The Ethics Institute’s assessments are powerful diagnostic tools that provide a clear picture of your organisation’s ethics management and culture— and more importantly, where and how to improve it. We don’t just measure. We help you move the needle.
Key Results from Recent Assessments
Across a diverse group of organisations, 92.3% showed measurable improvement in their Ethics Culture Maturity Index (ECMI) percentile scores following an ERA and tailored interventions.
Here is what we have seen in practice:
- Significant Improvements: Most organisations saw double-digit increases in their ECMI scores — some improving by as much as 30 to 40 percentile points.
- Sustained Growth: Organisations that already had strong ethical cultures managed to strengthen them even further.
- Gradual Progress: In a few cases, smaller gains pointed to incremental improvement or highlighted areas needing more targeted support.
- Minor Regression: A small number of organisations experienced temporary setbacks, often linked to internal disruptions such as restructuring or shifting priorities.
Trends by Sector
- Finance: Organisations in the financial sector consistently demonstrated strong improvements, with several showing substantial percentile gains.
- State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs): While starting from a lower baseline, SOEs showed meaningful upward trends in ethical culture development.
- Real Estate: Some maintained high levels of ethical culture maturity, reflecting sustained internal ethics efforts.
- Retail and Agriculture: More modest progress suggests that further support or deeper systemic engagement may be needed.
The organisations that achieved the strongest outcomes typically took a structured and strategic approach, which included some or all of the following:
- Developing a formal ethics strategy and management plan
- Appointing ethics officers or empowering internal ethics champions
- Establishing ethics ambassadors to drive awareness at operational levels
- Rolling out ethics training and awareness initiatives
- Strengthening whistleblowing protections and safe reporting mechanisms
- Reviewing and aligning policies, procedures, and governance frameworks with ethical standards
Prof Leon van Vuuren is Executive Director: Business and Professional Ethics at The Ethics Institute. He holds a Doctorate of Industrial Psychology from the University of Johannesburg.
Dr Paul Vorster is a Senior Research Specialist at The Ethics Institute. He holds a doctorate of Industrial Psychology, which he attained from the University of Johannesburg.