At Quest Diagnostics, or any other company, there are two main drivers of corporate performance -- financial results and the behavior that produces the results. We aim for both strong results and high ethical behavior.
Behaviors can be difficult to measure--until it's too late. Companies and institutions that are in trouble have failed their employees, customers and shareholders by not holding themselves accountable to the highest ethical standards.
The diagnostic testing industry learned the value of ethics the hard way, after suffering its own crisis in the early to mid-1990s. Today, we greatly value having a reputation that is based on integrity-- the integrity of our test results, the integrity of our financial statements, public disclosures and internal controls, as well as the integrity of the men and women who personify Quest Diagnostics to the outside world. We have worked hard to establish and build trust and confidence in Quest Diagnostics, and we take this commitment extremely seriously. From the outset, we established a strong ethical foundation based on six values, starting with integrity and quality, and including, innovation, collaboration, accountability and leadership.
For us in the end, “Integrity is the bottom line.”