Ethics play an important role in business, and that role is becoming greater by the day. Nowadays, every decision a business makes is scrutinized online. Any examples of poor business ethics can easily go viral and harm the firm’s reputation. While global corporations can invest vast amounts of money and time into their corporate social responsibility, small businesses don’t have this luxury. If you’re wondering how to be more ethical in business as a small startup, this article will explore simple, affordable ways businesses can improve their small business ethics.

Fair Treatment of Employees

When it comes to treating your employees better, the obvious answer is to increase wages. But this isn’t always an option for small businesses that are working with tight budgets. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t treat them better.

It could be as simple as offering more flexibility at work. Allow employees to work from home if they are struggling to balance work with childcare for example. Alternatively, put time into creating a more attractive work environment. If you work in an office, ensure it is looked after in terms of cleanliness and repairs. If your budget allows, add items like pool tables and televisions to make your employees’ dinner hour more enjoyable.

In some cases, business ethics don’t have to cost anything. When looking at your treatment of employees, it could even be a case of getting to know them better and taking an active interest in their lives outside of work.

Ethical Sourcing & Sustainability

It’s important to not only consider your own business ethics but also the business ethics of all those you work with. If you work with suppliers, do your research to ensure they are following fair practices and treating their own employees fairly. Even companies as big as Apple have come under fire for working with unethical suppliers. 

Similarly, your business may partner with design agencies or a performance marketing agency. If so, it’s important to consider how they operate as some agencies will be more ethical partners than others. In the UK, B corporations are considered to have the best ethical practices in terms of their commitment to the environment and other ethical factors.

A really easy way to become more ethical is to make a conscious effort to use more sustainable materials and lower your energy consumption. 

Be Honest & Transparent

Telling the truth costs nothing, and is one of the easiest ways to ensure you are following good business ethics. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for businesses to try to deceive customers with their marketing material in an attempt to increase profit levels.

You should especially consider this if your business operates in an industry where addictions are common. For example, betting, alcohol and tobacco companies should tread carefully when trying to promote their product as deceiving potential customers could have drastic consequences.

Even outside of these industries, communicating prices and product information inaccurately could lead your brand to be viewed as unethical which will likely impact trust and future sales.

Charitable Activity

Most big businesses give back to charity in some form. Again, this is easier for businesses that have bigger profits to play with and, while many smaller businesses would love to share their profits with charities, it simply isn’t always viable. 

If you are running a small business and you want to give back to charity in some way, you could choose to partner with local charities in other ways. This could mean offering your services for cheaper to charities or non-profit organizations. For example, a design agency may create a new website for a local children’s hospital at a discounted rate. 

It may even be as simple as donating your and your employees’ time to local charities. Any way you can integrate your business into the local community should see you also benefit from positive PR.

Engrain Ethics Into Company Culture

Good business ethics don’t just happen overnight, and they can also be easily lost. It’s important to instil good business ethics into your company culture, and this starts from the top. As the owner of a small business, hold yourself to the highest possible ethical standards from the way you treat employees on a daily basis to the way you lead your company’s marketing efforts.

Also, take the time to plan out a company code of ethics that can be relayed to all new starters. This should convey exactly what your company stands for and how business should be done. Without this, a lack of clarity could easily be the start of a slippery slope in terms of poor business ethics.

The ways in which your business can become more ethical depend greatly on the industry it operates within. However you choose to improve your business ethics, view it as an investment that will pay you back in the form of trust, reputation and business growth.

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