Should we seek Best Practice or Compliance? Compliance is very much a catch-all term in today’s business world.
It can cover a number of different areas of a business from the way your employees work to how you engage with your clients – it is in effect the term used to provide reassurance and confidence
So why does compliance still send a shiver down most business owners backs? In part this can be linked to the type of business you are. Are you driven by structure, embrace process and are fanatical about following the rule book. Or would you consider yourselves to be more freeflow, Creative thinkers, feel bound by process?
This can drive the way you approach this with your employees. Is it enough to set a rule book without your team understanding the reasons for why they are following said process? Or do you consider compliance as something you simply cross your fingers and hope for the best on?
I often get asked “what does GOOD compliance look like?” It’s a tricky one to answer, but for all the merits of being a compliant business – I would set the benchmark higher and push for best practice. Best Practice is the partner you want, it’s the business you want to work for and the employer of choice. Best practice shows that a business is prepared to lead the field and collaborate with its employees to achieve not only compliance - for this should be a given - but a company wide acceptance, buy in, championing and a step change to becoming proactive not reactive.
An example would be around Brexit. With such significant change in the air, major changes in the political landscape of Europe and the world will force businesses to look closer at their compliance – particularly around people. With the likely tightening of borders this will need to be fairly robust but we should not forget that the deal negotiated will also affect UK workers abroad too. This in turn will have a knock on effect to hiring and a possible introduction of visas or permits.
It may seem a long way off, but with a large percentage of businesses already considering their plans post Brexit, it’s a perfect time to consider the proactive approach. Getting ahead of the curve on what this may mean to your business and how you can educate your teams will give you a vital competitive advantage. Working with a trusted partner to gain insight into how the process may affect your hiring strategy should be a must.
By taking this collaborative approach you will cover all the angles – including those that may still not be clearly defined, driving best practice throughout your business.
What does GOOD Compliance look like in your business?
For more information please contact Compliance Manager Kris Simpson: kris.simpson@bps-world.com