By Adam Turteltaub

Compliance can be a lonely job, but it’s best not done alone.  Working with other departments is essential for a program to be successful.

Lauren Connell, the Director, Compliance & Integrity at Nielsen, has found a few keys for making cross-functional partnerships work.

First, she advises in the podcast (and for SCCE members in the December issue of Compliance & Ethics Professional magazine), identify which departments are most important for your work.  HR, internal audit and finance have been crucial for her since they are very much aligned with compliance.

To forge a relationship, she recommends beginning by offering to provide training on a topic that would be relevant to that function.  It’s a good way to demonstrate the value compliance provides, and you can demonstrate your understanding of what’s important to them.

Once the relationship has started, she counsels to keep it healthy by focusing on common goals and, not just asking for help, but providing it as well.  In addition, she advises avoiding turf battles by respecting boundaries and by keeping lines of communications open all the time, not just when there is a crisis.

Listen in to learn more about how to strengthen your compliance department’s partnerships with everyone from HR to sales.