Ethos

The items below are an excerpt of our staff guidelines. We think it is a pretty good example of our company ethos:

1. If in doubt, ask. There is a pretty good chance you will not be the only person to face a particular issue. Ask another member of staff for their opinion. There are many resources out there, and most take less time to access than it will take to fix something if you get it wrong.
2. Don’t Panic. If you do get something wrong, don’t panic. Often more damage is created by a panic fix, than a properly thought out approach. We all get things wrong.
3. Always have a Plan B. Things will go wrong. It is a basic law of the universe. However, there is always another way of doing something. If the fix is going to take too long (or you don’t know what is wrong), but you can get a work around in place quickly, do it, and buy yourself the time to fault-find the problem properly.
4. Work The Problem. A proper approach to fault finding and problem solving. Work with the facts, and with the tools you have to hand and in your head.
5. Know Your Limitations. We all have different levels of competence, different levels of skill, different levels of experience. Lacking any one of these does not make you a bad person, unless you fail to recognise when it is time to call someone else in.
6. Write It Down. Information that is not shared is useless to others.
7. The Buck Stops Here. When a client comes to you with a problem, take it off their hands. Be specific about your intentions, and when you will give them a response.
8. Pass the Baton. When you have (sorry, jargon alert!!!) ownership of a problem, and you need someone else with the company to deal with it because you are not able to, make sure they understand what you are asking them to do.
9. Tidy up as you go along. Especially when on site, keep all your tools, bag, computer close to hand, and put things away as you finish with them.
10. The simplest solution is most likely to be the right one. Usually referred to as Occam’s Razor it is a basic principle that states that the fewer assumptions you make, the more likely you are to be right. So always rule out the simple things first.
11. Never start anything at 5:50pm on a Friday afternoon. Don’t start a task unless you are sure you will have the time to finish it properly.
12. Measure twice, cut once. Old carpenter’s rule, but applicable to any walk of life.
13. Your freedom ends where someone else’s begins. Not so much a staff guideline as one of the underlying principles of a free society. Or put another way, in the immortal words of Bill S. Preston, Esquire: ‘Be excellent to each other’.