Ethics and Values
Providing superior customer service with integrity and honesty is our highest priority. We believe that it is imperative to exercise good judgment and follow sound business practices when dealing with all aspects of our business. Each statement below is an essential tenet which team members of The Columbia Group practice and promote each and every day on the job. We are vigilant in demonstrating our ethical commitment to our team, our customers and ourselves.
Service to Our Customer
Our customers are the reason we are here. We will provide the best possible service with courtesy, efficiency and promptness by remembering that our customers are the only reason we are in business.
Honesty with Our Customers, Partners and Competitors
We will always conduct business with integrity, applying the highest ethical standards, and carry out our fiduciary responsibilities with great care.
Productivity and Efficiency
We will work hard and smart. We will constantly explore better, more efficient and effective ways to provide our customer with excellent products and services at a reduced cost.
Teamwork and Respect
We will work together to ensure that we all succeed as individuals and as a team. We will cooperate with our coworkers and be open to new and improved ways of doing business. We will treat our coworkers with respect and courtesy at all times and understand that we work in a diverse work place.
Responsibility and Communication
We will take responsibility of our actions, behavior, and our work. We will be professional with each other and with our customers at all times. We will strive to communicate in a professional, open, diplomatic, and honest manner. When problems occur, we will not assign blame but will work together as a team to find solutions.
Confidentiality
We will never make known any information that is, or may be, confidential or business sensitive for which we have access without specific authorization. This includes customer proprietary or sensitive information, proprietary corporate issues, information on operations, compensation, or the personal or professional business of our coworkers, our customers or ourselves. We will never reveal any confidential or sensitive information that can be used for personal gain for ourselves or others.
The Columbia Group “Business Ethics and Conduct” Hotline
The Columbia Group has a clear policy, as well as corporate culture that requires its employees and management to conduct business ethically and with integrity. To this end, we have established a hotline and email account which employees and other individuals can use to report suspected instances of improper conduct anonymously. The hotline phone number is 571-451-0088, and the email account is ethicscomplianceofficer@columbiagroup.com.