One of the greatest challenges a Chief Compliance Officer faces is creating and maintaining positive attitudes across the organisation towards compliance. Too often, we hear of organisations where the compliance team is viewed as some sort of “police” force, a group to be feared, rather than valued for the protection it brings. This negativity breeds secrecy, evasion, fear of retaliation and ultimately can undermine the sustainability of the organisation. Unfortunately, corporate history is littered with examples of the damage to employees, employers and shareholders caused by compliance failures. Often the costs extend beyond financial losses in the form of penalties or fines to include, for example, reputational harm, job losses, lowered morale and productivity.
So, how to change things? How do we get everyone in an organisation to appreciate that there is “only one boat and we are all in it”? In my experience, there are multiple elements that make up a supportive culture, including the “tone at the top” and “walking the talk”. But success also requires a coherent and sustained campaign - a memo from the CEO alone will not cut it.
I found inspiration in successful political campaigns. Think about surveys for example, to create a baseline and identify the attitudes you need to prioritise. Create engagement opportunities such as Town Halls and view every interaction as an opportunity to win a vote for Compliance. There is, of course, much more to building a campaign, but fundamentally this is about making a compelling Case for Compliance and eradicating the negativity which can undermine an organisation’s future. #compliance #votecompliance #compliancecampaign
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