3 Questions: What to Ask to Make Sure Your Compliance Program Does What It’s Supposed to Do
Last week, we showed you the difference between a compliance management system and a “management system”—i.e. overhead masquerading as compliance. This week, we’re going to teach you how to develop the former, through 3 fundamental questions.
Ready, set, go!
The only surefire way to do all of this is with an automated compliance management system. Consider the risks of handling ongoing compliance updates through manual processes:
- A compliance manager, HR administrator, or attorney might miss an important agency bulletin or learn of it too late.
- Certain personnel, departments, and third-parties may engage in outdated practices due to information silos.
- Without an automated system sending notifications and reminders, employees might neglect or forget to complete trainings on regulatory updates.
- Managers and supervisors may not understand what compliance data to collect, or how frequently, and could struggle to produce timely, relevant reports…
- …and, as a result, the CEO and board may lack top-level oversight of the organization’s overall compliance.
Why automation is so important.
An automated compliance management system removes all guesswork from your compliance program. First, it ensures your staff understand the policies and procedures that pertain to their roles. Second, it gives you the capability to assess the status of your organization and provide defensible proof of compliance to stakeholders and auditors whenever necessary.
Without a doubt, automated compliance management systems save time and money for the organizations that use them, but their true benefit is the confidence they instill in leadership: confidence that the organization is protected, confidence that your employees and contractors are working in unison, confidence that noncompliance will not interrupt your business’s continued growth.
For compliance, it’s what’s inside that counts. The right nuts and bolts will keep things running well—right now, and far into the future.