Corporate leaders often dread compliance for several reasons, but the consequences of violating regulations can sink a company’s overall reputation and operations. Creating compliance goals can protect a business and ensure standards are met. Here’s what to know about developing a compliance strategy.
What Are Compliance Goals?
Regulatory compliance is a set of legal mandates companies must adhere to safeguard sensitive data and protect people. Corporate and regulatory compliance occurs across various industries that manage digital resources, health information, consumer information, and employee safety.
Examples of some familiar regulations include the following:
- Can Spam Act of 2003: Businesses have 10 days to label email advertisements, use authorized email addresses and allow users to opt out of communications
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): A set of federal regulations aimed at protecting worker health and safety
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996: Requires that electronic health records systems protect the confidentiality of patient medical information
Compliance goals are more challenging to develop, but organizations take these measures to attain performance-based standards and regulatory outcomes. Businesses usually set longer-term goals with an end-point and critical intermediate targets to meet the over-arching compliance objectives. Enterprises may also use a series of metrics to measure how well they’re meeting compliance goals, such as assessing incidents, risks, and costs to find areas of improvement.
Why Should A Business Create Compliance Goals?
In 2021, JP Morgan was slapped with a $125 million fine after officials discovered employees communicated sensitive business information on personal devices. The following year, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued a $7,500 penalty against R.M. Packer Co., Inc. after identifying their liquid petroleum product in the soil coming from their storage facility in Tisbury.
Creating compliance goals for a company is as important as meeting the regulations themselves. For one thing, compliance ensures the business won’t get fined or hit with other legal implications.
A comprehensive compliance strategy also creates safer working environments, improves security, and aids the development of quality products. Encouraging teams to follow compliance measures generates smoother operations and more uniform procedures.
4 Tips for Creating and Implementing Compliance Goals
Compliance goals aren’t straightforward for every organization and demand careful planning. However, these four tips can help create and implement a sound compliance strategy to reach the highest performance-based outcomes.
Develop Metrics
Giving employees something to work towards to monitor their progress will ensure everyone stays on track. That’s why setting measurable metrics to achieve compliance goals is essential. Examples of compliance metrics might include the following:
- How long before teams recognize the issue
- Predicting the potential risks and costs associated with failed compliance
- Total compliance violations
- Consumer and employee complaints
- The time between violations
Depending on the industry, there may be other measurable metrics to consider for the compliance strategy.
Be Proactive
Compliance officers at any non-compliant enterprise can explain that proactive accountability is crucial. An intermediate goal of compliance should be to stop all violations from occurring that cause detriment.
More importantly, proactivity means setting a preventative approach as technology advances and threats rise. Staying abreast of industry trends and the latest regulatory changes will ensure all standards get met.
Create Compliance Goals That Tap Into the Company’s Ethical Values
Consider corporate ethics when developing compliance goals for a business. Employees are more likely to uphold their company’s ethical values when it’s something they can relate to morally and aspire to attain.
For instance, ethical values could include no cheating to get ahead, avoiding workplace harassment, and ensuring the highest confidentiality. The rest of the compliance goals — regulatory policies and procedures — should align with the organization’s ethical values. Employees should feel excited about and understand the importance of following the rules.
Provide Compliance Training to Employees
According to Gallup, 84% of employees believe excellent training programs taught them where to go when problems arise. Regarding compliance goals, workers must have access to resources and training.
Create a list of procedures for employees to follow, designate a team member to keep the Intranet updated as policies change, and provide training to all new hires. Regular training programs will keep compliance goals and strategies fresh in employees’ minds.
Creating Compliance Goals Is Progress
Although compliance goals may challenge a team, they’re a surefire way to know the business meets regulatory requirements. When an enterprise meets its compliance goals, it continues to move forward without unnecessary setbacks, such as fines and lawsuits.