What is the Difference Between Compliance and Conformity?

Compliance and conformity are key pillars of organizational culture. Although they are similar in many ways, there are a few nuances to be aware of. So what is the difference between compliance and conformity? And how do they shape business operations in a world where standards and regulations change as often as the seasons?

Compliance vs. Conformity: What’s the Difference

Compliance and conformity are terms that frequently pop up when discussing organizational policies and dynamics. Here’s what they mean and how they differ.

Compliance

Compliance is the process by which companies adhere to specific requests, rules, or guidelines. It typically requires that businesses and individuals follow legal regulations and industry standards. For example, employees comply with company policies on data protection by following specific procedures and completing compliance training. 

Staying compliant keeps you on the right side of the law and helps you avoid hefty penalties. The process for compliance is generally formal and explicit with clear expectations and consequences for non-compliance.

Conformity

Unlike compliance, conformity is about adhering to internal specifications and standards. Whereas external institutions may set compliance regulations, conformity is determined by an organization’s own rules. 

For instance, if a business signs a contract with a client stating that a project will be completed in two months’ time, they would demonstrate conformity by meeting that deadline. Conformity is used to measure how well a business follows its own rules.

Obtaining a Certificate of Compliance vs. Certificate of Conformance

To demonstrate adherence to these concepts, organizations can obtain a certificate of compliance and/or a certificate of conformance. 

How to Get a Certificate of Compliance

A certificate of compliance is usually required as proof that a product or service meets specific regulatory standards. To obtain this certificate, an organization must follow these steps:

1. Understand the Requirements: The first step in compliance is knowing what it is you’re complying with. There are many different compliance regulations that businesses must adhere to, such as GDPR and HIPAA. 
2. Develop Procedures and Conduct Internal Audits: Once you’ve determined the scope and purpose of the compliance process, you can establish any required procedures. Be sure to conduct audits to verify that these procedures are actually being followed.
3. Pass Third-Party Inspection and Testing: In most cases, an independent organization must inspect, test, and verify adherence to regulatory standards. This may involve lab testing or on-site inspections.
4. Documentation and Submission: Once the testing phase is complete, be sure to submit detailed documentation––including test results––to the regulatory body.
5. Review and Certification: Finally, the regulatory body or certifying agency will review the submitted documentation. If everything meets the required standard, they issue a certificate of compliance. 

How to Get a Certificate of Conformance

Conformance certification works a bit differently than obtaining a compliance certificate. 

1. Set Specifications: Unlike with compliance, businesses looking to achieve conformity should begin by setting their own specifications. Consider what your client contracts or purchase orders look like and go from there.
2. Establish Quality Assurance Processes and Perform Regular Testing:In a similar vein to compliance certification, obtaining a certificate of conformance requires that businesses provide detailed records of the inspection and testing process, along with the results and other relevant information.

The Benefits of Compliance

For modern companies, compliance isn’t an option, but part and parcel of their day-to-day operations. Some of the ways organizations can benefit from staying up-to-date with relevant standards are through legal protection, business reputation, and better product and service quality.

Legal Protection

While exact amounts vary based on business size and the extent of the infraction, organizations can expect to pay several thousands of dollars or even up to a billion dollars for non-compliance. In one notable case, Morgan Stanley was fined close to $100 million between 2020 and 2022 for data security errors. Needless to say, non-compliance should be avoided at all costs.

Business Reputation

Organizations with a reputation for mishandling data and other sensitive resources can miss out on lucrative business deals and opportunities. Compliance can help demonstrate responsibility to partners and stakeholders, potentially creating new revenue streams.

Better Product and Service Quality

More often than not, compliance equals adherence to best practices and quality benchmarks. This ensures that outputs meet or exceed customer expectations, thereby fostering higher satisfaction and loyalty. This is partly thanks to the extensive training that comes with compliance. 

The Benefits of Conformity

Many businesses focus on compliance to the detriment of conformity, but this can be a grave mistake. By neglecting conformity, you miss out on a huge competitive advantage. Here’s why you should make conformity a priority.

Greater Social Cohesion

Conformity is key to getting everyone on the same page in terms of company expectations and quality standards. By working towards a common goal, employees can form strong bonds and work together to achieve company objectives.

Streamlined Processes

Uniformity helps business operations run smoothly. With expectations laid out clearly from the start, teams can hit the ground running, focusing on the most important points of the project at hand. This can help maintain high levels of productivity and efficiency within an organization.

Improved Safety

Conformity, like compliance, plays a vital role in keeping employees safe. Sometimes money is at stake–and sometimes much more. Having a defined set of internal protocols can help reduce workplace safety incidents. 

What is the Difference Between Compliance and Conformity? We Can Show You

There are many moving pieces in the business world, and keeping track of all rules and requirements can be a job in and of itself. However, it’s important to stay on track not only with compliance, but with conformity as well. By doing so, you can transform your organization for the better, promoting consistency, quality, and safety.

Learning what the difference between compliance and conformity is takes time. Establishing a unique set of policies and procedures for each can be daunting, but Compyl is here to help. We offer frameworks to help businesses comply with GDPR, PCI, and more. Request a demo to see how we can help you map multiple frameworks and achieve success with both compliance and conformity.