Before we can get into assessing the value of a project's code of conduct, we will need to have an example. This is an example of a conduct code taken from another article of mine*.
Be reliable. Get to work on time (or early); meet your promised deadlines (or earlier); and follow through on your promises to team members whether project related or personal.Share knowledge if possible and ask for help when needed.Smile and be as friendly as you can. We are all in this together.Consider your behavior as seen through the eyes of your peers.Trust is historic. Team members have to learn they can trust you.Here is how you can show the project team its potential value.
Ask them to think about the best project they have ever worked on in the past. Or, if some do not have much project experience, ask them to think about the best work team or sports team of which they were a part. It can be full-time, part-time, or volunteer. It can be with their current employer or a previous one.
Then collect their responses under these headings in bold so they can all see them on a chart or easel paper. (These are typical responses from my experience.)
Traits of the best team I was ever a part of...
#1 No one was finished until we all were. If someone finished early, we helped someone else.
#2 Everyone pulled his or her own weight. We did not tolerate "slackers."
#3 There were clear expectations about what the company wanted from us. We knew what we were expected to do. There was very little oversight by the bosses.
#4 When someone figured out how to do something faster or better, they were expected to show at least one other person. That way, we all got smarter.
The impact of those traits on me...
#1 I kept learning more about the work so I could "show off" by getting finished first. It increased my value to the job and department.
#2 I wanted to be at least as good as the person next to me. I did not want my friends to think of me as a slacker.
#3 It gave me confidence because the boss knew I knew what was expected. I kept my quality and quantity of work high so she would not bother me.
#4 It made me want to learn more so I could be a teacher, not a "learner."
The impact those traits had on my work...
#1 I could do many different jobs so I got a lot of OT. Also, it showed my boss the potential I had and he gave me some more, difficult work (I loved it!)
#2 High production and quality. I had very little rework because that would make me look bad.
#3 I looked forward to coming to work because it was doing something in which I could take a lot of pride. It also showed her how little supervision I needed.
#4 It was not long before my job roles expanded because I had shown I could do a lot. My increased value to the company helped me be promoted.
Now, using this chart you just created as your reference, refer back to the code of conduct your group generated (use my sample at the beginning of the article) and ask them this question: "How many of the items we mentioned in our Code of Conduct (gesture to it) would have been applicable in this composite "best team" setting you have described?"
You are working toward a connection between the potentially great memories they can have from this project and their fond memories of great projects in the past. Be sure to tell them this can be just as great a project, too, if they will focus on that code of conduct in everything they do on this project and help new team members learn it, also.
If you can establish a code of conduct that is published, posted prominently throughout the project, and referenced frequently from senior project leadership downward through the ranks, the team will be well on its way to a great project experience.
An additional benefit of having a project Code of Conduct is helping the leaders at various levels within the project with employee performance issues.
If the sample conduct code above were in use on our current project, a supervisor or could point to the "Be reliable" and "Trust is Historic" statements and ask (not TELL) the employee what they are telling teammates about their reliability by being late to work again.
This is a very subtle yet powerful tool for performance management. The smart leader never says, "You broke a project rule by being late!" because the tardy worker may view the project as some vague, Big Brother sort of presence inflicting a myriad of rules on him.
But teammates are not vague: they are very specific people with names and faces. "Letting our teammates down" has a much bigger impact on people than does breaking one of Big Brother's innumerable rules.
The Code of Conduct concept helps the employees self-manage their behavior without the intervention of their leaders. This tool helps to shift part of the management role as "cop" to the employee who now becomes self-regulated.
The project code of conduct can be a very powerful tool if used wisely.
*( http://ezinearticles.com/?Developing-a-Project-Code-of-Conduct&id=6963197 )
Richard ("Dick") Grimes has used his 30+ years experience in training and operations management for private and public organizations as a foundation for his company, Outsource Training.biz LLC.
Human Resource professionals can earn pre-approved, re-certification training hours by visiting his website, http://www.outsourcetrainingonline.com/. If they send an email to him after taking a course with the word "Ezine" in the subject line, they'll get a $25 REBATE on the course.