DXC Technology: Harnessing The Power Of Values, Culture And Integrity
Much can go wrong within a control environment, and “there are limits to what internal controls alone can accomplish,” says Chris DePippo, chief ethics and compliance officer at DXC Technology. Controls may be designed ineffectively or signals can be overlooked. Worst-case scenario? Controls can be “circumvented by employees—or more commonly, altogether overridden by management intent on abusing their authority.” ”Culture is very often a root cause of misconduct,” DePippo says. However, companies that invest in values and a culture of integrity usually find these intangibles are there to “backstop inevitable control failures.” So for DXC, a culture of performance with integrity—what DePippo calls the “immune system of the organization”—is essential. “At DXC we believe that our embrace of integrity and values—in all places across the globe—builds a trust among employees, partners, clients and shareholders that secures our future.” DXC’s ethics and compliance team goes to great lengths to build an awareness among people managers: It’s their responsibility to set the tone and shape culture. DePippo explained that the effort is to “get managers to recognize that leading teams brings a ‘higher calling’ and that merely ‘making the number’ or ‘delivering the milestone’ or ‘keeping the client happy’ are not enough.” According to DePippo, the company believes a well-defined value set helps align the organization with objectives “across all layers and levels without regard for titles or differences in responsibility.” Those values, meant to “harmonize interactions between DXC and its customers, business partners and competitors,” are celebrated among stakeholders as the company’s “special sauce.” Ultimately, says DePippo, creating and sustaining a culture of integrity in high-pressure business environments requires constant care—an effort not unlike “keeping a garden free of weeds.” DXC is no exception. The business must continuously reinforce its values and find innovative ways to engage people managers and their teams. But for DePippo, the benefits of this approach are well worth the effort: “When there’s little time to get it right and when risk-taking and innovation are required, we’re confident our values are there to inform an employee’s instincts, decisions and actions.”