ICRM Code of Conduct

ICRM Member Code of Conduct

ICRM Members should maintain high professional standards of conduct in the performance of their duties. The Code of Ethics is provided as a guide to professional conduct.

  • ICRM Members have a professional responsibility to conduct themselves so that their good faith and integrity shall not be open to question. They will promote the highest possible records management standards.
  • ICRM Members shall conform to existing laws and regulations covering the creation, maintenance, and disposition of recorded information, and shall never knowingly be parties to any illegal or improper activities relative thereto.
  • ICRM Members shall be prudent in the use of information acquired in the course of their duties. They should protect confidential, proprietary and trade secret information obtained from others and use it only for the purposes approved by the party from whom it was obtained or for the benefit of that party, and not for the personal gain of anyone else.
  • ICRM Members shall not accept gifts or gratuities from clients, business associates, or suppliers as inducements to influence any procurements or decisions they may make.
  • ICRM Members shall use all reasonable care to obtain factual evidence to support their opinion.
  • ICRM Members shall strive for continuing proficiency and effectiveness in their profession and shall contribute to further research, development, and education. It is their professional responsibility to encourage those interested in records management and offer assistance whenever possible to those who enter the profession and to those already in the profession.

The ICRM Code of Ethics holds members of the ICRM accountable to their employers, peers, and community. Alleged violations to our code of ethics the ICRM takes seriously, and below are the steps the ICRM takes to receive, investigate, and resolve potential violations to our code of ethics.

ICRM Member Ethics Violation Policy

The ICRM Code of Ethics holds members of the ICRM accountable to their employers, peers, and community. Alleged violations to our code of ethics the ICRM takes seriously, and below are the steps the ICRM takes to receive, investigate, and resolve potential violations to our code of ethics.

THE ETHICS COMMITTEE

The Regent for Legislation and Appeals (RLA) is responsible for the receiving ethics complaints about ICRM members. The RLA will chair the Ethics Committee (the Committee), comprised of 3 non-Board member CRMs. The RLA can choose to vote with the Committee and abstain in a Board of Directors (the Board) decision, or vote with the Board and only facilitate the investigation. The Committee will review, investigate and make a recommendation to the Board regarding potential ethics violations. If the complaint involves a member of the Committee, or if there is a conflict of interest for a Committee member, the RLA will exclude the volunteer from the claim review. In the event the ethics claim involves the RLA, the President of the Board will receive the claim and assign the RLA responsibilities to a member of the Board to review the claim in place of the RLA. The RLA would be excluded from the Board vote as well.

CLAIMS

Anyone can submit an ethics violation claim to the RLA via email to legislation-appeals@icrm.org. The following information must be included in the claim. Date of claim, date of violation, description of violation, name of ICRM member(s) involved in the violation. The full name and desired contact method of the submitter is also required. Potential violations should be submitted as soon as possible after the violation is discovered so the ICRM can investigate in a timely manner. Submissions made anonymously will not be investigated.

INVESTIGATION

When a full claim is received, the RLA will coordinate a time to review the request with the Committee and determine a plan to address the claim and respond to the submitter within 30 days of the claim receipt. The plan may include requests for interviews and evidence related to the claim that will result in a recommended resolution by the committee to the Board within 90 days of the full claim submission. The details of the investigation will remain confidential to the Committee only. The RLA will create a summary presentation of the case to the Board for final resolution. The name(s) of the ICRM member(s) will not be disclosed to the Board to ensure that the resolution is based only on the facts of the case.

RESOLUTION

The Board may request additional information from the Committee once a recommended resolution is received. The Committee should respond to the Board of Directors within 30 days of the request. If no additional information is requested, the RLA will bring the recommended resolution to a vote at the next scheduled meeting of the Board. The recommended resolution must identify what ethical violations occurred, and whether to dismiss the claim or revoke the membership of ICRM member(s) named in the claim. The resolution will be decided by a simple majority vote of the Board and all resolutions are final. There are no appeals to Board of Director decisions excluding new claims unrelated to the previous claim. The RLA will post all working documents and decisions in a confidential Appeals folder on the ICRM Board SharePoint site for retention.

The final decision of the claim will be sent by the RLA to the complaint submitter and the ICRM member(s) named in the claim. If an ICRM member(s) is/are found to be in violation of the Code of Ethics of the ICRM, the individual(s) shall be notified by the RLA regarding the resolution and the resulted dismissal of the claim or revocation of membership and any certifications held through the ICRM. Further, member(s) who are revoked shall be immediately removed from the ICRM member public database.

Revoked ICRM members will not be eligible to apply for membership in the ICRM for a minimum of 5 years, at which time they must enter the candidate process and if accepted, retake all the exams to become recertified. Members who are revoked may not hold an ICRM volunteer position for a minimum of 7 years from date of resolution and must be a member in good standing to volunteer.

Effective Date: May 1, 2021

Bylaws

The current Bylaws of the ICRM were last amended on July 15, 2021. The Bylaws can be found here.