By Adam Turteltaub

The writing on the wall is pretty clear: regulators expect compliance programs to be custom designed for the organization and kept up to date. That means compliance teams need to stop periodically and reassess their program to ensure it is effective in practice and not just on paper.

In this podcast, LRN’s Ty Francis MBE, Chief Advisory Officer and Eric Morehead, Director, Advisory Solutions explain that regulators want to know if organizations are targeting their compliance resources to the risks that they are facing.

To allocate efforts successfully, it is essential to look at the data to see if your program is effective.

Yet, they point out, it’s not just a numbers game in which more spending leads to more results. If, for example, there is an issue with employees not speaking up and living in fear of retaliation, paying for more training is not going to be enough. Instead, compliance teams need to look holistically at the situation and address the underlying cultural issues. That includes demonstrating to employees that a manager who retaliates will face discipline.

So how do you conduct an effective assessment? First, they recommend budgeting enough time. The process tends to take longer than people think given the number of people you will need to interview and the time at the front end to gain support from leadership.

Next, make the effort to talk to people from the top of the organization to the bottom. Do so in person, or via surveys if necessary. As you do, be sure to learn how they feel about the compliance programs, the culture of the organization, violations they may be seeing and the ability to speak up without fear.

Finally, they advise looking outward. Benchmark your efforts against your peers. This can provide context and expose you to ideas and solutions you may not have been aware of.

Listen in to learn more, and then spend some time assessing your assessment program.