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7 Steps to Enhance Compliance Management for Your Business

By Safna January 27, 2025

Expert reviewed

7 Steps to Enhance Compliance Management for Your Business

Have you thought about compliance as a growth driver? For most businesses, it is just an obligation or a checklist exercise- but for leaders, it is an opportunity or an ally. That is why we have curated this actionable blog for you. This is not another dry manual- it is a dynamic guide to understanding and mastering compliance management.

What is compliance management?

Compliance management is a systematic arrangement involving developing, implementing and monitoring organisational policies and procedures to comply with various regulatory requirements such as federal and local laws. 

Integrating compliance management systems into a business’s daily operations saves them from legal risks while streamlining their functioning, securing their data and building trust with customers and stakeholders.

The scope of compliance management depends on varying factors such as geographical location, business type, and applicable laws.

Examples of compliance management

Data privacy compliance

Businesses managing personal data must comply with regional privacy regulations like California’s CCPA and the EU’s GDPR to protect citizens’ data from unauthorised use.

Healthcare compliance

Hospitals and health services must comply with certain regulations like HIPAA in the US and PHIPA in Canada.

Financial compliance

Organisations in the financial sector like banks should comply with laws such as anti-money laundering regulations.

Why is compliance management important for businesses?

Here are some compelling reasons why compliance management transforms your business operations.

Reduce legal compliance risks

For most advanced jurisdictions, compliance management is crucial as they focus on regulating their economies to protect their citizens from unethical practices. This is primarily done by enacting laws and regulations.

Non-compliance with these specific regulations can cause litigations, associated costs, fines, and reputational damage. Therefore, effective compliance management reduces non-compliance risks by ensuring conformity with regulatory requirements.

Increasing complexity of regulations

In a time of increasingly complex and region-specific regulations, a comprehensive compliance management program brings in countless advantages. It helps companies track, understand, and adapt to the evolving regulatory environment.

Additionally, compliance management systems automate parts of the compliance process, therefore, reducing manual efforts and saving a lot of time.

Access to opportunities

Many clients prioritise partnering with legally compliant and committed companies. Therefore, for B2B businesses, compliance management is also an opportunity to build portfolios and expand their business. Similarly, compliance management reduces legal friction during international trades or data transfers by complying with diverse laws while maintaining consistency.

Reputation and brand value

When a business engages in ethical and legally compliant operations, its brand value also increases. This helps them stand out in a competitive market.

Find out the benefits of GDPR compliance for businesses with customers in the EU

Operational efficiency

Compliance management mostly involves standardised procedures documented in compliance policies. They streamline workflows, reduce errors and improve productivity, thus achieving better resource utilisation and results.

Employee morale

Promoting compliance activities fosters ethical behaviour and a sense of accountability among employees leading to a more collaborative and productive work atmosphere.

Risk mitigation

Regulatory compliance, particularly with privacy and cybersecurity laws plays a key role in risk management. It helps detect vulnerabilities and mitigate risks such as data breaches, operational disruptions and financial losses.

7 steps to enhance compliance management

Compliance management may not be one-size-fits-all, but these shortcuts and insights will help you tackle compliance challenges smarter, whether you are navigating the complexities of healthcare or addressing the unique demands of a growing small business.

#1 Understand the compliance requirements

Accurate and updated information regarding legal requirements is one of the stepping stones to a great compliance program. 

Start by identifying the laws that apply to your business. This includes local, national or even international laws and regulations. For example, privacy laws like GDPR, PIPEDA or HIPAA impose strict data protection standards for businesses handling personal data. 

Remember that compliance is an ongoing process and requires regular review of the current practices to match the evolving legal framework. Consulting a legal expert, following regulatory authorities, and networking with similar businesses and professionals can help you in the process.

#2 Conduct a compliance audit

After identifying the applicable laws, analyse your position of compliance. Is it non-compliant, baseline compliant or proactive compliant? If you don’t know yet, conduct a comprehensive audit. This helps identify compliance issues, risks and areas of improvement while also acting as a foundation for your tailored compliance program.

#3 Create a robust compliance program

Develop internal policies and procedures that align with the compliance regulations. Use management tools wherever necessary. 

Also, ensure that your compliance program addresses at least the following:

Compliance leadership

You may appoint a compliance officer or a dedicated team to oversee your compliance efforts, identify compliance challenges and allocate resources for compliance management. 

Compliance policies

A well-drafted policy provides practical solutions and a clear framework of expected behaviours, helping employees understand their roles in compliance management. It would also bring clarity, streamline business operations and act as proof of compliance efforts.

Regular monitoring

Develop a guideline for periodic review and monitoring of the program’s implementation. This will ensure that the organisation works in accordance with compliance policies and aids speedy detection of any misconduct.

Risk assessment

This is a crucial part of your compliance program as it systematically discovers, evaluates and addresses possible risks associated with your business processes. 

