The Many Layers of Compliance (COMMENTARY)

Compliance isn’t simple. If it were, there wouldn’t be a need for compliance officers and teams and compliance issues would be handled by non-specialists. Part of the reason that compliance is so complex is that businesses usually aren’t working with just one set of standards. Instead, “being in compliance” is often a matter of understanding, and complying with, three or more sets of laws, regulations, policies and/or guidelines.

Take trade education, for example. In my previous life as a compliance administrator for an education publisher, I had to ensure that our products complied with multiple sets of standards that included federal laws, industry education standards, state regulations, and even the policies set by state regulatory agency officials.

You can imagine that this was quite a juggling act. Particularly when one set of standards conflicted with, or appeared to conflict with, another set. Things often got really dicey when it came to interoffice interpretations. Seemingly straightforward laws and regulations could become downright Byzantine when enforced by a dedicated agency director or office manager.

Over time, I became aware that compliance wasn’t just about meeting one set of regulations and moving on. It meant researching and understanding multiple sets of regulations and figuring out how to meet all of them at the same time. It also meant explaining to my colleagues that it wasn’t good enough to meet one guideline: We had to address them all.

Here are some ideas for reckoning with compliance layers in your own business:

Identify the different guidelines that you must comply with. This can get particularly complicated if you offer multiple services or products that span different categories. 

Bring your team up to speed on the different sets of compliance guidelines, and be sure to point out certain trouble spots, such as incompatibilities between guideline sets. Incidentally, when I say “team,” I’m actually referring to your organization, not just your compliance department. Everyone, from the executive team on down, must understand this aspect of compliance.

Pay particular attention to compliance guidelines that can quickly change. It can take a while to pass or change a law. Regulations, on the other hand, are in the hands of agency commissioners who are subject to fewer restrictions than lawmakers. Interoffice policies can be even more slippery, as they can change every time the office makes a new hire.

Because of the ongoing risk of change, consider investing in a subscription to LexisNexis, which can monitor legal and regulatory trends. It’s also a good idea to develop positive relationships with the people who enforce guidelines, such as government agency workers, trade industry employees, as well as the administrative staff employed by clients. Your relationships with these people can help you stay aware of possible changes. The more you know, and the sooner you know it, the easier it will be for your company to adapt.

Compliance isn’t easy, but it is manageable. Knowing what you have to comply with is an important step in mastering your ability to both meet guidelines and avoid the consequences of failing to do so. 

Lainie Petersen previously served as a senior compliance administrator for a large educational company and is now editor of Walmart News Now.