Frequently Asked Questions

What are ethical business practices ?

Companies have been striving in recent years to run their businesses in an ethical, responsible way. This means the fair and ethical treatment of all stakeholders - employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the community and the environment. It is not just about undertaking community projects or making charitable donations, but about running a business in a way that maximises benefits for all concerned, while minimising the negative impacts resulting from the activities of that business.

 

Why get an independent assessment of them?

GoodCorporation provides a dedicated service that gives managers an independent view as to how well their organisation follows responsible business practices. Stakeholders are much more demanding now as to the way an organisation treats them. All organisations are much more in the spotlight regarding how they behave. Whether it is the way you win contracts, affect the environment, treat your employees and contractors, sell your products to your customers or deal with your competitors, your reputation is at stake as never before.

GoodCorporation will review how well your organisation is really working and tell you whether it meets the standards you set yourself or that others expect of you.

 

What does an assessment cover?

There are several options:

  • For organisations with their own code of conduct or ethics we normally base the assessment on a list of detailed working practices which match these principles
  • Some organisations choose to be assessed according to GoodCorporation’s own Standard
  • Some choose to start off with one aspect of ethical business practices – say employee or supplier practices - and broaden the scope from there
  • Others choose one of GoodCorporation’s more specialist services – such as the Bribery and Corruption Assessment or Ethical Project Management.

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What are the benefits of undertaking a GoodCorporation assessment?

Feedback from our clients shows that the benefits include:

  • using an established Standard as a basis for an internal assessment of current practices;
  • enabling the organisation to understand its current performance in each of the practices, which cover all key groups of stakeholders;
  • providing the organisation with invaluable feedback from the people who are directly associated with or affected by the organisation’s activities;
  • providing the organisation with an understanding of why current systems are not working effectively;
  • providing the organisation with an idea of what needs to be done to address shortfalls in current systems;
  • helping the organisation to prioritise actions needed to minimise risks to the business resulting from poor relationship management;
  • enabling the organisation to judge its performance compared to the GoodCorporation Benchmark;

To find out more about GoodCorporation, click here.

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How much does it cost?

The cost of the assessment depends on the size and complexity of the organisation. When designing the assessment timetable, we will take account of:

  • the number of employees
  • the number of different locations (e.g. branches, sites, etc)
  • the type and number of customers and suppliers
  • the number of shareholders
  • the number of management interviews to be held (more managers may need to be interviewed in a highly complex organisation)

We provide proposals that clearly set out the allocation of time and also provide you with information about what the assessment process involves, who we will interview, what you will receive, and any other benefits that members can take advantage of.

We offer discounts to charities and not-for-profit organisations. For more information, contact us.

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What is involved in the assessment process?

Although GoodCorporation has several types of assessment there is a common approach to conducting them. For each practice being assessed, the assessor checks that:

  • there are policies in place
  • there are appropriate systems in place to implement these policies
  • there is evidence that the systems work
  • that stakeholders (internal and external) agree that the systems work and are fair

The last of these involves getting the feedback from your stakeholders. These will include your employees, customers and suppliers and others as necessary (such as government agencies, neighbours, organisations you have partnerships with). We get the feedback through interviews, face to face or by telephone, or through web-based questionnaires. We fit the approach to the type and number of stakeholders involved in your organisation.

For more details of the process click here.

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What if I am in a small organisation?

For organisations up to 50 employees, we rely on feedback of stakeholders through web surveys rather than burdening you with an internal management review. To find out more about our assessment for smaller organisations click here.

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Who are the assessors?

We have an in-house team of experienced assessors and a network of local assessors around the globe.  This has enabled us to conduct assessments in over 40 countries since our launch in 2001. Our assessors usually have a background in management consultancy and are familiar with the internal processes of a company. Many of our local assessors work for, or have worked in one of the big accountancy firms or consultancy firms.

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How long does an assessment take?

This depends very much on the size and complexity of the organisation, and on the number and location of activities (such as sites, branches, regional offices, etc). Small organisations with one office, a simple management structure and fewer than ten employees may only require two or three days for an assessment, but assessments for large, complex organisations with many employees and multiple locations may take up to five weeks on site. For more information about the assessment process click here.

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How can you get a GoodCorporation Accreditation?

