Compliance Monster Hunting: Finale

Compliance Monster Hunting: Finale

We’re almost at the end of our Compliance Monster hunt, and I have to admit: I wasn’t totally ready for everything that’s happened along the way. We had some close calls with Mr. Snap, Tedium, and the Spreadsheet Eater, but after the events of last week—when Malaise actually wormed her way into our blog—I’ve been wondering if this endeavor is worth the danger.

Sure, we’ve given them cute names, but we’re talking about monsters here: cruel, powerful, inhuman forces that can take down entire workforce compliance programs. An encounter with a Compliance Monster could precipitate a regulatory enforcement action, lawsuit, or damaged reputation—and it could sap you of your will to do your job. These creatures are big, scary, and complicated. Is it possible that messing with them only causes more problems?

 

That’s exactly what this week’s Compliance Monster wants you to think.
Good thing we’re a few steps ahead of him.

Step 1: Look the Monster in the Eye

We’ve helped you clean the oppressive binders and manual data storage solutions out of your office. We’ve made the case for prioritizing employee engagement and tailoring compliance information to humans.

Now, it’s time to take a long, hard look at the assumptions underlying your compliance management system. Is your organization committed to operating in a safe, legal, ethical manner—in every department, line of business, and interaction with customers and third parties?

Or, is your CMS obfuscating your responsibilities?

Step 2: See the Monster for What It Is

The Obfusticator is perhaps the most difficult Compliance Monster to hunt down—because he disguises himself as compliance itself. Organizations under his control believe that the answer to complexity is more complexity: more paperwork, more acronyms, more clauses and subclauses, more meetings and committees and subcommittees, more conference calls, more controls on controls and policies about policies, more guidance on the proper review of pre-audit procedural documentation… In short: more, not better, compliance.

The Obfusticator makes compliance impossible by making it impossibly boring. He convinces leadership teams to treat compliance differently than other operational priorities. He keeps it distant from conversations about sales, marketing, administration, product strategy, hiring, and so on. He tricks people into talking about it euphemistically, rather than communicating about what it is: everything an organization does to create a culture in which everyone follows the rules, prevents harm, and treats each other with respect.

To annihilate the Obfusticator, we only need to see him for what he really is. Let’s switch off the light for a moment:

Download the Poster

The Compliance Monsters are back, and they’re more fearsome than ever. If you’ve felt a chill walking by that abandoned office full of paperwork, or if you’ve been editing a spreadsheet and the lights have suddenly started to flicker, you’d better beware. Mr. Snap, the Obfusticator, Malaise, the Spreadsheet Eater, Tedium, and That Which Shall Not Be Named have returned to their old haunts, and our intel suggests they’re more fearsome this year than ever before.

But so are we. And this time, we’re fighting back. Join Compli’s monster-hunting squad as we track the Compliance Monsters down and drive them away for good. Throughout October, we’ll show you how to eradicate these creatures one by one.

The Obfusticator is That Which Shall Not Be Named, hiding in plain sight.

Step 3: Move Forward Without Fear

Behind obfuscation lies fear. Too many organizations believe that more (not better) compliance policies will reduce uncertainty: that complex systems, paperwork, and a dry, legal tone will push problems away; and that the scarier and denser compliance seems, the more employees will take it seriously.

In reality, the opposite occurs. People fear compliance because they don’t understand it. They avoid it because it seems difficult.

Check your assumptions about what’s possible. The right tool can help you see the light—and our customers’ stories prove it. As we’ve written before, a well-planned, well-implemented, and well-maintained compliance program…

  • prevents or reduces regulatory violations;
  • protect consumers from non-compliance and associated harms;
  • shields your organization from the risks of litigation, which negatively impact
    • revenue,
    • operational focus,
    • and brand reputation;
  • and helps your organization attract and retain customers.

That’s nothing to fear. It’s something to embrace.

Don’t let your CMS turn into a monster. Bring it out into the open and give it some love, and it will love your organization right back.

Brett Safford

Brett is a previous member of Compli’s Customer Success team, where she helped clients get the most out of their platform and achieve their unique goals. Brett's love for fabric and quilting means her family suffers from an overabundance of blankets. In the evenings Brett can be found cooking in the kitchen with a glass of red wine and Ella Fitzgerald on the record player.

→ Brett Safford

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