This moral code seeps into every aspect of our lives, whether it is our behaviour on the roads or how we conduct ourselves in business.
RGM recently held training seminars for our service providers, with a focus on front line personnel – security, reception and janitorial staff. The content of the workshops covered every- thing from proper work attire and deportment to customer interaction, and it was very well received. We learned a few things as well, perhaps the most important one being that delivering outstanding customer service is much more difficult when the courtesy you offer isn’t reciprocated.
We all think of ourselves as ethical. But how do we treat others, particularly those who can do nothing for us? Here are a few suggestions to keep your ethical quotient high:
1. Attitude is everything. There are going to be tough days, challenging clients, people who look right through you as if you didn’t matter. Take the high road and maintain a positive attitude.
2. Stick to the code. Most companies have a business code handbook, which you should keep close at hand and consult when in doubt about what to do in any given situation.
3. Do Unto Others. Wouldn’t like it if someone did it to you? Don’t do it to them.
4. Keep it Simple. To quote John Maxwell, “There’s no such thing as business ethics – there’s only ethics. People try to use one set of ethics for their professional life, another for their spiritual life, and still another at home with their family. That gets them into trouble. Ethics is ethics. If you desire to be ethical, you live by one standard across the board.”