Compliance. Definitely a topic with no shortage of boredom. Whether it's the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), whistleblowing systems or complex ransomware attacks and their strict legal requirements – you wouldn't want to talk about tilting at windmills. But it does feel a bit like that.
But help is on the way - finally a good use case for artificial intelligence. All that's missing now are the compliance professionals who can operate these systems and educate the entire company about compliance at the same time. Yes. You've probably already guessed it - such specialists are few and far between. And yet compliance professionals are promoted every day. Find out here what you can do as a company to make your organisation "compliance-ready".
Talent Management
Let's start by talking about the basics of successful recruiting in general: Talent management is a multi-faceted discipline that spans different phases of an employee's career. It starts with attracting and hiring the right talent and includes developing and retaining that talent to ensure sustainable organisational performance. Here are best practices in talent management:
Recruiting and hiring: the first step in talent management is attracting the right candidates. This requires a structured recruitment process that takes into account not only the current but also the future needs of the organisation. On the candidate side, a smooth candidate journey & candidate experience is required. Effective onboarding is also crucial to ensure a smooth start for new talent and promote their integration into the corporate culture.
Development and training: Talent development is a continuous process that includes appropriate training programmes and career development opportunities. It is important to harmonise the individual needs and career goals of employees with the company's objectives. Especially in the field of compliance, learning and development and the need for continuous advanced training are imperative in order to meet the constantly changing regulatory requirements.
Performance management: The next key component in talent management is the evaluation of employee performance. Through regular feedback and performance appraisals, strengths and areas for improvement can be identified. This not only promotes individual development, but also helps to improve the overall performance of the organisation. And above all, employees also feel both heard and valued when they can play to their personal strengths to a greater extent.
Employee retention: Employee retention includes measures such as competitive compensation, recognition of achievements, career development opportunities and a positive work environment that fosters satisfaction and loyalty. Read also "Employee Retention - 10 measures beyond salary to retain your workforce" by our partner PALTRON.
Talent Relationship Management: Proactive relationship management with current and potential talent helps to build a strong talent network. This is particularly important in a competitive labour market where retaining and recruiting top talent is a challenge. In concrete terms, this means relationships with selected universities or highly specialised educational institutions.
The changing role of compliance professionals
Next, let's take a look at compliance from a meta-perspective. Like virtually every profession today, the role of compliance professionals is undergoing a significant transformation. Once heavily focussed on regulatory requirements and technical details, their remit is now increasingly expanding towards advisory functions. This development reflects the growing awareness that effective compliance requires in-depth business understanding, technological expertise and the ability to exert strategic influence. In addition to in-depth legal and regulatory expertise, soft skills, digital competences and a strong business acumen are therefore increasingly required. These skills enable compliance professionals to proactively identify risks, develop solution strategies and thus act not only as guardians of rules, but also as strategic partners in the business process. The future of compliance lies in the integration of these multidisciplinary competences to effectively support and advise companies in a dynamic regulatory landscape. And this is precisely where you as a company have self-sufficient levers that make you more independent of the compliance specialist market.
What companies can (and must) do themselves in terms of compliance
Upskilling and reskilling are the topics of the hour to counteract the shortage of skilled labour in the area of compliance. Identifying and closing skills gaps through advanced training or hiring employees with related skills is key. Recruiting talent from diverse disciplines can open up new perspectives and strengthen the compliance function. To do this, organisations need to carry out a precise inventory of existing skills and align these with the strategic objectives and changing requirements of the compliance function. Training programmes and the targeted development of soft skills, business acumen and technological skills are the way forward. It is often cheaper to train someone than to procure expensive professionals. After all, they also have to keep up to date with the latest changes in the area of compliance. This is why it is important to continue to promote a culture of lifelong learning in order to keep the company's skills up to date and develop them further.
Compliance Culture meets Corporate Culture
Speaking of culture. What did Peter Drucker say? - "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." Compliance must be deeply rooted in the corporate culture. Promoting the right attitude and culture in compliance requires the development of proactive, solution-orientated and networked attitudes among all employees. Organisations need to create a culture that encourages initiative and a willingness to work together across departmental boundaries. Do away with silos - this also applies to the compliance culture. Such a culture helps employees to see themselves as part of a collective effort and thus maintain the integrity and regulatory compliance of the organisation. By creating an atmosphere that supports open communication and continuous learning, organisations are able to build a compliance culture that is not only focused on compliance, but also on achieving strategic business goals.
Corporate culture therefore plays a crucial role in compliance management by preventing non-compliant behaviour. A strong compliance culture is based on defined behaviours that support ethical behaviour and minimise non-compliance. Again, to establish such a culture, organisations need to diagnose their current culture, define clear cultural objectives, integrate both formal and informal mechanisms to support these objectives and regularly measure the effectiveness of their efforts. An effective compliance culture requires continuous commitment and adaptation to the changing needs of the business.
There are four key elements to influencing a strong compliance culture: Relationships, Mindset, Skills and Behavioural Change (see Fig 2.).
In addition, responsibility for compliance, infrastructure to enable compliance, daily compliance management and knowledge management in relation to compliance skills. These components foster an environment in which employees are motivated to make ethical decisions.
Creating an effective compliance culture requires strategic measures that go beyond the implementation of guidelines. Organisations need to foster a culture that supports ethical behaviour and encourages employees to always do the right thing. By focusing on the key elements of a compliance culture, organisations can create a foundation that both ensures compliance and has a positive impact on the company as a whole. This is because this culture also colours the corporate culture in a positive way.
Conclusion
You may be wondering why we've focused more on compliance culture and less on talent management in this article? Well, it's as follows: At the end of the day, it all ties together. A strong (and nowadays necessary) compliance culture is the best breeding ground for a solid corporate culture. A strong corporate culture is one of the strongest signals in your employer branding. And employer branding, in turn, contributes significantly to attracting talent.
That being said, if you were a compliance professional yourself, which company would you choose: a company whose solid compliance culture you can build on, or one that has caught fire in many areas of compliance? The latter is simply a high risk for potential newcomers.
In order to future-proof the compliance function, companies need to make important considerations and answer questions. These include adapting to transforming regulatory landscapes, integrating new technologies and developing a culture that sees compliance as part of the corporate strategy. Organisations should ask themselves how they can continuously develop compliance capabilities while fostering a proactive and connected work culture that goes beyond traditional compliance approaches. Securing the future of compliance requires a holistic view that combines technology, employee development and corporate culture.
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