Recently, I've been reading and hearing more and more about VAs that are not being ethical in their business practices....and this is mostly between one VA being unethical towards another VA they were working with. This includes reading about a VA who subcontracted with another VA and then stop responding to emails about final payment for work completed. Then I read today about a VA who had subcontracted and signed a non-compete clause, then indicated she was closing her VA business and ended up "stealing" a client from the VA she was working with.

I've also heard several complaints recently about flaky VAs that don't return calls or follow through with completing their work.

As hard as so many of us work to legitimize the VA industry and to get the word out that we are worth what we charge as well as how working with a VA is the better option, I find it very disheartening that there seems to be so much professionally unethical behavior occurring AND that it's primarily occurring between VAs that work together!

I realize that it's always going to be a few bad apples and the majority of VAs out there are professional, ethical and working hard to promote the VA industry. I also think that as this industry continues to grow, we are going to see additional unethical behavior. This is unfortunate and it's completely unacceptable. I've always felt so welcomed by the VA industry and the VAs that I know and have become "virtual" friends with have always be so extremely supportive. So, it's a mystery to me that there are VAs out there who actually mistreat others in this industry.

There have been many discussions about formalizing the industry and setting standards and of course, there are organizations out there that offer certifications. I've mostly been against many of these concepts as I don't necessarily believe needing to have a badge or meet a standard to prove my worth or my professionalism. (I do think some basic standards would be helpful though and I know there are veteran VAs who are working on putting these together.)However, as I hear more and more about unethical VA behavior, I'm beginning to wonder if we do need to have these for our industry. This could easily lead to some sort regulation in the industry, which in my opinion, would be unfortunate because that is basically saying we've become an industry that is unable to regulate ourselves individually.

This concludes my rant. I'd love for others to chime with their thoughts about VAs and ethics. How do strive to work ethically in your business and in your business dealings with clients and other VAs? How important do think professional ethics are?

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

First off, well said Kimberly!

I hold my personal integrity, honesty and dedication to ethics very highly. For me, there is little distinction between personal ethics and business/professional ethics - you are either ethical, or you aren't. I have always had a strict moral code; to the point that I have lost friendships. I'm a rule follower, and have the natural expectation of others to be as well.

For online business and commerce, I think demonstrated dedication to ethical business practices are even more important than in face to face interactions, given the anonymous nature of the internet. Those that have been "burned" are less trusting (understandably) and I would suspect, are less willing to share or trust in relationships that are developed online. From a business standpoint, I think we as VAs need to address ethics and practices through our policies for our clients. But I too, am concerned about the long-term effects of unethical VAs upon the community of which right now, I am so proud to be a part.

With the growth of the VA industry, I am personally seeing more "stay at home mom" and "part-time business opportunities" advertising Virtual Assistance as an option to make money. When I started researching the industry 5 years ago, I can honestly say that I did not come across the references to the business being a perfect "cash on the side" venture. I AM a stay at home mom, and certainly, I'm not suggesting that one cannot enter the industry from the standpoint as a WAHM or part-time.

However, I suspect that some that are choosing to open a business are doing so with little to no understanding of what is actually entailed in providing virtual assistance. There is a skill set that is required beyond basic typing skills or having access to the internet, and I wonder if some VAs get themselves into trouble, and then without realizing the damage they are doing to the industry and to relationships; decide to quit and move onto something easier.

I am undecided (in true Canadian fashion) as to whether I am comfortable with a governing body that regulates the industry. I do see merits to both having one, and not having one - and I am unsure as to whether regulation will "fix" issues like unethical behaviour. I do see it as a sign that the industry is growing and developing, and that has to be a good thing!

Thank-you for the thought provoking post! I look forward to others' responses.

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Crystal Coleman, The Northern Edge

Kudos Kimberly for vocalizing what is becoming a concern with many of us!

I will start by saying that integrity, honestly and confidentiality are highest on my list of best business practices. There is no room for compromise on these values and this is the decision I make on working with others as well.

I actually started many years ago through freelance and telecommuting when it was a new concept. There were very little rules and standards but the ones in place where strict and stringent, so I got my start working virtually by the ground breakers who truly wanted to prove that it was a concept to be embraced. However, the technology was not as it was today and the anonymous nature of many avenue was not available.

With today's economy and many people looking for money making opportunities in these hard times I think the perception of our industry is a quick make extra cash with little or no work, only basic skills. This could not be further from the truth since we are business owners and need to work as such. As many new VA's come and go this is definitely a step back for the industry and now we must work even harder to legitimize what we do well.

Unfortunately, this is not exclusive to our industry and that is where personal integrity and ethics come to play in its finest. There is a fine line and you just need to trust your instincts when choosing to work with others, both clients and colleagues alike.

I don't know if standardizing the industry is the answer since people without ethics will find their way around this as well. I would certainly welcome an industry wide set of standards and practices but we should individually have them to begin with as we open our doors. However, I think we need to continue to police ourselves as an industry and those who can and will shall be weeded out by those who cannot and won't.

