“Do you think integrity is important in the workplace?”. That was the question posed as I was scrolling through LinkedIn recently.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (97%), myself included, answered “yes”, which was not surprising to me. What did surprise me, was scrolling through the comments on the original post and finding that many people had mentioned that – in their experience – showcasing integrity was viewed as a barrier to career progression, or that when mentioned as a value of a business, it was often not put into practice.

At Saffery, integrity is one of our core values, and we define is as a promise to “always do the right thing, even when no one is looking”, both in respect to our people and to our clients.

With a long history in an industry defined by trust, binding our behaviour with integrity is a natural way to guarantee excellence.

To me, it makes perfect sense that any policy, procedure, behaviour or value that a firm expects its people to comply with must be driven from the top down. Leaders should not demand or expect their team to do anything that they have not, or would not, do themselves; acting with integrity is no exception.

For our leaders, this is translated by showing integrity in the decision-making process, and by having an open and fair communication style. Day-to-day it shows up as accepting that mistakes do happen, and that life is a learning path. Through such examples, employees feel free to take initiatives, are accountable for their results and ultimately understand their responsibilities.

As HR Manager, I have a responsibility to find the right people for the right roles. As Saffery, this not only means finding people with the required skills, qualifications and experience, but also those who understand the importance of the firm’s core values.

Full-time employees spend more of their week at work than anything else, so creating an environment where everyone feels safe, seen, heard and respected is paramount. Building a culture of integrity reinforces trust among employers and employees and, ultimately, makes people happy.