What Does Professional Mean?

There are two different meanings for the word profession and its derivative, professional. When we claim to be a professional, do we simply mean we are paid for something that others might have done for free? Or are we claiming to have an occupation that is similar to the learned professions such as engineering, architecture, medicine, public accountancy, law? Because home inspectors provide clients with professional opinions, which are similar to the services of learned professions, and are hired to provide independent advice, untainted by conflicts of interest with those who sell or repair properties, home inspection should be considered similar to a learned profession and not merely a business trying to maximize revenue from its customers.

In order to earn and keep the status of a learned profession certain business practices must be avoided such as caveat emptor (buyer beware), indirect conflicts of interest, deceptive communication, etc., and additional responsibilities must be embraced.1 What may be acceptable for other businesses might be unethical for a professional.  Accordingly, the code of ethics of a profession might identify certain actions as unethical even though they might be acceptable for other types of businesses. For example, let’s look at an excerpt from paragraph 1.C of the proposed new Code of Ethics:

“Inspectors shall not directly or indirectly compensate realty agents . . . for inclusion on a list of recommended inspectors, preferred providers, or similar arrangements.”  

The reason such arrangements are unethical is because they are a form of endorsement similar to paying realty agents for inspection referrals who have a natural conflict of interest with home inspectors’ clients. So, how should a professional incorporate provisions such as this example into his or her practice?

First, a Code of Ethics is a teaching guide about what is right for the profession. It involves ways of think-ing that are intended to lead each practitioner toward choosing ethical actions and avoiding unethical actions. A professional approaches the Code holistically as it applies to his/her entire professional business and does not use a legalistic type of approach to finesse the Code’s meaning.

In this example, a professional will avoid any type of compensation to a realty agent to be on such a list. However, a question naturally arises regarding compensation to realty agents for advertising, which can be ethical per Code paragraph 3.A. So, a professional needs to judge ethical versus unethical advertising according to 1.C. The professional should look at the nature of the advertising message and the arrangements under which the advertising would occur. 

The professional will avoid paying for advertising with a message that includes a statement to the effect that the realty agent or agency recommends the inspector, or those who advertise are preferred providers, or there are other similarly stated endorsements by the realty agent/agency of those who advertise. The professional also will need to be careful to avoid arrangements such as the agent or agency only recommending inspectors who participate in the agent’s or agency’s advertising.

The inspector may learn later that agents affiliated with that advertising recommend the inspector only because of the advertising, even though there was no such understanding by the inspector when s/he originally agreed to advertise. For example, the inspector might discover a realty agent would cease recommending the inspector if s/he no longer participated in the agent’s advertising or a realty agency requires its agents to recommend only inspectors in the agency’s advertising. Generally, an inspector should not be faulted for agents’ actions independent of what the inspector agreed to. However, if a professional becomes aware s/he has encountered a situation that is unethical or finds s/he has inadvertently become involved in an unethical arrangement, even though s/he did not intentionally become involved in such activity, the professional should try to avoid the situation or get out of or change the arrangement. In this example, s/he may need to not renew such advertising in order to sever the link between the compensation of the realty agents/agency and their recommendations. Although an outside party might be able to document such an unethical arrangement, the professional normally knows in his/her heart of hearts and, of his or her own volition, can best judge when such unethical activity has developed and such advertising arrangement should be discontinued.

While it may be ethical for other kinds of businesses to participate in such endorsing lists or advertising by realty agents or agencies, it is unethical for the home inspection profession because of the special nature of what home inspectors are hired to do (providing independent advice to home buyers) and the resulting conflict of interest with agents that appears to compromise the inspector’s independence under such an arrangement. In this way, a code of ethics guides professionals toward ethical behavior and away from unethical activities that may be acceptable to other businesses.