THE ROLE OF MANAGERS

We all have a responsibility to follow the principles set out in this Code of Conduct – but if you’re a manager at NEOM,* you also have some additional responsibilities.


As managers, it’s part of your role to serve as an example, and a source of guidance, to your team members on the day-to-day issues that our Code of Conduct covers. In this section, we’ll set out what we mean by this, and how NEOM commits to support you in this role.


*By ‘manager’ we mean anyone to whom individuals or teams report as part of their work. This could include line managers, team leaders or supervisors, as well as more senior staff members.

AS A COMPANY, WE ARE COMMITTED TO:

• Set a clear example, by upholding our Code of Conduct’s principles in your daily working life
• Act as an ambassador for our Values, making sure you embody them in your leadership behaviors and can provide others with guidance on how to be a role model to do the same
• Be familiar with our Code of Conduct, so that you can act as a point of contact for any related questions from your team members or fellow managers
• Talk about our Code of Conduct with your team members, to ensure they understand its expectations
• Challenge any behavior you see which goes against our Code of Conduct – not only among your team members but also among your fellow managers too
• Be accessible and listen to any team members with concerns about the conduct of their colleagues or other managers
• Respond as soon as possible to any concern raised (and don’t forget to thank the person who raised it – the decision to speak to you may not have been an easy one)
• And finally, just ask! We don’t expect our managers to have the answer to every question. So, it’s important that you seek advice from senior colleagues or escalate concerns when the best course of action isn’t clear to you. Your management colleagues in the Legal, People and Compliance departments, for example, are on hand to act as a point of contact for any relevant questions or concerns

HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO: I work as a manager in our Procurement Department. Recently, one of my team members sent me an email. She said she was concerned that one of her colleagues had a personal interest in a potential supplier and that this might be affecting his decisions at work. I’m pretty sure that ‘conflicts of interest’ is a Compliance Department issue, and I wouldn’t know how to answer this concern properly. So, I think I’d better just thank her for the email and get back to work. Can’t do any better than that, right?

Wrong. At NEOM, we don’t expect our managers to know the answer to every question. But we do expect managers to ask an appropriate senior colleague if they are unsure how to respond to queries from their team – especially if these queries relate to our Code of Conduct. If you’re unsure of how to reply to your team member regarding any potential conflict of interest, you should thank them for raising the concern, then ask a colleague in our Compliance Department for advice before responding.