Creating an effective risk assessment plan involves:

  • Identifying ways to discover vulnerabilities or risk contact points
  • Evaluating current policies, procedures and technologies used
  • Assessing risk gaps and prioritising them
  • Automating certain controls like monitoring and notifying risks
  • Revise your plan to align with the new regulatory requirements

Third-party compliance

The compliance of your service providers and other third parties that you partner with is just as important as yours. Therefore, ensure that you engage with companies that adhere to region-specific and industry-standard compliance requirements.

#4 Train employees about compliance 

Your workforce plays an integral role in maintaining regulatory compliance, as they are the ones primarily responsible for carrying out the majority of your business operations. Therefore, a knowledgeable team is essential for compliance success. To accomplish this, conduct compliance training sessions, webinars and interactive classes tailored to specific roles. This would help teams address compliance risks effectively and promptly.

Include real-world scenarios to improve engagement and understanding. Additionally, create channels to update the employees whenever there is any change in applicable laws or your compliance program.

#5 Leverage technology and tools

Managing compliance is a multifaceted and tedious process, even for small businesses or startups. But the plain-as-day remedy to this challenge is leveraging automated compliance management systems.

Fortunately, there are many saas platforms offering compliance solutions. Some of the popular ones belong to niches like consent management, data mapping software, risk assessment solutions, etc.

Data privacy laws are one of the rapidly evolving regulations and cookie compliance is a dual focus. This is particularly because businesses struggle to comply with the requirements while enforcers intensify their scrutiny.

The main challenge is the need to comply with multiple regulations, particularly when you are entering the global market. CookieYes is a very useful tool in that manner as it automates cookie compliance for businesses.

Turn compliance into confidence

  • Customisable consent banner
  • Global privacy compliance
  • Proactive solution for consent management
  • Granular consent options
  • Auto-block third-party cookies
  • Convenient consent withdrawal
  • Consent logs for compliance
  • Google-certified CMP and IAB TCF v2.2 compliant

#6 Compliance monitoring and audits

Here are a few steps to include in your compliance management plan:

  • Conduct internal audits to ensure the compliance program is being followed
  • Use Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your compliance measures
  • Leverage automation tools and technologies to monitor compliance
  • Encourage employees to report any possible compliance risks
  • Foster a culture of compliance within your organisation
  • Maintain a detailed and complete document of all audits for future reference and to demonstrate compliance
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of your training programs and make necessary changes. 

#7 Keep yourself updated with evolving laws

Do the following to keep up with the evolving legal landscape:

  • Subscribe to regulatory alerts by signing up for newsletters or notifications from regulatory agencies such as the European Data Protection Board
  • Invest in continuous learning by participating in webinars, workshops, conferences and training sessions
  • Engage in industry-focused initiatives for continuous improvement
  • Implement effective compliance software for real-time regulatory updates and proactive compliance
  • Hire a legal team to lead and manage the compliance needs of your business
  • Join and collaborate with industry experts and associations
  • Establish a compliance calendar to track upcoming deadlines and anticipated regulatory updates

Long-term benefits of enhanced compliance practices

Here are the key sustainable benefits that investing in compliance management can bring to your business:

  • Minimise legal consequences: Reduces the likelihood of fines and lawsuits with effective compliance management and accurate documentation
  • Brand reputation: Builds brand credibility, customer loyalty and great business opportunities
  • Operational effectiveness: Compliance management reduces redundancies, streamlines operations, and simplifies workflows helping long-time goals
  • Future-driven growth: Positions your business as ethical and compliant driving growth opportunities and partnerships in any competitive market
  • Sustainability: Businesses with compliance as a core strategy adapt faster to industry-specific regulatory changes, ensuring resilience in dynamic markets
  • Data protection: Ensures robust security measures and minimises data security threats

FAQ on compliance management

What are the most common compliance challenges businesses face?

The most common compliance challenges include keeping up with the evolving laws, integrating compliance into day-to-day operations, lack of resources (especially for startups), reviews and audits, etc.

What are some real-world examples of compliance violations and their consequences?

The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) imposed a 5 million euro fine on TikTok for failing to adhere to its Data Protection Act by not enabling users to decline cookies on its site.

Wells Fargo was fined $1.8 billion for illegally charging consumers with fees and interests on loans and unauthorisedly freezing accounts. 

What are the main elements of a compliance management system?

The following are the key elements of a compliance management system:

  • Compliance governance to manage and oversee the compliance management
  • A compliance program to guide on procedures and practices that ensure adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
  • Compliance audits and monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the compliance program and identify any gaps or associated risks

Photo of Safna

Safna

Safna Y Yacoob is a lawyer turned data privacy writer. At CookieYes, she transforms complex privacy regulations into actionable insights for businesses. On off-hours, find her brightening days with one-liners, spinning playlists, or watching feel-good movies.

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