Taking Your Ethics Program to the Next Level

Transcription

1 Taking Your Ethics Program to the Next Level Collaborative Relationships, Trustworthy Stewardship, Operational Excellence Helen A. Goodwin, CCEP, Ethics Program Manager Jacilyn R. Margeson, JD, Assistant General Counsel Bonneville Power Administration Portland, Oregon The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics 2012 Compliance and Ethics Institute BPA -- Celebrating 75 Years Established in 1937 Markets power at cost from 31 federal dams and 1 nuclear plant over one-third of electricity used in PNW Markets transmission services owns 75% (15,000 miles) of the high-voltage lines in PNW Protects, mitigates & enhances fish & wildlife in the Columbia River Basin 300,000 square mile service area includes WA, OR, ID, and Western MT Self-funded federal agency. Sets rates to recover costs. $3.5 billion in annual revenues 3000 employees Headquarters in Portland, OR Dexter Hills Creek California Washington Chief Joseph Chandler Ice Harbor The Dalles McNary Bonneville John Day Big Cliff Foster Detroit Green Peter Cougar Lookout Point Lost Creek Green Springs Mica Keenleyside Oregon Revelstroke Duncan Wells Rocky Grand Reach Coulee Rock Island Lower Lower Wanapum Rosa Monumental Granite Priest Rapids Little Goose Albeni Falls Libby Dworshak Hells Canyon Oxbow Brownlee Black Canyon Boise Diversion Swan Falls Anderson Ranch American Falls C J Strike Bliss Minidoka Upper Salmon Falls Nevada Hungry Horse Idaho Columbia Basin BPA Service Area BPA Transmission Grid Federal Dams: Corps of Engineers Bureau of Reclamation Non-Federal Dams Canadian Dams Canada U.S.A. Palisades Utah 2 Montana Wyoming 1

2 Overview Celebrating 75 Years BPA s Award Winning Ethics Program Ethics Program History Operational Excellence A BPA Core Value Alignment with Federal Sentencing Guidelines Taking Your Ethics Program to the Next Level 3 BPA s Award Winning Ethics Program BPA s ethics program has received awards from the Office of Government Ethics 2010 and 2011 award for BPA s creative, interactive webbased training programs 2011 award for Code of Conduct, surveys, communication campaign, etc blue ribbon for BPA s display at the OGE conference How did BPA get there? This session will focus on the journey from a basic, requirements driven program to an integrated, enhanced ethics program 4 2

3 Pre-2006 Following the Legal Requirements Employees required to follow the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch/Hatch Act Gifts Conflict of Interest/Appearance of a Conflict of Interest Post-Employment Political Activities Ethics attorneys in Office of General Counsel focused on meeting the intent of the law Review/Approval of Financial Disclosure Forms Ethics Advice Post-Employment Ethics Training It Can Happen to You 20 year employee and high-level manager accused of using her influence to steer business to a software company employing her husband Convicted by a jury of three felony counts: wire fraud, making false statement and conflict of interest Employee lost her Federal job, spent 120 days in a community facility and received 5 years probation Appealed her conviction, and lost Damage to BPA s reputation and credibility 6 3

4 Post 2006 Taking BPA s Ethics Program to the Next Level Event triggered focus on ethics risks Strong message from the top that this won t happen again BPA s commitment to go beyond the basic Federal requirements by: Naming names when information is publically available Documenting requests for ethics advice Identifying ethics as a top tier enterprise risk Expanding ethics training to all Federal employees Adding resources to implement ethics treatment plan 7 Operational Excellence A BPA Core Value An operationally excellent ethics program is when BPA employees: Understand the ethics rules/regulations Have the tools they need to comply Willingly comply with those rules as a normal part of business operations, and Understand the consequences of noncompliance 8 4

5 Benefits of an Operationally Excellent Ethics Program Reduces financial and reputational risk Fosters a culture where a commitment to integrity and ethics is demonstrated Consistent with expectations of BPA s customers and constituents Provides transparency Minimizes audit exposures and findings Improves operational efficiency and effectiveness 9 Cross Agency Program Structure 10 5

6 Policies/Procedures/Written Standards BPA s Code of Conduct Clear, easily assessable, web-based document with links to the source documents Employees must comply with the source documents Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch/Hatch Act Rules & Regulations Regarding Federal Buildings and Grounds BPA Policies Employees certify that they understand the consequences of non-compliance 11 Education and Training Education and training is the best strategy for prevention of non compliance Types of communications and training: 1. Formal: annual, required ethics training interactive web-based, in person, reading, with goal of 100% compliance, geared to all Federal employees 2. Informal: face-to-face, relationship building, ethics advice, self service web sites and collaboration across the Agency 3. Program specific: employee meetings, contracting officer training, new employee orientation, new supervisory training, compliance week 12 6

7 Monitoring and Auditing Review of BPA ethics program through surveys General: Pre/post implementation of the BPA Code of Conduct and Ethics Hotline Specific: Use of time, supplies and equipment 2011 Internal Audit review of program implementation success Program successfully implemented Eight recommendations for improvement No new actions required Ethics risk refresh in 2010 & Reporting and Investigation Clearly documented procedures approved by the audit and internal controls committee All allegations are documented Employees are encouraged to call the ethics hotline Other resources are available including: Any manager or supervisor The DOE Inspector General EEO Office Office of Special Counsel BPA Ombuds The employees Union (if the position is covered by a bargaining unit) 14 7

8 Enforcement and Discipline BPA is committed to a system of progressive discipline Verbal counseling A reprimand Suspension Termination Employees are protected by the Merit Systems Principles Employees may be subject to criminal penalties, including jail time, fines and may be prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice 15 Response and Prevention Allegations of misconduct, detected and left uncorrected, endangers BPA s mission, reputation and independent authorities Executive management is committed to investigate all hotline reports Documentation and lessons learned is critical One of the goals of BPA s ethics program is detection Finding a problem is a sign that our program is working and employees are comfortable reporting observations of misconduct 16 8

9 Program Evaluation BPA is committed to continuous improvement Regularly monitor and review of policies and procedures to ensure they are current and working Conduct general and specific random sample surveys Benchmarking and adopting best practices is key Publishing annual statistical report in concert with BPA Ombuds, Employee Relations, and EEO BPA s program includes all nine elements from the Sentencing Guidelines; is active and making a difference 17 Risk Assessment Active use of risk management is the key to early detection of possible events and mitigation Risk based program goals/ objectives are developed annually to: Meet internal and external requirements Identify gaps against regulatory requirements Prioritize significant ethical risks Anticipate future risks and risk trends Identify events that can derail program objectives Identify events that can harm reputation Analyze frequency and severity 18 9

10 BPA s Next Steps Grow trust and respect via visibility Focus measurement less on activities and looking back Instead, develop program elements that will get out in front of potential issues and problems Actively enlist the support and active involvement of leaders and business partners across BPA Train, train, train 19 Words of Advice Taking Your Ethics Program to the Next Level Build your ethics program around your mission Have clearly defined roles and responsibilities Leverage your culture, people, traditions and history Employ fair, transparent systems & processes Involve the right people, implement a logical ethics program structure There is no one-size-fits-all ethics program model or framework 20 10