Compliance Perspectives

By Adam Turteltaub

There’s good news to report on social media, reports Kortney Nordrum, Regulatory Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Deluxe.  Employees are starting to wake up to the risks and realize that what they share on social media has consequences.

But, that doesn’t mean all is well.  Risks remain for employees and their employers.  As she explains in this podcast, people who are likely to make bad decisions continue to do so on social media.  Despite changes in some of the National Labor Relations Board’s policies, employers are still greatly restricted in how they can respond to employee comments online.

Listen in to the podcast as she discusses:

* Whether or not to monitor employee activity

* The importance of seeing what is being said about your company online

* How to handle pre-employment social media scans appropriately

Also, learn how some universities are using social media, including Twitter, to spread compliance messages and reach their people where they are.

Here are some examples she recommends checking out:

https://twitter.com/GopherGuardian

https://twitter.com/UCDavisComply

https://twitter.com/NIURules

By Adam Turteltaub

If you have a compliance and ethics program of any size, odds are good that you need a solution provider to help your program function fully.  Manage the vendor search and relationship well, and if you’ve done yourself and your program a great service.  Manage it badly, and you’ve created a nightmare.

Jay Rosen of Affiliated Monitors knows the challenge well, having been a buyer of solutions and currently as a vendor to the compliance and ethics community.

In this podcast – a preview of his session at the 2019 Compliance & Ethics Institute — he outlines how to make the vendor relationship a healthy one, beginning even before you begin a search.  He advises that buyers reach out to their peers to learn what is working for them and the options in the marketplace.

Once you begin the search keep tabs on how attentive the sales team is.  If you’re not getting the responses you need and in a timely way then, it’s generally not a good sign.

Listen in to learn more about how to make the implementation go as smoothly as possible, make the ongoing relationship a success, and when it’s time to move on.

By Adam Turteltaub

If you have a compliance and ethics program of any size, odds are good that you need a solution provider to help your program function fully.  Manage the vendor search and relationship well, and if you’ve done yourself and your program a great service.  Manage it badly, and you’ve created a nightmare.

Jay Rosen of Affiliated Monitors knows the challenge well, having been a buyer of solutions and currently as a vendor to the compliance and ethics community.

In this podcast – a preview of his session at the 2019 Compliance & Ethics Institute -- he outlines how to make the vendor relationship a healthy one, beginning even before you begin a search.  He advises that buyers reach out to their peers to learn what is working for them and the options in the marketplace.

Once you begin the search keep tabs on how attentive the sales team is.  If you’re not getting the responses you need and in a timely way then, it’s generally not a good sign.

Listen in to learn more about how to make the implementation go as smoothly as possible, make the ongoing relationship a success, and when it’s time to move on.

By Adam Turteltaub

Compliance training is both essential to the effectiveness of every compliance and ethics program and an ongoing source of consternation:  Are we doing too much or too little?  Are the courses too long or too short?  Are employees understanding and retaining the learning or are they just clicking through the courses?

To help answer these and countless other questions, the SCCE asked Kirsten Liston, a veteran of the compliance training industry and Principal and Founder of Rethink Compliance, to write a book on the topic.  The result is Creating Great Compliance Training in a Digital World.

Over its 150 pages the book takes the reader through the principles of effective communication and training for adults.

In this podcast Kirsten explains how the book is organized and her focus on providing practical advice on how to communicate effectively and from the perspective of the learner.  She leverages thinking from fields as diverse as advertising and behavioral psychology to show what gets people to pay attention,  engage with the training and take action.

She also explores the importance of measuring the effectiveness of the training and the importance of figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

Listen in to learn more about the book and how to think about your own training efforts.   Or check out a preview of it online on COSMOS.

By Adam Turteltaub

Compliance training is both essential to the effectiveness of every compliance and ethics program and an ongoing source of consternation:  Are we doing too much or too little?  Are the courses too long or too short?  Are employees understanding and retaining the learning or are they just clicking through the courses?

To help answer these and countless other questions, the SCCE asked Kirsten Liston, a veteran of the compliance training industry and Principal and Founder of Rethink Compliance, to write a book on the topic.  The result is Creating Great Compliance Training in a Digital World.

Over its 150 pages the book takes the reader through the principles of effective communication and training for adults.

In this podcast Kirsten explains how the book is organized and her focus on providing practical advice on how to communicate effectively and from the perspective of the learner.  She leverages thinking from fields as diverse as advertising and behavioral psychology to show what gets people to pay attention,  engage with the training and take action.

