Compliance Monster Hunting: Tedium

Compliance Monster Hunting: Tedium

Last week, we showed you how to rid your organization of the Spreadsheet Eater. It’s a task that—let’s be honest—really only involves one step: stop using spreadsheets. No spreadsheets, no Spreadsheet Eater, right?

 

Well, not quite.
What we failed to mention is that the Spreadsheet Eater doesn’t hunt alone. He acts in tandem with a symbiotic partner, Tedium. And in order to eliminate one, compliance professionals need to eliminate both simultaneously.

Step 1: Destroy the Tedium’s Habitat

Tedium makes her home wherever workforce compliance becomes monotonous, dull, or irrelevant. Unfortunately, for many organizations, that means she has plenty of places in which to dwell. Spreadsheets are a common habit for Tedium, of course, but you’re also likely encounter her among the Papwerwork Wastelands or the Legalese Mountains. Most horrifying of all, she’s been known to sneak into the direct source of her sustenance: employees’ brains.

The challenge isn’t finding her—Tedium doesn’t hide or camouflage herself, and most people can recognize her presence instantly—but working up the energy to do anything after she’s sapped you of your resolve. A better approach is make your organization inhospitable to Tedium by revising unnecessarily long documents and reducing exposure to boring training materials and busywork.

Step 2: Remove the Tedium’s Food Source

Tedium feasts on workforce disengagement. Signs of a well-fed Tedium include absenteeism, negligence, disorganized and missing files, lackluster compliance outcomes, unhappy customers, and blank looks on employees’ faces. She may look like a scavenger, but Tedium actually precedes the appearance of the Spreadsheet Eater and the other Compliance Monsters: the more she eats, the more opportunity they have to thrive.

To remove her food source, you’ll need to think about the big picture: What’s causing employees to become disengaged in your workplace? Are you setting the right expectations through your culture? What can you do today to show more appreciation for your people?

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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.

Step 3: Eliminate the Tedium’s Path to Entry

Tedium infiltrates the workplace through two primary vectors: 1) outdated, ineffectual policies and 2) poor onboarding procedures for new employees. She can manifest among the dusty pages of an employee handbook last updated in 2001, or in the mind of an employee hired in 2017 who feels overwhelmed and undervalued. In either case, it’s up to you to reevaluate any tasks and processes that take longer than they should, as well as anything that hinders an employee from enjoying their job.

Step 4: Don’t Let Tedium Breed

The more employees inoculated against Tedium, the easier it is to keep her away from new hires and policies. Just as Tedium can quickly spread through your workforce, so too can immunization. Focus on building morale, involving employees in decisions, and tailoring training around your workforce’s needs (rather than thinking entirely from the top-down), and Tedium will buzz off to organizations who have less fun.

Step 5: Monitor Your CMS to Prevent Infestation

Remember: Tedium is not only unpleasant, but destructive to your bottom line. Focus on keeping employees happy at work, and you’ll see better results in terms of compliance and productivity. Consider using a compliance management system that offers no opportunity for Tedium to wiggle her way in. Our automated compliance products are designed for employee engagement, so you don’t have to choose between workforce compliance and workforce motivation.

Next Up: Mr. Snap

We’ve eradicated the Spreadsheet Eater and Tedium, but there are plenty of other places the Compliance Monsters could be hiding. Next week, we’re going to crack open that old three-ring binder stuffed into the corner of your HR manager’s office to eliminate the vile creature known as Mr. Snap.

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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