A solid ethical and moral foundation helps businesses build a positive public image and reputation. The starting point for this is to publish the company’s ideals as the company’s mission or value statement. The next and most critical step is disseminating the values throughout the organization and empowering the employees to live by them.
An employee code of conduct is invaluable in fostering such an environment. It grooms your employees to keep the code of conduct and enhance the brand’s reputation. Plus, it develops a healthy and positive work environment for all.Â
Here’s a look at ten of the best Code of Conduct templates available for Microsoft Word and ClickUp—for free!
- What Makes a Good Code of Conduct Template?
- Top 10 Code of Conduct Templates to Use in 2024
- 1. Employee Handbook Template by ClickUp
- 2. Employee Handbook Template for Family Practice by ClickUp
- 3. Employee Manual Template by ClickUp
- 4. Employee Preschool Handbook Template by ClickUp
- 5. Vision Board Template by ClickUp
- 6. Vision to Values Template by ClickUp
- 7. Principals’ Strategic Plan Template by ClickUp
- 8. Employee Handbooks, Policies & Procedures Template by ClickUp
- 9. Microsoft Word Employee Code of Conduct Template by Simul
- 10. Microsoft Word Code of Conduct Policy for Organizations Template by FactoHR
What Makes a Good Code of Conduct Template?
A code of conduct is a document that details acceptable behavior and practices at the workplace to ensure that all employees align with the company’s mission, vision, and purpose.Â
A well-written code of conduct is the ultimate HR goal.
The starting point will include the basics, such as the company name, background, logo, and promoters’ details, to establish the company’s credentials.
However, since the code of conduct primarily revolves around employees, it should focus on the governing policies, guidelines, and expectations concerning them.Â
The draft code of conduct should include the following.
- Introduction and purpose: This section must convey the main objective behind formulating such a document and the applicability of the code of conduct. It should specify the category of employees covered under the trailing company’s code
- Company values and mission: The code of conduct must align with the company’s core values, mission, and ethics. The document should preface the policy with these driving beliefs and values
- Legal and regulatory compliance: Outline the organization’s commitment to applicable laws (including local laws where they have offices) and regulations, specifically about business conduct. The company will have acceptable guidelines and protections for actions taken in good faith while discharging job-related duties
- Appropriate behavior: Clearly define employee conduct the company expects. The employee must uphold professionalism, honesty, integrity, and respect. It includes correct behavior when they are on company property and beyond
- Confidentiality: For employees handling confidential information, this clause should emphasize the standards of maintaining company and customer-related data confidentiality and securityÂ
- Workplace discrimination and harassment: Companies should highlight the non-discriminatory behavior and policies set in place to safeguard the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Use of company resources: This portion should clarify the appropriate use of company property, technology, and resources. Depending on the digital maturity and infrastructure, this clause may also discuss using company name, email, internet usage, communication channels, etc.
- Violations: It must include a mechanism to report violations with adequate protection for the reporter from vindictive or retaliatory measures. This section should also outline the procedure for disciplinary actions in response to code violations
- Acknowledgment: This section seals the document’s legality. It indicates that the signee has read and understood the code of conduct and accepts it. By signing the document, they submit to complying with the code. They are aware of the implications of violation, including legal actionÂ
- Periodic review: This section should specify the periodicity with which these codes of conduct are subject to review and updates, especially under the prevailing laws, regulations, and organizational policies
Top 10 Code of Conduct Templates to Use in 2024
While companies tend to standardize employee handbooks with recurring themes, they are not all the same. After all, not all employees or industries are the same!
The health and safety standards for employees working in a hazardous factory would vastly differ from those in a desk job.
Similarly, the latter may enjoy work-from-home privileges, but the former cannot enjoy the same.
We cover ten code of conduct templates you should use in 2024 (and beyond!).
Here’s a look at them.
1. Employee Handbook Template by ClickUp
About six out of ten employees avoid reading the employee handbook—you can’t fault them. Who wants to go through tons of dos and don’ts they might not even remember?
Fortunately, you can tip the odds in your favor with the ClickUp Employee Handbook Template. This beginner-friendly resource helps with employee onboarding and applies to businesses in almost all sectors and industries. It covers critical sections, including the ones given below.
