Manfred's Ethical Commitment statement

How would we behave if a Manfredite who asked us for help in finding a new job ended up working for one of our clients? Or if one day that same client or any other company bought Manfred, how would we protect their privacy? Or how would we act if a candidate was already involved in a recruitment process, but a new one came along where their professional goals were a better fit with their employer's needs?

Many would like the world to be in plain and easy black and white, but there are of course grey areas where there are no "good guys" and "bad guys", only parties whose interests are not always aligned. By the very nature of our work, we have had to mediate between the two on more than one occasion. In these rare cases, we always try to act with maximum transparency, but we have come to the conclusion that the best way to guarantee this and facilitate our work is to publish our Ethical Commitment statement and detail the ethics that govern our behaviour and guide our actions in the event that certain circumstances arise, publicly committing ourselves to comply with them.

Our Ethical Commitment

As a general rule:

• When in doubt, the interest of the Manfredite will always be our priority.
• The Manfredite's privacy and his data are sacred.

In relation to a client's employees:

• Manfred will not proactively contact employees of its clients to propose new job opportunities, but in the event that they contact Manfred for career management assistance, they will be treated like all the other Manfredites.
• Manfred will not proactively contact Manfredites who we have helped to find a job to offer new job opportunities, but in the event that they have contacted or contact Manfred because they are not satisfied in their current position or want to look for another job, they will be treated like all the other Manfredites.
• If in doubt, the general rule above will apply.

In the event of conflicting interests between different clients:

• All parties shall be informed.
• A strict neutrality stance will be maintained throughout.
• In the event that the conflict of interests is unresolvable and ongoing, we will cease working with the most recent client involved in the conflict of interests.
• If in doubt, the general rule above will apply.

In the event that there is a change in the ownership of the majority of Manfred's shares:

• All Manfredites shall be informed of this circumstance. And in the event that they have a professional relationship of any kind with the new company owner, this information will be provided before the change of ownership becomes effective, so that they can modify or delete their personal data if they wish to do so.
• Manfred's independence will be maintained:
  • Only Manfred employees will be able to access and communicate with Manfredite data.
  • If the new owner requires Manfred's services, she/he will be treated as a client. If in doubt, we will apply the rules relating to conflicting interests between clients stated above.
  • If the new owner is a company and an employee of the company requires Manfred's services, she/he will be treated as any other Manfredite. If in doubt, the general rule above will apply.
  • The new owner must adhere to the rules set out in this Ethical Commitment statement.
  • In the event that the new management makes amends or removes this Ethical Commitment statement, they must inform all Manfredites users.

In the event that these rules conflict with each other:

• If in doubt, the general rule above will always apply as a matter of priority.
• In the event of a recurring conflict, a new case will be drawn up distilling the new rules that will be incorporated into this Ethical Commitment statement, thus expanding it over time.

Of course, there is no law that obliges us to fulfil this Commitment, but in an industry where trust and reputation is everything, we link ours to absolute respect for these self-imposed rules.