Business principles
Corporate culture and reputation are among the priorities of the Telefónica Group. In July 2011, Telefónica CR published updated Business Principles that reflect the current priorities of the Telefónica Group. The Business Principles are a set of 42 principles that Telefónica CR sees as a vehicle for gaining and keeping the trust of customers, shareholders, employees, contractual partners and the public at large. Key principles include: ‘no’ to corruption regardless of its form; conformity with the law; and protecting information and privacy.
In 2011, Telefónica CR continued to promote the Business Principles among the employees by means of an online course. The course is now fully integrated in the standard training portal, with the benefit of improved user comfort. Employees train in the Business Principles every three years; as at 31 December 2011, 85% of all employees had a valid certificate of completion of the Business Principles course.
Employees have the duty to report unethical conduct which they may come across; the Company guarantees anonymity for the whistleblower. In 2011, Telefónica CR continued to raise awareness of the available whistle-blowing tools. Employees can report unethical conduct in several ways: they can choose between an online application, e-mail, letter addressed to the responsible officer (Compliance Officer) or visiting in person. Employees have also the option to approach trained consultants from Human Resources, Security and Legal Affairs. The reports are investigated by Security or Internal Audit in collaboration with the Compliance Officer. There are also instruments of higher instance available: escalation of the report to the Business Principles Office of the parent Telefónica, or the instruments available at the European division of the group, Telefónica Europe. Reporting suspected irregularities in accounting, internal control systems and accounting audit of the Company or the Group is made through a dedicated whistle-blowing channel leading directly to the parent Telefónica. Activities in the area of ethical conduct and business principles enjoy a full support from the governing bodies and the executive management; they are supervised by the Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and, through this body, by the Supervisory Board. The effectiveness of the whistle-blowing instruments (and of the subsequent investigations) is regularly monitored by the Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. The Internal Audit unit of Telefónica CR regularly audits the compliance with the Business Principles.
The Business Principles are a fundamental policy of the Company, which is a part of the Work Regulation and employees are required to comply. The brochure Business Principles is given to every new employee upon their commencement of employment as part of their orientation training, in which a special section is dedicated to the Business Principles and to the values of the O2 brand; the publication can also be downloaded from the Company’s intranet and website.
The Business Principles assert that Telefónica CR is a company that is equally open, trustworthy and transparent towards its people and the customers.