Regulatory compliance refers to an organization’s adherence to set laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to its business processes. According to some scholars, regulatory compliance describes the goal that organizations aim to achieve to ascertain that they are aware of and take the necessary steps to comply with relevant laws, policies and regulations.
Why Regulatory Compliance is Essential to A Business
In the past, many businesses brimming with potential have been forced to shut down as a result of failing to adhere to the set laws. It’s a well-known fact that for a business to succeed, it must adhere to set regulations. As much as rules are usually viewed as burdensome, regulatory compliance is of great importance to a business. Here’s why.
Reduced Legal Issues
When a business fails to comply with the set regulations, they usually face fines, penalties, lawsuits, and even work stoppages. In some cases, some businesses have been completely shut down due to consistently flouting set rules. To avoid suffering such a fate, it’s essential that a business complies fully with the regulations. If you’re starting a business, it’s advisable that you contact a professional regulatory compliance expert. By doing so, he/she can help you know the legal obligations that your business is required to fulfill.
Enhanced Safety
Unknown to many business owners, several business rules and regulations can be of massive help to them. For example, although many business people disregard the importance of harassment and discrimination rules, they have enabled conducive environments to prosper in many organizations. It’s common knowledge that when a company’s working environment is conducive, its employees excel. Another example is about rules regarding safety and security. On many occasions, due to their regulatory compliance, companies have avoided the loss of life when faced with hazardous situations.
Improved Public Relations
Trust is an essential part of building any successful business. When you comply with the set rules and regulations, you enhance the level of trust your customers and even your stakeholders have in your business. It’s worth noting that many people view regulatory compliance as a measure of dependability and trustworthiness. As such, the more customers trust a firm, the more prosperous the business becomes. If you’d like to better the public’s perception about your business, ensure it meets all its legal obligations.
Increased Employee Retention
No company wishes to lose valuable employees. Many business compliance rules and regulations touch on protecting employees. By implementing these rules and regulations, the company is bound to have a conducive working environment. As mentioned before, a business with a conducive working environment tends to have productive employees. When an employee feels valued and protected, he/she is likely to stay at that given company. In the past, several companies have collapsed due to losing their valuable employees to their competitors. By practicing regulatory compliance and implementing rules meant to protect your employees, you can rest assured your business won’t suffer such a predicament.
Steps to Follow Before Hiring A Given Regulatory Compliance Expert
If you’re contemplating hiring a compliance expert, there are certain steps that you should follow. These steps are precautionary. As such, by following them, you’d be simply carrying out due diligence. Listed below are some of the said steps.
Seek Referrals
When looking for a regulatory complianceexpert that you can rely on to be of assistance, it’s essential that you seek referrals from fellow business owners. References are quite vital as they narrow the list of experts you can choose from. Over the last couple of years, the number of individuals claiming to be compliance experts has increased. This has made it pretty challenging for business owners looking to hire compliance experts as not all of the individuals who claim to be good at what they do are as good as they claim. By simply seeking referrals, you can easily avoid being a victim of the unqualified crooks posing as compliance experts.
Go Through the References’ Backgrounds
After getting the references, it’s vital to conduct thorough background checks on all of them. Background checks are pretty critical. Through background checks, you can learn more about those experts suggested to you by your fellow business owners. You can also get to learn about each of the reference’s nature, track record, level of experience, and a lot more information. Using this information, you can easily know which of the suggested regulatory complianceexperts is worth engaging and which ones are not.
Review Past Client Feedback
Apart from conducting thorough background checks on the suggested compliance experts, it’s advisable that you also review their past clients’ feedback. It’s logical to assume that a compliance officer with fantastic past clients’ reviews is better at his/her duties than one with negative reviews. Judging by his/her past clients’ reviews, you can easily discern whether or not a given regulatory compliance expert is worth engaging.
Ask the Right Questions
Prior to settling on a given regulatory compliance officer, it’s essential to ask your preferred compliance officer certain questions. One of the vital questions you should ask a compliance officer when interviewing him/her is whether or not he/she has certifications as proof of training. It would be best if you also asked about his/her level of experience as well as his/her track record. Legitimate, reliable, and trustworthy regulatory complianceofficers never hesitate to share their credentials. If you interview one and notice he/she chooses to deflect rather than answer these questions mostly, it’s in your best interest to not hire him/her.
Qualities of A Good Regulatory Compliance Expert
In recent years, there has been an increased demand for compliance experts. If you’re one of those in need of a regulatory compliance expert, here are some of the factors that you should consider before hiring one.
Broad Thinker
Your regulatory compliance officer-of-choice should be able to give you a wide range of advice. He/she should be able to evaluate and recommend the right kind of regulatory policies suitable for your business. By hiring an officer who has proven to have in-depth analytical ability across all fields, you can rest assured that you’ll forever be well informed and well served.
Trustworthy
Your preferred compliance officer should be one you can quickly establish a cordial relationship with. Successful compliance officers are normally the ones that serve the interests of their clients before their own. As much as it is imperative that you choose a compliance expert that is both reliable and with a proven record of service delivery, it’s essential that you settle on one, you can fully trust.
Passionate
A good regulatory complianceexpert should be one with a vast interest in the field of legal regulations. Passion fuels him/her to learn more about the industry regularly. Learning makes the advisor aware of new legal obligations that you should be aware of. Advisors should always be responsive to alternations in the market and their implications on your set goals and objectives. With this, they can make the necessary twitches and enhancements to keep you on track to success,
A Global View
Paying attention to details is pretty important. However, it’s worth noting that as important as paying attention to details is, people who work in compliance must also see the bigger picture. This makes it easy to tell what smaller details will matter in the long run.
If looking for a compliance expert to widen your knowledge regarding the obligations your business has to meet, simply follow the steps and consider the factors mentioned above. You won’t regret making these considerations.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.