- Company background
- Standard of conduct
- Team policies
- Dress code
- Work hours
- Communication policies
- Confidentiality agreement
- Disciplinary action and more
Add, remove, or modify sections to tailor the template to match your workplace policies.
In addition to the basic edits, ClickUp makes the handbook more engaging.
Use rich formatting styles to grab and sustain attention. Use hyperlinking and nest pages to make the employee handbook easily navigable.
Embed visual cues such as images, GIFs, emojis, charts, etc., to engage the reader. Give your HR teams the option to highlight sections and tag employees or newbies to draw their attention to specific portions of the employee handbook.
2. Employee Handbook Template for Family Practice by ClickUp
Family practices run well due to a tradition of solid customer rapport. Long-standing customers expect team members to deliver personalization, reliability, and consistency for their continued patronage.
A seamless customer experience is one of the factors that keeps customers coming back. The ClickUp Employee Handbook Template for Family Practice ensures that everything stays in tune with the primary objective of delivering such a service.
The handbook recapitulates the company’s mission and vision to provide a cohesive experience. It then explores the depths of company policies, practices, and procedures that enhance patient care.
The handbook contains a clause explaining the legal liability of failing to honor data security and privacy guidelines as your staff will have access to sensitive assets, such as health records, care plans, reports, diagnoses, etc.,Â
The handbook integrates with ClickUp’s intuitive project management platform. Go beyond using it as a repository to store and share the employee handbook. Create pre-defined tasks, schedule appointments, assign job-related duties, and maintain auditable patient records.Â
3. Employee Manual Template by ClickUp
The ClickUp Employee Manual Template sets the tone for a fulfilling employee-employer relationship. It pens down what the company expects from its workforce and how the staff will deliver such expectations. This value alignment brings everyone on the same page and enables employees to perform and offer value from day one.
The employee manual template outlines the background, company values, mission, and vision. It then provides a broad overview of the work culture, duties, and responsibilities.
A mismatch in personal beliefs and company values often results in employee turnover. That’s why covering these at the start is critical—for companies and employees.
It also clarifies how the individual’s contributions help fulfill the larger organizational goal. One of the best ways to involve and engage employees is by giving them visibility into the impact of their performance.
Finally, the employee manual template delves into company policies and processes so newcomers integrate comfortably into the new work environment.Â
Of course, the template is purely indicative and not an exhaustive list. You can make it a watertight legal document that comprehensively covers everything from the employee code of conduct to the handling of company assets and so on.
4. Employee Preschool Handbook Template by ClickUp
The ClickUp Employee Preschool Handbook Template is a detailed guide for those working in a preschool facility or childcare center.
Establishing effective communication channels, articulating organizational expectations, setting standard operating procedures, and building a harmonious environment for staff members and young learners is invaluable. It is a guide for all your new and existing employees.
The template covers all the crucial aspects of running a functional childcare center or a preschool by explaining:
- Employee code of conduct
- Terms of employment and employment benefits
- Curriculum structure and educational philosophy
- Management of material property
- Day-to-day routine activities and job-related duties
- Health and safety of employees and children
- Security and emergency protocols
- Stakeholder government agencies
- Child protection policies and more
Feel free to customize the template to match your preschool’s mission, vision, and values.
5. Vision Board Template by ClickUp
Businesses use vision boards to instill a feeling of inclusion, help employees gain more confidence in their abilities, and motivate them to achieve their goals.
The ClickUp Vision Board Template is a powerful tool to achieve personal or organizational goals. It converts the core objective of the company’s business into tangible, achievable, and quantifiable entities that you can tackle one at a time.
The five sections include—Vision, Target Group, Needs, Product, and Business Goals. Once you break down the goal into smaller action items like tasks and subtasks within these parameters, it is easier to delegate duties accordingly.
In addition to aligning visions to the business goal, the vision board lets you assign priorities, define dependencies, and group similar or correlated tasks.
Since this is a ‘vision’ board, the template pays close attention to the aesthetics and prioritizes the visual transmission of information. Everything is color-coded. Visualize success in the list view, form view, and board view.
6. Vision to Values Template by ClickUp
The ClickUp Vision to Values Template is essentially a vision board in motion.
While a vision board primarily details the goals and objectives, the vision to values template goes well beyond. It begins with recapitulating the company’s vision, mission, and core values.
The summary of these driving principles reinforces culture amongst the external or internal parties. Once you establish the endpoints of vision and values, the template veers into a comprehensive step-by-step guide to bridge the two.
