Compliance Can Be Such A Bummer
How can compliance professionals effectively mitigate risks, while keeping compliance activities from being a total downer for the organization?
It reminds me a lot of parenting: keep the kids out of harm’s way but do so in a manner that gives them freedom to choose the right path. If you act like a dictator, they will likely do the wrong thing in spite of knowing better.
In other words, how can compliance professionals better speak to the heart, not the head?
Start with Why
If employees understand the rationale behind a policy and can relate it to their personal value system, they are much more likely to do the right thing.
Explain why a control or policy exists in personal terms: to be fair, to prevent injury, to follow the law. Start with the Why. From there, the details of How and What will easily follow suit.
Interested in learning more? Visit www.startwithwhy.com , where author Simon Sinek unpacks this powerful concept further.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
If employees understand the rationale behind a policy and can relate it to their personal value system, they are much more likely to do the right thing.
Whether they’re individual contributors or managers, employees often view compliance activities as a distraction from their daily tasks.
Organizations can minimize these “interruptions” by consolidating their asks. There’s nothing worse than getting the same questions asked over and over. So it’s no wonder employees get tired of fielding compliance demands–complete this form, review this training, attest to this policy, etc.–from multiple silos (Compliance, HR, Security, Operations).
In short, respect the employee’s time.
Consider How Compliance Requests are Made
In short, respect the employee’s time.
We know firsthand that “Because I said so” rarely has the desired outcome. Instead, wrap requests into authentic explanations that articulate why a program or activity is necessary. Video’s a great way to show authenticity. There’s quite a bit we communicate non-verbally that gets completely lost when it’s put in an email.
When we respect the intelligence and tendency of the vast majority of employees to do the sensible thing, policy retention and acceptance will be higher.
Roughly 18% of your workforce are “angels” and will do the right thing regardless of what you do. 2% of your workforce are deviants and will do the wrong thing…regardless of what you do. So, put all your energy into influencing the 80% who are impressionable. Just a little bit of respect goes a long way with this crowd.
We know firsthand that “Because I said so” rarely has the desired outcome.
More employees will focus on the upside of compliance when they feel Compliance is making an effort to explain initiatives and align them with corporate and employee values, while being considerate of the time required to comply.
(This was originally published March, 2014 – We’ve updated it, and love that it’s a timeless topic)
Turn Up the Tone in the Middle
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