“Our message is clear – companies that make a serious investment in improving their compliance programs and internal controls will be viewed in a better light by the Department. Support your compliance team now or pay later.”
— Kenneth Polite, United States Assistant Attorney General
Compliance is not only legally required, but it is also good for business. However, developing a compliance program that simply checks the box is not enough to do it right—and reap the rewards. Positive results will follow when compliance and ethics are built into the fabric of workplace culture. This week, learn why the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) renewed focus on ethics and compliance programs is important, why compliance starts with culture, how an ethics and compliance strategy helps to avoid toxicity, and explore an example of one company with a highly effective compliance program.
DOJ’s Renewed Focus On Corporate Ethics & Compliance Programs Highlights Importance Of Organizational Integrity
The frequency of DOJ press releases and prosecutions holding companies accountable for employee wrongdoing should be enough to scare any business into directing more resources at prevention. But this isn’t the case, with many skating by with a minimalist approach to ethics and compliance. Not only is compliance a legal obligation, but it is also an essential risk mitigation tool. The Federal Government is very focused on corporate ethics and compliance programs, and we should be too. Consider a few key takeaways from Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Kenneth Polite’s remarks at a Corporate Compliance and Enforcement program held earlier this year. AAG Polite highlights the re-energized focus on the measurable effectiveness of ethics and compliance programs that we are seeing across the federal enforcement community.
Worried About Compliance Risk? Culture Is Your Best Defense
The rapid shift to remote work caused increased worry about compliance risk. However, determining the right metrics to test compliance programs’ effectiveness is tricky. Data that don’t stretch wide enough to include key attitudinal risks or reach deep enough into the business-unit level are woefully incomplete. And that is a severe risk. Compliance lies in human behavior, and if you don’t know which behaviors expose you to risk, tech and data won’t support you well—understanding the ‘why’ behind behavior comes down to culture. Creating a culture of compliance encourages ethical decision-making. To ensure compliance, companies should focus on creating a culture that makes doing the right thing “just the way we do things around here.”
Uncover Toxic Blindspots with an Ethics & Compliance Strategy
Training is essential to promoting ethical behavior, and the consequences of ineffective communications training can be severe. Unfortunately, compliance and ethics training is done in hindsight for many companies. It’s too little too late—and current training methods often don’t meet the needs of modern business and today’s digital communications. However, by proactively investing in compliance and ethics training, companies can build and maintain healthy cultures from the beginning and avoid the high cost of toxicity. Explore real examples of toxic workplaces, consider why an ethics and compliance strategy will help companies avoid going down the same path, and learn about one company that is doing it right.
BBVA on Compliance: It’s Best for Business
Spanish bank BBVA embraced digital transformation early on. This shift to technology reliance and a transition to flexible work introduced new compliance risks in their financial services world. BBVA Perez Mies notes that compliance metrics in the financial services industry typically focus on regulatory and security measures but fail to account for the gray areas in which employees make decisions. Because these gray areas can significantly impact business outcomes, BBVA includes them in its compliance model. Its compliance strategy aligns with the human-focused, culture-oriented compliance model developed by Gallup. BBVA backs employees who behave ethically and reinforces the message with candid communication, training, channels, and tools for consultation. A key component of its compliance culture is normalizing doubt to support a collaborative relationship between the compliance department and employees when questionable issues arise.