The resulting action plan includes a detailed list of SMART tasks, SMART being Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. The template then maps these tasks against a timeline with well-defined milestones.
Finally, complement the strategy with an amenable review mechanism to manage performance, track progress, and deliver results promptly.
This template aims to bring greater alignment between company values and vision and ensure that employees continue to focus on bringing in results.Â
7. Principals’ Strategic Plan Template by ClickUp
School Principals share several similarities with Project Managers. Both leadership positions enjoy project ownership while staying responsible for company property.
They manage human resources, oversee team cohesiveness, optimize operations, handle budgets, plan for risks, and strategize for goal achievement.
The ClickUp Principals’ Strategic Plan Template offers a high-level view of all the underlying tasks, workflows, and activities. It is a single-stop repository of all the tasks within the school.
Add to or subtract from the list, group closely related tasks, add tags, assign tasks, curate teams, appoint supervisors, define priority, and ascribe a timeline. So, whether it is managing timetables or scheduling maintenance, set everything up to function smoothly in a few clicks.
View everything as an interactive list, board, progress bar, timeline, or Gantt chart. Any changes made to the plan are reflected in real-time to keep all stakeholders, be it teachers, support staff, administration, parents, and students, in the loop.
8. Employee Handbooks, Policies & Procedures Template by ClickUp
The ClickUp Employee Handbooks, Policies & Procedures Template is a heavily detailed document to help employees better understand their company, its culture, and their work.
It starts with a brief background of the company, its history, the organizational structure, an introduction to the leadership suite, and contact details. Then, it goes into the general guidelines of the business’s day-to-day operations. It starts with a typical day at work, how company employees communicate, emergency procedures, etc.
It then dives into the employee conduct policy. It begins with explaining standard business practices like handling confidential information and intellectual property, fair dealing laws, a clause prohibiting bribes or accepting gifts, etc.
The final section relating to policies and procedures is the key focus of this template. It details everything—a day-wise itinerary of the employee onboarding process, workplace policy, remote work and attendance policy, emergency action plan, and offboarding.
Make it as generic as a boilerplate handbook or as elaborate as sketching out specific disciplinary actions for misuse of company equipment or establishing Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) for failure to follow the team leader’s instructions.Â
9. Microsoft Word Employee Code of Conduct Template by Simul
If you’re looking for a minimalistic Employee Code of Conduct Policy Template that brushes on the basics, then this Employee Code of Conduct Template in Word by Simul is perfect.
It is a concise legal document that defines appropriate employee behavior and ethical standards within an organization. It separates what is acceptable from other unlawful conduct in an attempt to promote a positive and respectful work culture.
The template covers various topics, including compliance with applicable laws, professional ethics, conflict of interest, confidentiality, condonation of discriminatory behavior, and more.
The template presents all this information in a brief, easy-to-understand bulleted list. Customize it to expand on certain topics or tailor it to company or industry requirements.Â
10. Microsoft Word Code of Conduct Policy for Organizations Template by FactoHR
The Code of Conduct Policy for Organizations Template in Word by FactoHR is an exhaustive resource that disseminates information on what companies expect from employees and the prevailing ethical standards.
It emphasizes the values of integrity and professionalism to develop a healthy company. The template covers various topics, including appropriate employee behavior, legal and regulatory compliance, confidentiality, etc.
This template is more fleshed out than its Simul counterpart as it goes into greater detail about the working environment, behavior within the company’s property, handling of equipment, prohibition of bribery and corruption, employee obligations, and so on.
Such a comprehensive document generates awareness about what companies expect from employees, previews the work environment, and teaches a culture of responsibility while mitigating ethical dilemmas.
Keep Everything to Code With Comprehensive Code of Conduct Templates and ClickUp
That’s a wrap on the best and most effective code of conduct templates for diverse businesses.Â
ClickUp Code of Conduct templates are holistic and comprehensive and will support your business-specific requirements. Whether you want to edit or customize the existing document, ClickUp enables you to do that easily.
Tweak them per your policies and guidelines, and save on the time and effort of creating such documents from scratch. As a starting point, access sections like team policies, dress code, work hours, communication policies, and more to add to your employee handbook as required.Â
The best part? These ClickUp Templates are free!Â
So, go on and try them now!
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