Code of Professional Character
Our values define who we are as a firm and who we aspire to become. They provide the guiding principles that shape our actions and are vital to achieving our internal and external mission to: enable our clients to achieve long-term, stable, and positive growth, as well as, to build a firm that attracts, develops, and retains first-rate talent and clients.
We expect all of our colleagues to live by these values every day. When confronted with a difficult situation, we expect all involved to challenge themselves and consult with other colleagues to determine what course of action would be most consistent with our values.
While our values guide our behavior and help us to make the right choices, we also have strict policies. These policies establish our obligations as members of the firm and define the rules of conduct in a range of specific and often complex situations. They apply to all firm members, and we expect everyone to comply fully with these policies. We hold ourselves to certain standards of integrity/behavior and, consequently, our policies often go beyond what is required by law. Failure of any team member to comply with our policies may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment and/or other working arrangements.
This Code of Professional Character defines a set of expectations for the behavior of all firm members. It serves as a guide to help colleagues, suppliers, and clients understand the core elements of our policies and how those policies are anchored in our values.
This code highlights how we perceive, think, decide, and act. We expect all colleagues to comply with this Code of Professional Character and we expect others working on our behalf, such as contractors, advisors, and other suppliers to act in a manner that is consistent with our code.
Our Code of Professional Character serves as a guide to our values and policies in action and outlines the expectations we have for all firm members in the areas of:
1. Serving our clients with professional standards
2. Creating a working environment that inspires and motivates our people
3. Fulfilling our responsibility to society
4. Managing risk to the firm
5. Seeking advice and raising concerns
1. Serving our clients with professional standards
We are privileged to have the trust of the clients we serve. We earn this trust by acting with integrity; by providing objective/independent advice; by having our clients’ best interests at the core of our intent; and by protecting our clients’ confidential and sensitive information. We expect all colleagues to act at all times in ways that justify and reinforce the trust in which we are held.
Client Impact
We set the bar high for the positive impact generated through our services. We will only undertake work where we can be confident that the objectives of the work are to bring a long-term, stable, and positive impact. The impact of our work has the potential to exceed our professional fees. We will not be pressured to compromise our values and we are committed to doing work that attracts, develops, excites, and retains exceptional people. All colleagues have the obligation to speak up if they feel our ability to deliver on these aspirations is compromised.
Confidential client information
Our clients trust us, partly due to our strict adherence to operating with discretion and confidentiality. Throughout the course of our projects, we are entrusted with client and third-party confidential information. We take exceptional care with the information that has been entrusted to us. Client confidential information is all non-public information (observational, experiential, written, or oral), including business plans, trade secrets, client names, the nature of our client services, our recommendations, our advice, pricing, payments, client data, and information we purchase at our clients’ expense. We only share confidential client information with colleagues who have a legitimate need to know or with those we know are authorized to access the information. We expect colleagues to safeguard client confidential information in their use of social media, including anything that could reveal a client’s identity or our presence at a client’s location. All computing devices with the client’s or the firm’s data will be on the colleague’s person at all times unless colleagues have secured devices in a locked and restricted area. All devices with the client’s or the firm's data will be secured in accordance with our cybersecurity policy to ensure unauthorized external access.
Professional Independence
We must avoid engaging in outside activities that could interfere with our responsibilities to our clients and the firm. All firm members are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, whether real or perceived and to consult with relevant firm leaders on how best to handle the situation if there is a potential or real conflict of interest.
Misuse of client Information
Firm members are also prohibited from using confidential client information for any reason other than for the service of that client or our firm. Such information cannot be used for personal gain, political ends, or in service of a different client or firm.
Client Resources and Assets
We expect colleagues to treat client assets, including their facilities and equipment, with respect and to spend/utilize only what is necessary to perform our work to the highest standard.
2. Creating a working environment that inspires and motivates our people
We attract, develop, and seek to retain talented people. We do this through the opportunities we provide for impact, growth, and development. We provide a working environment in which our people feel respected, can thrive, can grow, and be their best by maintaining a caring meritocracy.
