Core competency in compliance: communication

Well-managed compliance protects companies from criminal offenses, rule violations, unethical behavior, and the associated financial losses and reputational damage. However, even the most sophisticated compliance organization can only be effective if the communication is right. Through transparent information and a trusting exchange, communication bridges the gap between the rulebook and acceptance within the company. Compliance management can only be successful when everyone is informed about the regulations, obligations, codes of conduct, and responsibilities, can understand the rules, and supports the associated goals.

The right communication concept

Compliance communication is aimed at all employees. To ensure it is effective and targeted, the way these topics are conveyed to the team is crucial. Compliance can only bear fruit in a company if the leadership team leads by example, following the "tone from the top" principle, and embodies compliance principles in a credible and exemplary manner. The clear goal of compliance communication is to create the greatest possible transparency and a high level of acceptance within the company for shared values and an awareness of potential risks. The focus areas of compliance are individual and broad, depending on the company and industry. They range from handling customer gifts and secure data protection to established internal rules. To inform all employees about relevant compliance rules and sensitize them to compliance topics, communication is methodically structured with the right mindset and the appropriate conversational environment. Compliance management ensures that all relevant regulations are clearly formulated and can be implemented in legally secure, agile work processes. Communication ensures that everyone in the company adheres to the rules and guidelines, creates broad acceptance, and ensures that the entire team acts in accordance with business goals.

Between rules and trust: Communicating compliance within the team

Internal communication ensures that all employees know what they are allowed to do and what they are not, what internal rules exist, and which behaviors the company values. It is very important to motivate the team to follow the rules in order to act in line with the established business goals and corporate culture. Internal compliance communication is a balancing act between employee control and employee motivation, between a "hard" and "soft" tone. On one hand, it is important that employees take compliance rules seriously, accept them, and are aware of the sanctions. However, if employees feel they are being overly regulated and controlled, they are more likely to undermine the rules. That is why trust and transparent communication are key success factors. The communication concept should aim to establish both a rule-based and a trust-based culture. As the term "communication" implies, this is not about the one-sided imposition of rules, but about dialogue and mutual exchange.

Achieving goals with the right communication tools

As an essential component of governance, communication conveys the company's mission statement and guidelines to the target audience via various tools and channels. To reach everyone at all levels, it is important to take different work situations into account. Compliance requirements can only be lived if they are easy to implement in the individual's daily work routine. Compliance communication can take place through various channels—such as brochures, newsletters, podcasts, or the intranet. A mandatory component for management is to seek direct, personal exchange with employees. This builds acceptance and understanding of the guidelines because it becomes possible to discuss and illustrate the context in specific work situations. This can take place through advisory dialogues, employee reviews, and workshops. To ensure that employees can also exchange questions directly, it is important that they know the relevant contact persons and feel that their concerns are handled with trust. Employees should be able to use the internal, anonymized whistleblower system for specific reports of misconduct, as required by the EU Whistleblower Directive for every company with 50 or more employees.

Success factors of compliance communication

• The right strategy: Development of a communication concept and selection of communication channels.
• Trust and role-model function: A trust-based leadership culture is essential for compliance to work in a company. In other words, those responsible for compliance must themselves live out compliance and the associated corporate values.
• Transparent communication: It is important that rules are presented in a practical and vivid way, providing guidance rather than confusion. It is also important to clarify the intention behind the regulations—employees must understand and comprehend why they are allowed or not allowed to do certain things. This ensures that compliance requirements are met with understanding and acceptance.
• Practical relevance: It must be ensured that compliance rules and corporate values are in harmony with daily operations.
• Continuity: The importance of compliance measures, with their laws, rules, and individual behavioral norms, is ideally repeated consistently through various channels and, if necessary, expanded and updated. Only in this way can a sustainable compliance culture emerge.

THE MAK'ED TEAM supports medium-sized companies in the development and implementation of compliance management and the appropriate communication strategy.

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