How to Create a Risk-Conscious Culture | Compliance Next

Описание: Every organization manages a variety of business risks on a day-to-day basis. For some it's physical safety risks, while others focus heavily on data integrity and security. No matter what industry you operate within, a culture that's attuned to business risks is what it takes for employees to recognize and avoid unnecessary exposure.

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Creating a culture that is attuned to business risks, especially risks people may encounter on a regular basis, is a common theme for compliance professionals. Strong policies are a good place to start, but that will only get you so far. What's needed is an understanding among all employees of what unnecessary risks they might be exposing the organization to and how to avoid them. For some jobs, it's physical safety risk. For others, it's data integrity and security. More broadly, there's reputational risk due to illegal actions, negligence, or lack of attention to social responsibility either by an individual employee or your organization as a whole. If your organization could use some help getting to a more risk-conscious state, here are some steps you can take. One, establish a top down vision. It may seem simple, but if you intend to make risk awareness part of your culture, make sure all the key players are on board before you begin. Discuss what you're trying to accomplish with executive staff and line management. What are the key risks for your organization or industry? What are the risks that must be identified and avoided above all others? Who is likely to expose the organization to which risks? Establish a vision and description of the risk aware workplace you're trying to achieve. Two, assess your current culture. Is your organization already attuned to risk avoidance, even if employees are not fully aware of it? Are policies and procedures recognized as valuable, or generally ignored by the rank and file? How engaged are employees in current compliance programs? Do you have a speak up culture? Do your best to understand the mindset of employees when it comes to risk awareness, then consider what education or training is appropriate to move your workplace culture in a positive direction. Three, set the tone at the top. Once you understand where you are and where you want to go, enlist top management to set the wheels in motion. Tone at the top is extremely important to any compliance program, so this has the added benefit of bringing your board of directors and executive team more in line with industry best practices or regulatory expectations for compliance programs and oversight. Culture is always more top down than it is bottom up. Four, awareness and training. Risk-conscious organizations promote the idea that everyone shares responsibility. Front line employees are uniquely equipped to identify operational or safety risks encountered in their day to day work. They should be encouraged to report anything they feel is not right or could be better. This messaging should be a part of existing compliance training or included in some other organization wide communication. Another way to signal your organization's support for risk awareness is to solicit employee feedback on this subject, either through focus groups, a survey, or both. Merely asking for thoughts on business risk acts as its own motivator for many employees. And the process will likely generate useful insights for management. It should be noted that a risk-conscious culture extends beyond compliance no matter how robust your programs are. Preventing compliance lapses and meeting regulatory requirements are important, but operational and reputational risks exist throughout your enterprise, and they're not all strictly compliance related. So be prepared to work with leadership across the organization. You're going to need their support. Understanding and mitigating risk requires vigilance. And it all starts with the decision and the will to make risk consciousness an integral part of your company culture. Help keep compliance risks top of mind with cut-and-paste monthly updates you can easily distribute to your team. Get all of the ready-made compliance memos found in the Tool and Resources section of Compliance Next.


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