She also explores the importance of measuring the effectiveness of the training and the importance of figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

Listen in to learn more about the book and how to think about your own training efforts.   Or check out a preview of it online on COSMOS.

By Adam Turteltaub

Most every SCCE or HCCA conference has panel discussions led by a moderator.  Done well, they can bring tremendous insights.  Done poorly, and the audience may walk out or, even worse, doze off.

Richard Bistrong is a veteran speaker and moderator.  He advises that it’s important for moderators to think of themselves as supporting actors and not stars.  They are there to stimulate engagement with the audience and bring out the best in the presenters.  That means making sure that the conversation covers the key points, moves along deliberately and that there is ample time for questions at the end.

In this podcast he also shares his advice for selecting panelists, scripting out questions, building rapport among panel members, and the role of slides:  use them to support the conversation not serve as a script.  Finally, he discusses the importance of the final question for every panel discussion.

Listen in to benefit from his expertise.  And, if you want to learn more, he recommends a recent article in The Atlantic.  You can also find additional advice at the bottom of the Call for Speakers page on the SCCE and HCCA websites.

By Adam Turteltaub

Most every SCCE or HCCA conference has panel discussions led by a moderator.  Done well, they can bring tremendous insights.  Done poorly, and the audience may walk out or, even worse, doze off.

Richard Bistrong is a veteran speaker and moderator.  He advises that it’s important for moderators to think of themselves as supporting actors and not stars.  They are there to stimulate engagement with the audience and bring out the best in the presenters.  That means making sure that the conversation covers the key points, moves along deliberately and that there is ample time for questions at the end.

In this podcast he also shares his advice for selecting panelists, scripting out questions, building rapport among panel members, and the role of slides:  use them to support the conversation not serve as a script.  Finally, he discusses the importance of the final question for every panel discussion.

Listen in to benefit from his expertise.  And, if you want to learn more, he recommends a recent article in The Atlantic.  You can also find additional advice at the bottom of the Call for Speakers page on the SCCE and HCCA websites.

By Adam Turteltaub

The words “Socratic Method” tend to conjure up images of law school professors boring into and humiliating ill-prepared students.   But, it shouldn’t necessarily be this way.  Instead, explains Jonathan Rusch, Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and Principal of DTG Risk & Compliance, Socratic questioning is about learning by asking questions about a topic.

As he wrote in a recent article and shares in this podcast, the object is to ask questions, listen for the answer and then follow up appropriately to ensure you are getting to the heart of the issue.  In addition, rather than the badgering seen in movies, it’s far better to maintain a measured, even tone.

In many ways, it’s an approach reminiscent of the recent DOJ guidance for evaluating compliance programs, which is rich with questions.

Listen in to learn more about the importance of doing your homework, carefully structuring questions, actively listening, focusing on topics (vs. individual questions) and being patient.

By Adam Turteltaub

The words “Socratic Method” tend to conjure up images of law school professors boring into and humiliating ill-prepared students.   But, it shouldn’t necessarily be this way.  Instead, explains Jonathan Rusch, Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and Principal of DTG Risk & Compliance, Socratic questioning is about learning by asking questions about a topic.

As he wrote in a recent article and shares in this podcast, the object is to ask questions, listen for the answer and then follow up appropriately to ensure you are getting to the heart of the issue.  In addition, rather than the badgering seen in movies, it’s far better to maintain a measured, even tone.

In many ways, it’s an approach reminiscent of the recent DOJ guidance for evaluating compliance programs, which is rich with questions.

Listen in to learn more about the importance of doing your homework, carefully structuring questions, actively listening, focusing on topics (vs. individual questions) and being patient.

By Adam Turteltaub

The US Supreme Court’s Digital Realty Trust decision has been a cause of concern within the compliance community.  In that the case the court found that the Dodd-Frank whistleblower protection provisions do not apply in instances where the whistleblower does not report the allegation to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

To better understand what this case means we sat down with Sean X. McKessy, a partner at the law firm Phillips and Cohen and the former Chief of the SEC Whistleblower Office.  As he explains in this podcast, the ruling was shocking to many.  It puts employees considering reporting an issue into a more difficult position since they may potentially lose protections if they only report internally.  That will likely increase the likelihood of them taking their concerns directly to the government and, potentially, bypassing internal channels.

As a result, he argues, it is now more important than ever for compliance teams, and the organization as a whole, to underscore that even if the law does not promise protection against retaliation, the institution does.

Listen in to learn more about what the decision means and what compliance teams can due to help their own internal reporting efforts.