Business Partner Conduct
RMA events are casual and friendly. Business Partner misbehavior is rare. The following Business Partner Guidelines outline the conduct that RMA expects from Business Partners in their dealings with other members of the organization:
Professionalism
Business Partners shall endeavor to deal fairly and ethically with all other members, including institutional members, other business partners, vendors, and competitors. An attitude of professionalism should govern all dealings with other members. RMA members are extremely close and communicate often and Business Partners must be aware that unfair dealings may have a negative effect on their business prospects within the organization.
Conversely, Business Partners are entitled to expect fair and ethical treatment from institutional members of RMA. A Business Partner who has experienced unethical treatment from other RMA members can seek assistance from RMA by contacting the RMA Business Partner Board Representative.
Interacting with Others
RMA’s institutional members come from three nations and many different states and provinces. Business Partners, vendors, and other affiliate members come from many other parts of the Nation and world. Our members are of many and varied ethnic and religious origins. RMA embraces all of our members regardless of their race, ethnic background or sexual orientation. Our diversity is an asset and the viewpoints and sensibilities of all members must be respected. We expect Business Partners to treat other members with courtesy and respect. We will not tolerate discrimination against other members. Similarly, we will not tolerate harassment in any form.
Business Partner members of RMA are entrusted with membership lists, attendee lists, and other information which is confidential and should be used only for RMA related business. Redistribution of such data is strictly prohibited. Business partners are asked to respect the privacy of other members by limiting the use of such lists to specific communications. It is our preference that business communications between Business Partners and Institutional Members be “one-on-one” communications and not “mass e-mail” communications. If non-specific communications are sent, they must be directed to appropriate recipients only. Do not “shotgun” e-mail communications to all members. Sort lists to include only appropriate recipients.
RMA logo or other brand or identifiers must not be used in Business Partner communications unless specifically authorized by the Board of Directors. It is, however, permissible to reference that you are an RMA Business Partner member in your communications.
Conferences and Events
RMA has a long reputation of looking out for the best interests of our Business Partners. Our annual conference planning includes consideration of the special needs of vendors, including location of the exhibit hall, scheduling of events around exhibit hall floor time, allowing sufficient vendor exposure, and employing tactics to stimulate institutional members to visit the display area and Business Partner booths. In spite of this, no venue is perfect and no conference is ever flawless. It is also quite difficult to satisfy the diverse preferences of all Business Partners. We encourage dialog with business partners and welcome suggestions on improving our Business Partner’s experience. Please share your thoughts with the Business Partner Board Representative.
RMA understands that a key Business Partner goal is to establish relationships with institutional members in order to gain consideration for his or her product or service. We encourage that relationship building and we try to accommodate that by providing various opportunities for it. These include communication at the exhibit hall, participating in technical presentations, and sponsorship in events. We understand that casual conversations or impromptu meetings between institutional members and vendors can occur anytime during our conference. We request that our Business Partners use good judgement when approaching institutional members. Aggressive sales pitches or tactics are not appreciated in our casual conference environment.
Conference time is valuable. RMA understands that Business Partners strive to meet with as many institutional members as possible during the event. Private events, such as open houses, cocktail hours, or offsite tours are acceptable; however any of these events must be scheduled in time frames that do not interfere with official conference activities. Any event scheduled inside the conference venue or hotel(s) must be coordinated with the RMA conference organizing committee in advance. The conference hotel may have special requirements and may require that any alcohol served at private parties be provided by the hotel to comply with liquor license rules. It is the responsibility of the Business Partner to comply with applicable regulations. Noise control in private rooms or suites is the responsibility of the private event host.
All participating personnel from a Business Partner’s company must be registered for the annual conference. Exhibit crew and any associates must be badged while exhibiting or participating in educational sessions or other conference events. Any business partner who wishes to register for the annual conference is entitled to do so; however we ask those who are not exhibiting or providing a major sponsorship, to refrain from any sales or business development activities at the conference.
Special Events
The presentation should be as generic as possible relating to the product or service. Mention of specific products and companies is unavoidable; however the presentations should be given without strong sales pitches for any product or service.
Webinars are meant to focus on a technical subject, procedure or project. Again, mention of specific products and services is unavoidable, however strong sales pitches are not desirable.