The inclusive, diversified, safe, and respectful work environment
We value an inclusive culture and celebrate diversity of all types. Diversity in our teams improves the creativity of our thinking, the quality of our work, and the development experience for our people.
We expect every colleague to hold himself/herself accountable to ensure a working environment that celebrates the benefits of diversity, and one in which everyone is treated with respect/dignity feels welcomed/safe, can thrive, can grow, develop, and perform high-quality work. We do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or bullying in any form. Our expectations of behavior extend to all interactions within and beyond the office environment, including client/firm events and electronic communications.
Our meritocracy
We require all colleagues to uphold both the reality and the perception of our meritocracy and to do so in a caring way, with respect, dignity, and empathy. Our individual evaluation processes are critical to our meritocracy and are holistic and confidential. All colleagues are expected to contribute to these evaluations with candor and constructiveness. Attempts to subvert our evaluation processes runs counter to our values. Any hiring, including temporary positions or provisioning of external services, must comply with our firm’s processes and be based solely on merit. Favoritism in substance or form represents a risk to our meritocracy. Colleagues are expected to declare where they have a personal relationship that may interfere with our meritocracy or create any other conflict of interest.
Our Colleagues’ personal information
We handle our colleagues’ personal data confidentially, with respect, and will only collect personal data for specific and legitimate purposes. We limit the data collected on colleagues to only what is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
3. Fulfilling our responsibility to society
We are committed to creating a positive social impact. Our colleagues engage and invest within their respective communities through various personal initiatives undertaken to support significant and lasting impact on pressing social issues that are of relevance to them. We encourage colleagues to participate in volunteering, non-profit board service, and charitable giving.
The societal impact of our activities
In the course of providing services to our clients, our teams are expected to think broadly about the impact of our work on our clients’ multiple stakeholders. We want to be mindful of our clients’ social impact. We will actively discuss the impact of our recommendations on shareholder, customer, societal interests, and to always act in a manner that is consistent with relevant laws/regulations.
Human rights
We are committed to human rights and comply with all human rights laws. We will not do work that supports or enables human rights violations. We do not tolerate physical violence, threats, bullying, or verbal abuse of any kind in the workplace, whether in our own or our clients’ locations. We require suppliers to comply with our Supplier Code of Conduct, which prohibits all forms of forced labor, child labor, and human trafficking. We require compliance with all laws regarding discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Environment
We are committed to minimizing the negative impact our firm has on the environment and we seek to continually strengthen our environmental policies and practices. We are making efforts to manage and reduce our global greenhouse-gas emissions and our waste footprint. We expect colleagues to take into consideration the environmental impact when making choices about how they work. This includes reducing emissions from travel when possible, minimizing waste, and increasing recycling at our firm’s locations and clients’ sites.
Competition and trade
We are committed to promoting free, fair, and competitive markets. We compete on the quality and impact of our work. We abide by international trade regulations that prohibit or restrict trade with certain countries, organizations, or individuals. All colleagues must comply with all relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies relating to anti-trust, fair competition, anti-money laundering, funding terrorist organizations, and trade controls.
4. Managing risk to the firm
We have the trust of not only our clients that we serve but also of the communities we operate within and of the talented people who join our firm. That trust and our reputation for integrity is something we hold sacred. Our ability to have an impact on our clients, provide opportunities for our people, and contribute to the societies in which we live and work depends on that trust being maintained. All colleagues, therefore, are expected to act at all times to proactively manage risks to the firm and to build and protect our firm’s reputation.
Corruption, bribery, gifts, and entertainment
We will not participate in any form of corruption and we have an obligation to inform our clients if we encounter actual or perceived corruption in their organizations. Firm members and anyone acting on our behalf must not offer gifts or favors to gain any form of advantage for ourselves, our colleagues, or any third party. Nor can we accept gifts that are intended to influence us. We avoid both the reality and the perception of improper influence and also avoid entertainment, which could be perceived as inappropriate or excessive.
