Compliance Officer Day is September 26. To help you celebrate, we’ve combed our blog posts and analyzed hundreds of customer strategy calls over the years to compile our gift to you: a list of essentials every compliance pro should know that may not have made it into your job description.
Think of them as gems of knowledge. 💎 | Source: Stephanie Gonot via Giphy.com
Following these tips will make you more effective, increase your value at your org, and—dare we say—reduce your stress levels? Yes, please!
1. Stop doing stuff that doesn’t work.
Whether you started or inherited your company’s compliance program, you should constantly evaluate each aspect of your initiatives to determine how they’re working and whether you should keep them. Talk to end users, look at your risk assessments, and review metrics. Do new employees really need to sit down for four hours on their first day and read all of your policies? Is that 30-minute online training moving your program forward? Are you still collecting COIs filled out with a pen? Don’t be afraid to make changes if needed, even if you’ve “always done it that way.” (Especially if you’ve always done it that way. 😉)
2. Be able to articulate the value of your program.
Sadly, many companies view compliance as an unnecessary evil, and would like to spend as little money on it as possible. You never know when you might be sharing an elevator with someone who controls your budget, so be proactive. Develop an understanding of your program’s value, and be able to articulate that value whenever you have the opportunity. So, the next time your CFO is in a mood to cut budgets, they’ll skip right past the compliance department … And who knows? You might even get a budget increase! 💰 Need some help with this? Read our free book.
3. Keep corporate and legal cringe out of your policies.
So that employees understand their responsibilities, make sure your policies are written by humans, for humans. 🤖❌ Get rid of the legalese in every case except where actually required by law. And, summarize each policy so people can easily tell how the policies apply to their specific jobs.
4. Work on your soft skills.
Compliance pros need SO. MANY. SOFT. SKILLS. If you don’t have these, people won’t want to talk to you, never mind work with you. You need to be able to take criticism, say “no,” read the room, communicate clearly one-on-one and to an audience, know when to speak and when to remain silent, be open to other ideas and other ways of doing things, be approachable, and share bad news. (You know, just a few things! 🙃)
The first step in working on your soft skills is awareness: routinely ask for feedback from trusted friends, colleagues, or family members who will be honest with you. Then, get to work on areas for improvement via webinars, books, mentors, podcasts, and practice, practice, practice.
Hint: if you see people duck/run/hide when they see you coming, we’re talking to you. | Source: Sony Pictures Monty Python and the Holy Grail via Giphy.com
5. Train people on how to do their jobs compliantly.
Don’t train people on the most intricate details of a new law—they don’t care and it doesn’t matter (unless they’re lawyers). Train people on how specific laws/policies/etc. impact their actual jobs. Employees will appreciate the respect you have for their time and priorities, and you’ll develop a reputation among company leaders as someone who respects business ethics AND the bottom line.
6. Don’t go it alone.
Whether you're a team of one or 20, you still need support beyond the compliance team. 🤝 Because compliance is everyone’s responsibility, collaborate with others to help promote ethical behavior throughout your org. Your compliance committee, HR team, people managers, local leaders, ethics ambassadors, compliance enthusiasts, and others are all keys to making your program a success.
7. Always be learning.
This one is kinda obvious, but there are many different ways to learn, not all of which are top-of-mind. Routinely block time on your calendar to reflect and seek out new information. Learn from your (and other’s) mistakes. Learn from pleasant and unpleasant interactions. Learn from organizational metrics. Learn from your colleagues. Read blogs (like the awesome one you’re reading right now!). Listen to podcasts. 🎧 By constantly making time to learn (and putting into practice what you learn), you’re continuously improving, making yourself—and your program—more valuable to the org every day.
8. Be prepared.
If you were in scouting, you have heard this one so many times—and for good reason. It works! Before you leave work for the day, plan your top three tasks for tomorrow. Before each meeting you run, have a PAL (purpose, agenda, limit). 📋 Prepare how you will respond when faced with objections to your ideas. For meetings you are attending, know what the purpose or topics are and read through any materials provided in advance. While your days often won’t go as planned and you’ll be faced with scenarios you didn’t imagine, your preparation skills will not only rub off on others, but will also showcase you as someone who can be depended on.
What advice do you have for us? What did we miss? If you’re a seasoned compliance veteran, what do you wish you knew early in your career? And if you’re new to compliance, what do you want us compliance oldies to know?
Because that’s our unofficial ninth compliance career essential: Keep asking questions! You never know where your next great piece of advice will come from.