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There has been a lot of commentary recently on the Banking Royal Commission.

Many of the summaries detailing good governance practices and corporate social responsibility are nothing new. They are practices that are doctrine in law and to be honest, are just plain common sense.

Unfortunately the issues uncovered by the Royal Commission are directly attributable to the fact that many of these organisations were focused on profit margins and turnover, no matter the cost and to the detriment of other measures of success.

While it’s unlikely that your business will ever face such public scrutiny, there are important lessons to be learnt here for all businesses and Directors. These are:

  • Non-financial risks are as important as financial.
  • Put your customer first. Give them the best service and always strive for excellence. Go one step further and make customer service one of the criteria you use for recognising and rewarding employees.
  • Don’t ignore bad behaviour. You need to take responsibility of the culture in your organisation and act to change it, if needed.
  • As a board, ensure your management is accountable and be willing to question their decision making if required.
  • Understand your obligations and duties as a Director and take them seriously.

One of the most significant challenges for fast growing companies is how to uphold the organisation’s culture and beliefs as you bring on new staff and the organisation adapts to growth and necessary change. Keeping these five simple lessons front of mind might prevent you from ultimately losing sight of the bigger picture.