Between 2021 and 2024, the U.S. enacted more than 325 new laws. To meet this deluge of regulations, your organization needs to implement an effective compliance program. What is a compliance program, and how do you integrate it with your operations?
Key Takeaways:
- A corporate compliance program is a structured framework of policies, procedures, and controls designed to ensure an organization adheres to external laws, industry regulations, and internal ethical standards.
- Effective programs go beyond written rules to include active monitoring systems, comprehensive employee training, and clear disciplinary protocols to foster a culture of consistency.
- Implementation requires a top-down commitment to identify specific regulatory risks, centralize policy documentation, and conduct regular audits to verify ongoing adherence.
- Compliance management software is essential for unifying these complex processes, allowing organizations to map regulations to internal controls and automate necessary updates.
What Is a Corporate Compliance Program?
In basic terms, a compliance program is an established framework to make sure your organization follows the laws, government regulations, industry rules, and other standards that apply to your products and services. This program applies to your company as a whole, your employees, and the vendors you do business with. For healthcare organizations, HIPAA compliance affects day-to-day operations immensely.
A corporate compliance program also covers internal standards. For example, your company may have a higher threshold for product quality or platform uptime than what the law specifically requires. Compliance doesn’t happen automatically, however, so you need a program to ensure work quality adheres to your expectations.
What Does a Compliance Program Involve?
Compliance programs are broad frameworks that include policies, procedures, guidelines, and controls. In many industries, the elements of a compliance program touch on nearly every aspect of operations, from decision-making to product delivery. An effective compliance program explains:
- What each regulation, law, and standard means and requires
- How workers, managers, executives, and other organizational stakeholders can comply
- Who is responsible for the different areas of compliance
- When the rules apply and why
- What the consequences are for non-compliance
A good program doesn’t just repeat laws and regulations. The goal is to promote a culture of consistent compliance by making the process simpler, clearer, more effective, and more automatic.
What Should Your Compliance Program Include?
Every city needs laws, police, technology, and infrastructure to keep its citizens safe and secure. Organizational compliance requires the same:
- Company policies that follow applicable regulations, such as privacy and security rules
- Detailed processes, procedures, and guidelines for program execution
- Compliance monitoring systems, including analytics technology, detection software, and periodic audits
- Comprehensive training programs for all workers, including executives
- Standardized methods for correcting non-compliance, such as disciplinary actions that are enforced consistently and fairly
- Confidential avenues for reporting violations internally
Like any corporate framework, compliance programs also need assigned roles. Compliance officers or committees are responsible for staying up to date with regulations.
How Do You Set Up a Compliance Program?
One of the most important aspects of an effective program is real commitment to compliance from the top down. Company leaders must show they take compliance seriously, from decisions and priorities to the way they allocate resources and engage with training.
1. Identify Applicable Regulations and Risks
Your compliance program needs an accurate foundation. Investigate which U.S., international, and industry regulations apply to your operations. Compliance in GRC also includes a risk assessment.
Some compliance frameworks are voluntary but vital. NIST CSF, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 cybersecurity standards aren’t legally required for most businesses, but compliant companies often have a superior reputation.
2. Create and Update Policies
Map regulations to your company’s operations. Make sure all policies and procedures follow industry best practices and regulations, such as PCI DSS or GDPR.
3. Centralize Compliance Documents
Maintain a centralized repository for all policies. Ensure that every employee has access to the same guidelines related to their work, and that the materials are up to date.
4. Train Workers
Compliance training is an ongoing process, not a 20-minute session to check a box. Design your program keeping in mind the needs, risks, and obstacles of different departments. Track training completion and provide refreshers.
5. Audit Compliance Regularly
Real compliance translates into action. Once your framework is in place, monitoring tools and periodic audits show you how well employees are following through. Use what you learn to improve the program.
Why Does Your Organization Need a Compliance Program?
Realistically, there’s no way for enterprises to achieve or maintain compliance without an organized framework. A compliance program helps you:
- Establish standardized practices
- Give teams precise direction
- Keep everyone on the same page when laws change
- Improve employee morale by avoiding vague or contradictory guidelines
- Scale controls and processes
Compliance matters. With antitrust regulations, the conduct of individual employees can harm your company. Privacy and security failures damage your reputation, not to mention often leading to penalties, lawsuits, and other costs.
What Is Compliance Program Management Software?
Compliance management platforms like Compyl take corporate compliance to the next level, supporting higher and more consistent compliance rates with a lower investment of time and resources. Unify your entire program in one place, from audits and training to analytics and corrective actions. Seamlessly map GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and other regulatory frameworks to your internal standards.
Discover the cost-effective compliance solution global enterprises trust. Demo Compyl today.
