Why you need to spend time and money on compliance

On a global level, compliance spending can be seen to be increasing, as organizations worldwide recognize the numerous benefits compliance brings to their business.

With the current boom of compliance happening across organizations worldwide, compliance specialists are in high demand globally, and this trend isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

However, there are still many companies choosing to invest only a small amount of time and money into making sure their business is compliant. Neglecting compliance issues can put companies at significant risk, in the way of hefty fines and penalties, as well as damage to their brand and reputation.

How much time and money are you spending on compliance for your company?

Today we’ll look at the benefits of investing in company compliance, and show you why it’s worth spending more time, money and energy on this area of your business.

The Benefits of Investing More Money in Compliance

In the last year, between 2015 and 2016, there’s been a significant increase in the amount of money companies are spending on compliance, with a 60% increase in North America, 75% in Europe and 80% in the Middle East.

With compliance not actually generating income or profits for a business, why are so many organizations choosing to increase their financial investment in this area?

We’ve already mentioned the risks of neglecting compliance and the potential damage it can cause. With good policies and procedures in place, you can avoid considerable damage to your company’s finances, as well as your reputation. In many cases, the long-term damage of non-compliance will be far more costly than the financial resources needed to fund and operate an effective compliance program.

While these aspects are important, it’s also important to see the positive benefits compliance can bring to your business, rather than thinking of it only as a way to minimize negative impacts and risks.

With an effective compliance program, you’ll be making sure your organisation is staying true to its values and ethics, which is an essential component of your brand’s identity. A good compliance program demonstrates to both your employees and your market that you are committed to doing things the right way. It’s good business, on both levels. 

The Benefits of Spending More Time on Compliance

It’s also vital that you invest an appropriate amount of time and resources into your company’s compliance program. Think about how much time per week you invest in compliance – what resources are committed to managing compliance policies and procedures?

The most effective way to manage your organization’s compliance is to have staff who are dedicated solely to this area. Chief Compliance Officers (CCO) and Chief Risk Officers (CRO) have become essential resources for many organizations, rather than tasking various staff with these roles on top of their ordinary position descriptions.

Having staff committed to developing, implementing and assessing compliance policies and procedures will ensure your organization stays up-to-date, relevant and on top of compliance issues.

In a compliance report by Deloitte, the question is asked – “if you don’t have a lot of people whose only job is compliance, how can you ensure that the people responsible within the business units give compliance the same attention as everything else they are responsible for?” 

Make Compliance Part of Your Workplace Culture

As you can see, compliance is a combination of time and money – it doesn’t work without an appropriate investment of both of these factors. 

It’s important for organizations to recognize the benefits of investing in compliance programs to build a better culture of compliance. You can make compliance a part of your workplace culture, through strong policies and training in areas such as sexual harassment and workplace bullying and discrimination.

Compliance training for employees is a vital part of this step. By taking the time to teach staff about company regulations and standards, you can make sure their knowledge on organizational policies is always up-to-date and accurate, while also minimizing the risk of legal problems. 

Using e-Learning for Compliance Training 

E-Learning can be a great investment and training solution for your company, allowing your staff to complete training online, at their convenience, without interrupting their regular workflow.

Using a Learning Management System such as the Go1's online training platform, to provide staff with compliance training is a very popular choice for organizations because of the convenience and ease of use. With online compliance training, you can also keep track of individual progress and results, which is beneficial for employees, their team leaders or managers, and employer.

It’s also a more cost-effective solution, allowing you to save money on in-class trainers, as well as any facilities hire and travel expenses. Using a good Learning Management System for online training can reduce training expenses by more than 50%, saving you both time and money – which you can then invest in your new compliance program.