Why do RICS have rules of conduct?
- Maintaining consistent, professional standards, governance and regulation
- Rules help deliver a robust, ethical and proper service
- Maintain and promote usefulness for public advantage
- Give the public confidence the professional acts in a proper way and provides the most appropriate advice for their circumstances.
What are the RICS rules of conduct for members?
- Memebers and firms must be honest, act with integrity and comply with their professional obligations, including obligations to RICS
- Members and firms must maintain their professional competence and ensure that services are provided by competent individuals who have the necessary experiance
- Members and firms must provide good quality and diligent service
- Members and firms must treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion
- Members and firms must act in the public interest, take responsibility for their actions and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in the profession
How does RICS ensure standards of professional conduct and practice are upheld?
RICS has rules of conduct for members and firms which are based on:
- Honesty
- Intergrity
- Competence
- Service
- Respect
- Responsibility
Please provide and example of how:
Memebers and firms must be honest, act with integrity and comply with their professional obligations, including obligations to RICS
- Members and firms are open and transparent with clients about their fees and services
- Members and firms do not take unfair advantage of others
- Establishing a process of identifying actual and potential conflicts of interest
Please provide and example of how:
Members and firms must maintain their professional competence and ensure that services are provided by competent individuals who have the necessary experiance
- Members and firms only undertkae work that they have the knowledge, skills and resources to carry out competently.
- Constant self evaluation of work to identify and apply lessons learnt on future work
- Continuous Professional Develoment
Please provide and example of how:
Members and firms must provide good quality and diligent service
- Understanding client’s needs before undetaking any professional work
- Communicating in a manner that is clear and easy to understand
- Having effective quality assurance processes for work
Please provide and example of how:
Members and firms must treat others with respect and encourage diversity and inclusion
- Respect the rights of others and treat each other with courtesy
- Check that supply chains do not involve modern slavery or other abuses
- Working in a collaborative manner with others
- Developing and actively practicing an inclusion culture in the workplace, including identification of any unconcious bias
Please provide and example of how:
Members and firms must act in the public interest, take responsibility for their actions and act to prevent harm and maintain public confidence in the profession
- Supporting any stakeholders who have raised concerns in good faith
- Managing professional finances responsibly
- Take appropriate actions when I consider the rules have been breached, including reporting significant breaches directly to RICS
- Respondong to complaints promptly, openly and professionally
What is the pupose of a Practice information document?
This supplementary guidence to support surveyors in delivering specific services. It is not mandatory and does not provide explicit recommednations. I can include:
- Definitions
- Processes
- Toolkits
- Checklists
- Insights
- Research and technical information or advice
What is the purpose of a Professional Standard document?
- These are a set of requirements or expectations for RICS memebrs
- They set out how to provide services or the outcomes of their actions
- They set mandatory requirements that MUST be followed
- They set out best practice that SHOULD be followed
How does RICS set out their professional guidance?
Through:
- Professional Standards documents; and
- Practice Information documents
Please provide an example of a Professional Standards document.
- Conflicts of Interest (How to identify and manage potential conflicts of interest)
- Rules of Conduct (Rules for members and firms to maintain the intergity of the profession)
- RICS NRM 1 (To provide quality and consistent cost information)
- Surveying Safely (Principles for managing H&S)
- Client Money Handling
Please provide an example of a Practice Information document.
- Appropriate Contract Selection (Review of types of construction contract in the UK and factors to consider in selection)
- Risk, Liability & Insurance (Liability caps, 3rd party reliance, T&C’s, PII)
What is CPD and what are the requirements for RICS members?
CDP stands for continuous professional development.
The current requirements for RICS members is to undertake a minimum 20 hours of CPD activity each calendar year with at least 10 of those hours as formal CPD
Members must complete the global professional and ethics standards course at least once every three years
What is the difference between formal and informal CPD
I would refer to the CPD decision tree to assess formal v informal CPD. Generally formally CPD is strcutured learning with a specific learning outcome.
Can you explain how to act with integrity?
- Bring trustworth, open and transparent in the way I work
- Respecting confidential information
- Not taking advantage of others and situations
- Acting without bias
- Not accepting gifts, hospitality or services which might suggest improper obligation
Why must you act within you professional capabilities/competence?
To ensure I do not provide incorrect advice whihc could lead to complaints or claims of negligence.
Can you explain how you take responsability?
- By being accountable for my actions
- Acting with skill, care and diligence
- Ensuring and understanding an appropriate complain handling procedure is in place that holds me to account
- Speaking up and respectfully challenging matters I think are incorrect.
How do you provide a high standard of service?
- By ensuring the people I engage with receive the best psosible advice and support
- Only acting and advising within the scope of my competence
- Being transparent about fees, scope and timeframes
- By effectively communicating in a manner appropriate for the individual client.
Can you explain how you promote trust in the profession?
- Understnading how my actions affect others and the environmnet
- Fulfilling my professional obligations
- Acting in a trustworthy manner in both my professional and private life
Can you clarify what an individual should do to maintain a high ethical standard in their profession?
- Constant self-evaluation
- Maintain appropriate CPD
- Follow the RICS rules of conduct
- Be active in the promoting ethical standards and process in the workplace
- Addressing unethical behaviour respectivefully and through a formal process when appropriate
What are some of the things an employer can do to promote an ethical environment
- Establish ‘confidential’ whistle blowing procedures
- Include ethical evaluations within performance reviews
- Include ethical standards within employment contracts and handbooks
- Encouraging staff to progress their APC and being a charted member fo RICS
- Senior management to ead by example
What is the difference between ethics and integrity?
Integrity is a personal code of conduct that governs our behaviour and conduct to act honestly with strong moral principles both professionally and personally.
Ethic is more external and sets rules and regulations to allow both firms and individuals to act and work to a set of moral principles.
Are you aware of any tools provided by RICS to help members make ethical decisons?
RICS have produced an ethics decison tree which can be applied on a situational basis to assist with decison making.
Questions include:
- Is it legal?
- Is it aligned with the RICS rules of conduct?