Social media and the press
All colleagues are expected to present themselves professionally on social media, including the use of private social media accounts. We expect colleagues to be mindful of the perceptions that can be created. Regardless of whether a colleague is speaking on behalf of the firm or simply using social media for personal use, we expect colleagues to maintain both client and firm confidentiality and to protect the firm’s reputation. Colleagues must not present their personal political views in ways that could compromise the firm’s reputation for political neutrality. All external publication and communication with the press requires approval by the firm’s External Communications Team Lead. In addition, colleagues are required to complete media training and have their team lead sign off on any interview with journalists or bloggers.
Data security and protection
All colleagues are required to protect the firm’s data and its data environment from unauthorized access. All digital deployments by the firm, including applications, platforms, technology, and third-party products, must conform to approved standards to ensure that confidential information is protected by strong security controls.
The firm’s resources and assets
All colleagues will be thoughtful in how they use our firm’s resources and protect our information/assets. Our assets include: proprietary information, software, tools, and methodologies. They must be used only in accordance with our firm’s policies and for firm related activities. Colleagues may not use our firm’s resources, such as e-mail distribution lists for political purposes, for soliciting investments, or for other personal interests. We expect all colleagues to be fiscal stewards of our firm, to fully and consistently comply with our expense policies, and to reflect on how their use of resources would be perceived externally and by their colleagues.
Accurate records
We maintain accurate records for the appropriate length of time to enable us to comply with all relevant laws and regulations. It is explicitly against our policy to maintain firm or client records outside of the firm’s systems, to destroy, to falsify, and/or alter records that are required to be maintained. Colleagues are expected to file any required firm records, such as expense reports and timesheets accurately and timely.
Working with third parties
We engage other organizations and individuals, including independent contractors, subject matter experts, and advisors from outside our firm to utilize the best resources for our clients and our firm. These relationships are increasingly important enablers of our impact. Working with other organizations and individuals raises potential financial, legal, and reputational risks. These situations require proper due diligence and care in vetting and managing these relationships during engagements. All colleagues are required to ensure that our standards and policies are adhered to with anyone associated with our firm.
5. Seeking advice and raising concerns
Not every situation can be neatly captured in a policy or code of professional character. Colleagues should always seek advice when faced with a difficult situation or whenever they are unsure of the correct course of action. If a colleague observes something they believe may be inconsistent with our values, policies, this code, may be against the law or could put the firm/colleague at risk, then they have an obligation to speak up. Any colleagues in a leadership position have an additional obligation to report anything that is questionable or unbecoming.
Our firm does not tolerate retaliation against a colleague who, in good faith, raises a concern about any aspect of professional conduct or who fulfills his or her obligation to participate honestly in a firm or external investigation. Retaliation in any form is a violation of policy and may result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment. The following resources are available to colleagues who seek advice, ask a question, or raise a concern.
Advice from a colleague
Our aspiration is that colleagues feel comfortable seeking advice or raising concerns directly with another firm colleague. Examples of colleagues who may be able to help address your concern include:
— Leader of your client service team
— Managing Principle
— Firm’s Legal Counsel
Conclusion
Our Code of Professional Character highlights that each of us has an obligation to maintain high professional standards in our client service. All of us create an environment in which our people are respected, inspired, and motivated. Lastly, we consider the wider implications of our actions on society and uphold the firm’s reputation.
We are each responsible for applying the standards outlined in this code and in speaking up to voice any questions or concerns related to possible violations of this code, our values, our policies, or the law. Following this code will allow us to live up to our values. We will fulfill our tripartite of client service, people's mission, and firm objectives while continuing to earn the trust of the clients we serve, our people, and our communities. Our collective aspirations for positive impact in the world depend on this trust and therefore on us living by the behaviors highlighted in this Code of Professional Character.
This Code of Professional Character is intended to be a living document. Our leadership team is responsible for periodically refining and updating the content of this code. To provide input or suggestions to improve this code please email us at legal@socrue.com