The Power of the Compliance Program
The unfortunate repercussion many organizations’ struggle with is keeping their compliance programs up-to-date, fingers are often pointed at individuals deemed responsible for managing specific initiatives. This method of management sets everyone up for failure. To be successful, a compliance program should not be owned by one person; it should be owned by the executive team with the engaged support of the board of directors, compliance, human resources, operations and IT departments. Organizations need to create a culture of compliance through policy and training for their workforce that is shared throughout the company – everyone has to be on the same page.
Another problem is that compliance is frequently ignored or seen by many organizations as a simple “check the box” for regulatory requirements or initiatives. People are only really interested in compliance when they are in hot water.
60% of misconduct involves supervisors or top management
Board of directors and executive teams need to embrace their compliance program and enable middle managers to be compliance advocates to the entire workforce. The tone from the top cannot be lost in the middle and must be reiterated and communicated to employees, managers and third parties. People inherently want to do the right thing, however if they don’t know where to find the answer they’re left to rely on their own interpretation, which increases the risk of misconduct.
An automated compliance system is a great way to embrace your compliance program and communicate with your workforce the culture of compliance your organization stands for. The beauty of an automated compliance management system is that you can easily adapt and implement changes so your workforce will be notified immediately. Mobile systems also help by enabling users to easily access policies, procedures and training so they can find answers to their questions, thereby preventing misconduct.
Additionally, the executive management team can track and monitor compliance initiatives so they’re able to see and report the status of completion and compression. One centralized system gives your employees one place to go for all activities they need to complete, from HR, Ops, Compliance and IT.
People want to do the right thing, they just need the correct tools to feel empowered and access your organization’s compliance program. Folks want to work for a company they can feel good about. How will they know your culture of compliance if they aren’t even aware it exists?
Don’t just take our word for it, check out this insightful article by Bloomberg: Are You Getting the Most Value from Your Data?