If you successfully undergo an assessment using all of the GoodCorporation Standard practices you can be accredited by GoodCorporation and display the logo with the year of accreditation. You can contact us directly using the contact information on the “contact us” page. We will agree a target date for an assessment with you. The assessor will carry out the assessment and provide you with a report on their findings. Reassessment is required to update GoodCorporation accreditaion, though this need not be done each year.

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What criteria do you have to meet to achieve accreditation?

In order to achieve accreditation, an organisation must avoid a fail grade for any of the GoodCorporation practices assessed. If a fail grade is awarded following the assessment, the organisation will be given a predetermined time scale to address the issue, after which the assessor will recheck that point. If the point can be upgraded, then accreditation can be awarded. For further information about how we grade click here.

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What happens if there is a dispute?

Disputes are handled by the Accreditation Council, which has representatives from all stakeholder groups. There are two types of dispute – those relating to contravention of the Standard by an accredited organisation, and those by a client not in agreement with a grade awarded by GoodCorporation.

Any allegations of contravention of the Standard by an accredited organisation will be investigated by the Council. The Council can instruct an assessor to investigate claims, and where these are substantiated, the Council can suspend or withdraw the accreditation.

Any disputes over grades awarded during an assessment will be arbitrated by the Council, who may require the assessor and client to provide additional evidence of their case. The final decision is made by GoodCorporation in agreement with the Council.

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Who owns GoodCorporation?

GoodCorporation is funded and owned by a group of private individuals. Details of some of the key shareholders are in the About Us section.

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How does it fit with other standards and initiatives?

Many of the existing standards and initiatives cover either health, safety and environment, or corporate governance. The GoodCorporation Standard is unique as it covers all aspects of corporate responsibility, and considers the views of all key stakeholder groups. It is not enough for the organisation to have policy documents and systems. Stakeholders must also agree that these polices work in a fair and responsible way on the ground. The Standard and methodology are designed to work together, and the assessment provides clients with independent feedback on their performance gathered both from inside and outside the organisation. The GoodCorporation assessment can be adapted globally to any size of organisation.

 

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My organisation is already involved in CSR. How will we benefit from undergoing a GoodCorporation independent assessment?

A GoodCorporation independent assessment will help to identify issues that most other CSR programmes and initiatives may not cover. Many organisations adopt a narrow view of CSR that concentrates on health, safety, environment and community involvement. Few, if any, CSR initiatives and standards consider employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders as well as HSE and communities. In addition, the GoodCorporation assessment focuses not only on documentation in place, but also on the actual views and opinions of the stakeholders themselves, thus providing useful feedback that is specific to the organisation and its stakeholders. An organisation cannot do well in a GoodCorporation assessment by merely having the appropriate policies drafted. We will want to see and hear evidence that the policies actually work on the ground. For more information about other benefits that come from a GoodCorporation assessment, click here.

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Isn’t this concept just for Anglo-Saxon countries and organisations?

No. The assessment has been carefully designed to work for all organisations in all countries. However, the “law of the land” always takes precedence over the Standard, for example where a local law or religious/cultural factor dictates otherwise. We have already assessed organisations in more than 40 countries, and have not found any difficulties in applying the local context to any of our assessments.

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Isn’t this concept just for rich countries? How will poorer countries benefit?

The concept is global. In fact, an assessment against the GoodCorporation Standard helps to improve conditions for employees, to afford more protection to local customers and suppliers, and to promote community involvement, which helps to improve the conditions of local communities. Our cost structure in developing countries is designed to make the process affordable to indigenous organisations. We have conducted assessments in ten African markets, for example, using local assessors and have had excellent feedback from local stakeholders about the value of assessing responsible behaviour in these countries.

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Who are you to set a Standard?

The Standard was devised in conjunction with the Institute of Business Ethics, and is implemented by GoodCorporation. The Standard was developed in consultation with a wide range of organisations, and it undergoes a review every three years. The last review was in 2010. To find out more about the revision of the Standard click here.

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How do you promote improvement in performance?

We encourage our clients to use the assessment process and resulting report as a risk assessment process enabling them to identify and prioritise those areas where improvements can be made. Some of our clients develop action plans from the report, and assign responsibility for ensuring that each action is undertaken tospecific individuals. Progress is tracked at regular meetings. These clients have reported significant improvements in their environmental and social performance and in the benefits gained from enhanced relationships with stakeholders. To review some example case studies click here.

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