How to Keep a Culture of Compliance

By Dr. Marsha Ershaghi Hames, LRN Practice Leader in Education, Culture & Leadership Strategy and Developmenttakeaways-01

“You must weave a culture of compliance with other parts of the organization to achieve compliance and business success.”

This is a key takeaway from a panel discussion among like-minded Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) at Consero’s Corporate Compliance & Ethics Forum.  I had the pleasure of moderating the session entitled “Now That You Have Successfully Created a Corporate Culture of Compliance, What Are You Doing to Keep It?”  The CCOs of Hyundai Capital AmericaAgilentPacific Dental ServicesRoyal Caribbean Cruises, and HealthSouth shared their experiences and insights into successfully maintaining corporate cultures that keep compliance front and center.

The panelists agreed that “creating an internal dialogue and narrative in your company to increase engagement,” is another key to success. As more corporate leaders recognize the impact of organizational culture on the bottom line, they are also starting to realize just how important mid-level managers are in shaping a culture of ethical behavior.

At LRN we’ve developed a solution called Catalyzing Conversations Toolkits to help this frontline group create a consistent, effective actionable message.  These toolkits are intended to break the ice and start real conversations around issues that can pose serious risks to an organization. Providing managers with step-by-step guidance allows them to confidently facilitate a live learning session that effectively engages employees and fosters ethical behavior at every level of their organizations.

As the research illustrates, it takes courage to come forward. And the panelists agreed, behaviors must reflect a corporate culture in which all employees “do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.”  Fostering an organizational culture that promotes a safe and open space to come forward is critical to doing the right thing.  

At LRN, we believe behavior is the greatest source of competitive advantage. We help organizations build long-term economic value through elevated leadership. Click here to learn more about our solutions.