We’re putting together a nice once page PDF on why you should join the NSITSP. But there’s a lot of detail behind what can fit on a single page. This Why Join? blog post will become a series that will dive into those details.
Why Ethics?
I’m good at summarizing because I like simple phrases that will stick into any brain. Ethics is a complex topic, but it can be made simple. Aren’t we all tired of dealing with unethical competitors? Well, so are your potential new clients/customers. That is why you need an ethics statement proudly displayed on your website.
Competitive advantage
As I mentioned, you can use it to differentiate yourself in the market. Your potential clients will choose an ethical company over an unethical one certainly, but they’ll also choose you over an ambiguous one too. If your competitor doesn’t have an ethics statement and you do, you win. The customer will think, I wonder why X company doesn’t have an ethics statement? And that might be enough to bring them your way.
Helps you and your staff handle the tough questions
Many people think that ethics are vague. Other people think that they are commanding. They really aren’t either of those things. Instead, what they do is help you make the right decision when an answer isn’t clear. There isn’t right or wrong. There is however, the ethical choice.
When you or your staff is looking at a question and thinking that they could go either way and don’t know which to choose, look to your ethics statement for the answer. It’s a great tool for helping align your employees with the way that you want them to make decisions.
NSITSP State of Ethics
The Board of Directors spent months developing the ethics statement for the organization. We were guided by an expert in the development of ethics statements. This statement can also be used for your organization too or you could use it as a guide for creating your own. You’ll find a PDF copy for your use in the Resources section of the website.
Competence
We will always represent our skills and abilities accurately.
We will maintain our capacity to provide wise counsel for those areas we represent
having expertise through education, and experience.
Conflict of Interest
We advise our clients of conflicts of interest that exist and will always present the
options we genuinely believe are in the best interest of the client.
We shall not knowingly make recommendations or provide advice that serves the
member and not the recipient.
Confidentiality
We treat all client information as confidential unless we know it’s not.
We have documented measures for maintaining the confidentiality of our clients’ data
as well as our own.
We will not take advantage of proprietary or privileged information, either for use by
ourselves, our client’s firm, or another client, without the client’s permission.
Commitment to Clients
We compete by consistently acting in our client’s best interest and employing the
highest levels of honesty, competence, transparency, and professionalism.
We expect our vendors and other IT Service Providers to operate within the same
Code of Ethics we hold ourselves to, and will not tolerate unethical behavior.
A code of ethics is not lengthy and complex. It is concise and elegant. I encourage all of you to adopt the NSITSP code of ethics and start differentiating yourself in the market through public ethical behavior.
Are you reading this but aren’t yet a member of the National Society of IT Service Providers? Please join us today. Together we can move this industry toward more professionalism and be in all the places where people are making decisions about our future.