Compliance Monster Hunting: Mr. Snap

Step 1: Destroy the Mr. Snap’s Habitat

Compliance Monster scholars stand divided over how Mr. Snap got his name. Some say it originates from his giant claw, which he uses to snap up important documents. Others claim he’s named for his habitat: an abandoned 3-ring binder that snaps shut.

Come to think of it, Mr. Snap’s claw looks and functions an awful like the rings of an old binder… and his squeaky shoes mimic the sound of those rings… and his hat smells like the kind of dusty paper that would be kept in a binder… Until now, we’ve supposed that Mr. Snap had developed some outstanding camouflage techniques, but maybe there’s a simpler explanation: Mr. Snap is a binder—the monster and his habitat are one in the same.

Step 2: Remove the Mr. Snap’s Food Source

Whether he’s an outside invader or a manifestation of his environment, Mr. Snap appears to survive on the kinds of materials that get shoved into a binder and forgotten about: reports that provide no actionable information, 100-page “guidance” about regulatory updates, and other hefty stacks of compliance chaff that no one intends to actually read. To rid your workplace of Mr. Snap, you’ll need throw out these stacks of paper. Trust us: you can do it. It’s not like they’re doing anything but taking up shelf space anyway.

Step 3: Eliminate the Mr. Snap’s Path to Entry

Once you’ve recycled all that paper, it’s time to take a good, hard look at the real problem: How necessary are your binders, really? It’s nearly 2018—do you sincerely expect your workforce to consult information kept in a non-digital format? Policies, training materials, and additional critical compliance data should be accessible on computers, phones, and the other devices we use for everything else at work. Otherwise, you’re essentially consigning your compliance program to dust.