Ethena, a modern compliance training platform, announced the launch of its Code of Conduct training. The course transforms the Code of Conduct training that public companies are required to do from a “check-the-box” activity, into training that speaks to each company’s values and shares expectations of what it means to be acting ethically and inclusively.
“A company’s Code of Conduct shares the principles and standards that everyone at the company needs to follow – that’s a really important vision to articulate, especially to new hires, Despite its importance, historically, most organizations have struggled to develop training that keeps company values and standards top of mind throughout the year. Usually, it ends up being generic training and check-the-box attestation. We saw companies hungry for something better but also scalable in the era of distributed teams. That’s why Ethena developed our Code of Conduct training to help build ethical and inclusive companies.”
- Roxanne Petraeus, Ethena CEO and co-founder
In the United States, all public companies are legally required to have a Code of Conduct, a mandate that began with the establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002. Codes of Conduct have become the standard for building ethical workplaces–so much so that even private companies and growing startups develop their own internal Codes.
A Code of Conduct typically encapsulates mission, core values, and culture statements combined with critical rules and regulations–all of which make for a complex, lengthy document. The density of most Codes has made it difficult for compliance professionals to implement effective training, and even harder for employees to retain that content. It is not uncommon for new hires to read the Code during the onboarding process, sign an attestation saying they will follow the rules stated within the document, and then never hear about the Code again.
From public companies to up-and-coming startups, many organizations want to communicate and re-educate employees about the Code over the course of the year, but that has become increasingly difficult with the amount of required training employees receive. As a result, aspects of Code training either get added onto other training initiatives, or just get passed over due to tight budgets and training fatigue.
Ethena’s fully configurable, off-the-shelf Code of Conduct training makes it easier for compliance officers, Legal and HR teams, and managers to educate employees about the Code consistently while not asking for too much employee time. Companies like Zoom have already deployed Ethena’s training to provide continual opportunities for their employees to learn about the Code of Conduct.
Ethena provides the only Code training that is designed in digestible bits of training, which can be delivered at the Moments that Matter. For example, a company can deliver its “Gifts and Entertainment” training right before the holiday season for maximum learning and retention.
In today’s constantly evolving business landscape, continuous learning in all aspects of an organization is essential, At Zoom, we extend our passion for continuous learning to our Code of Conduct to help foster value- and purpose-oriented teams, just as our product teams leverage their learnings to create the next-generation of product and business innovation, said Lynn Haaland, Zoom’s Chief Compliance, Ethics, and Privacy Officer.
ABOUT ETHENA
Ethena is a modern compliance training platform that provides innovative, effective training for companies. Instead of just checking a box, Ethena training builds ethical and inclusive company cultures while providing admins with a seamless software experience to navigate the increasingly-complex web of compliance training requirements. Ethena was founded by Roxanne Petraeus and Anne Solmssen, who drew upon their diverse backgrounds in the U.S. Army, consulting and startups to reinvent the stuffy world of corporate training. Ethena was named one of the most promising enterprise startups in 2021 by Insider.