Organization Industry (continued) Industry Other services (e.g., other nonprofit, church/religious organizations)3% Construction, mining, oil and gas3% Publishing, broadcasting, other media3% High-tech2% Telecommunications2% Services—accommodation, food and drinking places2% Arts, entertainment, recreation2% Transportation, warehousing (e.g., distribution)1% Manufacturing—auto/auto-related1% Pharmaceutical1% Real estate, rental, leasing1% Utilities1% Biotech1% Association—professional/trade1% Other5% 8 Note: n = 368. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 Demographics: Organization Sector 9 Note: n = 367

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 Demographics: Organization Staff Size 10 Note: n = 180

Ethics Officers in Organizations | ©SHRM 2010 Demographics: Other 11 Note: n = 391 U.S.-based operations75% Multinational operations25% 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 = % 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, Methodology For more poll findings, visit: Follow us on Twitter: