This is a thought that has been bugging me on and off for some time now. Of course, the answer is ‘Yes’. Not only can IT, or to be more specific, individual IT companies, be ethical, but many of them already are. First things first, though….what do I mean by “Ethical”? For me, ethical equates to a mindset, an ethos for doing business. There is a full description on our website but essentially is covers:
- Fairness
- Honesty
- Openness
- Environmental awareness
- Charity
Don’t get me wrong, there are IT companies out there that already follow these principles, but for every ‘good’ company we have all come across many bad ones. You know the type I mean, usually there’s a slick salesman who promises the earth, then the company starts the work and it takes longer than first envisaged, and there are changes to the specification that increase the cost. Before you know it, the project is way over time and budget and you’re going to end up with something that bear’s only passing resemblance to what you asked for in the first place.
You could argue that it is the customer’s responsibility to keep the IT company ‘honest’. And there is some truth is that. Most IT companies employ people who get excited by technology, and it is in their nature to want to try out the latest and slickest widget, frequently with unintended consequences. But just take a step back a think for a second about how nice it would be if the IT company came in and delivered on time and to specification. Nirvana, eh ?
Except……..an IT company this honest will always struggle to get work in the first place. If you quote a realistic timescale and price for a project then someone else will always undercut you. No matter that they may end up taking twice as long and cost four times as much, by that time the customer is hooked in and very reluctant to change ships midstream (this is popularly know as throwing good money after bad).
Is there an answer ? I believe there is and I’m willing to bet my company on it 
It appears to me that the customer’s issue is in identifying an ethical company up front. There’s no point asking them, the answer will be ‘Yes’ regardless. And it’s relatively easy for a company to put together an Ethical Code of Practice that has no real teeth. No, the only true measure is money, so we are backing our Ethical charter by making the following promise:
“If you are not happy with any piece of work carried out by Four Lakes Consulting, then you will not be charged for it.“
It’s simple and straightforward, and it leaves the ultimate choice with the customer.
Would you trust a company that makes such a promise ?
