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We can certainly demand a lot from our company. We need our employees to be working effectively and we need to understand that in order to do business properly, everything needs to slot into place. But you have to remember that your company needs things from you. You need to have the right attitude, you need to have the due diligence in place, but you also need to understand the importance of compliance and doing things by the book. It’s natural that being law-abiding and correct in an ethical sense is natural. But compliance can be a hot topic. So when companies are under pressure to define these values we’ve got to remember that performing business “by the book” is about following a certain set of rules. Let’s show you the substantial components.

The Goals Associated With Compliance

In an obvious sense, it’s crucial to avoid criminal proceedings. From the business’ perspective, being committed to compliance is about having the right strategy in place. While there’s numerous legislation associated with complying you have to remember the importance of making the effort within the company framework. It’s always a good idea to have a business law attorney on your side to consult should you be unaware of the appropriate legislation. If you don’t make the effort to comply with associated regulations you could be punished with sanctions such as financial penalties or even be put in prison. In order to be compliant you’ve got to identify and minimize criminal behavior and react accordingly. This will help to reduce any risk from the business, especially in terms of economics and liability.

It’s also important to consider the social responsibilities. There are so many ethical components associated with compliance that they may not be given the same level of importance as following the rules and regulations. In terms of ethical components, we’ve got to consider our stakeholders such as employees and customers but we’ve also got to make sure that we adhere to moral values. Moral values are set out in many regulatory codes and bodies, especially in industries that are dealing with sensitive materials. But in any business, it’s crucial to have a clearly outlined approach to morals and ethics. While we have to be seen to be compliant in a legal sense due to the numerous penalties we have to remember the complying in an ethical sense is crucial to everybody’s human rights. It’s unfair to show preferential treatment and we have got to remember that each employee demands equal attention. And while it is greatly discussed in certain circles, when it comes to smaller businesses it can be brushed under the carpet somewhat which is not a good approach. But this is why we’ve got to start implementing certain components to benefit the business and the employees…

Implementing Compliance Within A Company

Compliance has to be in force but it also has to be monitored. This is where a CMS (Compliance Management System) can be used to implement appropriate rules and regulations within the company. The purpose of a CMS is to put this in place but also to make sure that compliance is part of the culture. This is one approach that needs maintaining, especially if you don’t operate with a transparent approach to business. We have to remember that compliance covers so many different areas and topics that developing a CMS is not so easy. This is why we’ve got to work on individual requirements. And this can prove to be a seismic challenge but there are ways around it. 

Creating Compliance Policies

Compliance policies are numerous online but rather than taking a general template and filling in the blanks it’s best to use a compliance policy but adapt it to the individual’s needs within the workplace. Generally speaking, compliance policies will cover many bases but you’ve got to give consideration to what your company needs. It’s not just in regards to the general approach to conduct but it’s also about making sure that each employee is aware of the sanctions process, as well as identifying specific issues that contravene the policies. Once you apply these, they need to be communicated openly throughout the business. While you can do this by sending messages or newsletters, incorporating training sessions and having it written into the contract are two other approaches that can be essential.

Should You Incorporate A Compliance Team?

The best way to create a compliance team would be to get experts from every department of the business. This way, you are able to cover every possible eventuality. If necessary, you can get external expertise. You could go to management consultants or lawyers but you could also go to the SBA and liaise with them to acquire more information. A compliance team, even in a small business, can be a godsend because you don’t need to keep track of every single thing. This could be the responsibility of the team.

Putting Compliance Into Operation

The responsibility sits firmly on the manager but you can delegate this to one single person to act as a chief compliance officer. You could also work with a compliance solutions company if you are looking to outsource. Once this is in place the tasks are varied but crucial. From implementing the CMS to monitoring quality control, as well as adapting to various changes within the working environment are all components that need addressing. This means that because it is such a complex approach to improving the business that it requires the right sort of person. It’s not necessarily about hiring a manager type, but it’s about having someone who is able to work with the right mindset.

Learning to do business by the book is about the whole approach to compliance and this means that when we begin to implement compliance and following the rules and regulations, we’ve got a solid structure to build our business upon. Rules and regulations aren’t the most interesting of subjects but they have to be incorporated. It’s far better to incorporate them on a cultural level rather than where everybody needs to follow the rules. If you’re embedding it on a cultural level it’s going to give you improved results across the board.