Just my 2 cents and I am curious of the response of others as well.

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Lee Drozak
My Office Assistant

I am in total agreement with what everyone has said on here. I try my best to be professional, honest, ethical and an influence by my actions.

I think that starting this thread was a great step in the right direction for those who are new and veterans alike.

As our industry grows, as Kimberly said, we will run into those who are not looking to lift up the VA industry and are just looking for a quick buck. I find that so sad.

I like to suggest a few channels that some can use to help promote them selves as ethical VA's.

Each VA specialty has it's own "Group" and or what you would call a "Niche". For instance I am apart of the REVA and the VBA.

There is also Taking the Pledge a group of freelancers who started seeing the same things that are happening in our industry, in their own industry. There are so many out there and each has it's own pledge and if reported to any of these groups in violation of that pledge can loose their membership, listing (advertisement) and reputation.

I have not joined any VA groups accept this one. This is because I found the VAF more akin to me and my values. Helping others is all I have done all my life and I don't plan on changing that because of a few bad apples.

Thank you Kimberly for starting this thread it is people like you and the others who have written here that keeps our industry going and policing it's self.

Andrea~

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Action Jackson Virtual Assistant|

To some degree I appreciate the idea of standardizing - attorneys and doctors are part of a standardized industry and this reinforces the concept that they are professionals. IMHO standardizing the industry, although an interesting concept, really won't do much to solve the ethics issue. It has been my personal experience that ethics cannot be forced on someone who chooses to ignore them. That being said, I firmly believe that businesses (VA or otherwise) that show a lack of ethics won't be successful for long, if at all.

Clearly, verifying references with your potential "work partner's" past clients is an important part of choosing someone with whom to work on any job. A lack of ethics should be almost immediately visible - especially if references aren't current or available at all.

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Lily Chambers, The Virtual Office Goddess, LLC
Author "How to Do Your Own Small Business Bookkeeping"

Thanks for chiming in. You have all made some very good additional points that I've also been thinking about.

I agree that standards or regulation will not stop anyone from being unethical but perhaps will help the rest of us who do choose remain ethical. I think though, that by the industry adopting some standards then maybe as new VAs join the industry, we can educate from start that as an industry we believe in holding true our professional and ethical standards.

I agree too, that there is some perception that being a virtual assistant is an easy stay at home job where you can make a decent living by just hanging out your virtual shingle. As so many of us here know, it is hard work marketing ourselves and setting ourselves up as business owners. Which is part of what makes unethical VA to VA behavior so much more disturbing.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Kimberly,

Thank you so much for creating this thread and bringing the topic of business ethics to the forefront. As business owners, we all must strive to not only offer our services to the very best of our ability, but to be honest, have integrity and do right by our clients, our associates and our fellow VAs.

I have always had strong business ethics. In fact, the topic of ethics in general fascinates me. What doesn't fascinate me and makes me upset is when, like you Kimberly, I hear of stories where VAs aren't getting paid for their services or see firsthand, unprofessionalism...from another VA!

I think as the VA industry grows, we may hear these types of stories a little bit more and that is disheartening. The fact of the matter is, the virtual assistant industry is up and coming. Some think it is an easy way to make money and for some reason, check their ethics and business responsibility at the door. While I do think some standardization to the industry is a good idea, I agree it won't keep out all the bad apples (afterall, there are some unethical doctors and lawyers in this world )

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Darlene Victoria Gonzalez
The Voice & Vision Behind Your Business

Great thinking here. The issue of standardization has bothered me for a long time. Trouble is, unless there's some kind of standard, the 'bad apples' will spoil it all for all of us. As long as clients are willing to test us out, okay, because ethical practices can be quickly demonstrated. But there will come a point where people won't even try, because the reputation of virtual assistance in general will be shot.

Although I didn't pay the dues this year, possibly IVAA is the best organization to center around in terms of standards and certification. They've always had the Ethics Check, which should mean something.

Let's keep discussing this. It's way complicated, but really important for us to face, I think.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Hello everyone with ethics! This topic is very informative and surprisingly very much at bubbling point in many countries amongst VAs. I personally find that it depends on the person and their particular ability to understand how to behave as a team player that shows up the bad apples amongst a group. Unfortunately I have come across such poor standards as a newbie and whilst I have learnt from it I feel it is unnecessarily and destructive and I agree with you all that this is an important discussion and should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet so to speak.

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Michele Flynn

Hello Everyone,

Ethics is very important when working with any client. As an Accountant and CMA, I have to take an ethics course every year to keep my certification. I, personally, would not need this course to stay ethical but I think it is more for documentation purposes.

They are even talking about tax preparers needing a certification because there are so many out there preparing taxes that do not understand the tax laws. This should not be necessary either, and it is sad that it has come to that.

Robyn

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Wiemer's Business Services LLC