Use these five compliance tips for businesses to reduce the risk of legal problems and enhance your public trust.
Whether you’re a fresh start-up or a company that’s been operating for over a decade, staying compliant is a big challenge.
There are many reasons behind business compliance failure. For instance, a business might have a poor leadership model in place. Or, it might simply view compliance as a box-ticking (and time-consuming) exercise that doesn’t matter.
The truth is that being compliant does matter. This way, your business can stay on the right side of the law while also building trust with your customers and employees. There’s no reason not to be compliant.
So, if your organization has been struggling with industry compliance and desperately needs some help, you’ve come to the right place. Here are five expert tips designed to help businesses stay compliant and adhere to regulations.
Let’s begin!
1.Optimize Compliance Software
These days, business managers make life a lot easier for themselves by using compliance software to help them stay compliant. You can do this, too — and it all starts with GRC software.
You can learn more about GRC software at www.surecloud.com. In a nutshell, the main purpose of GRC software is to help your business comply with industry standards and regulations. Whenever there are regulation changes, the software will notify you, which then provides you with the opportunity to ask fast.
Over the coming decades, most businesses are going to be using compliance software as industry regulations become tighter and more difficult to keep up with. This is why you should start using GRC software now so that you can stay ahead of the game.
2.Hire the Services of a Lawyer
Regulatory and compliance lawyers are experts when it comes to business compliance, which is why they’re always in demand. As a business, you can also hire a lawyer if you need help complying with industry regulations. If you’re currently in legal trouble (e.g., you’re about to face a regulatory investigation), then it’s highly recommended to contact a regulatory lawyer as soon as possible.
3.Provide Employees with the Best Communication Apps
For your company to stay compliant from top to bottom, you’ll need to provide employees with the best communication apps, such as Microsoft Teams. This way, your communication standards will remain high; whenever an employee needs compliance information or training, they’ll never miss an update.
Remember, the average employee receives countless emails and messages daily, so you must have a strong communication culture throughout your company. Employees should also clearly understand that your company cares significantly about compliance, which (in turn) will help to keep them alert.
4.Focus on Employee Classification
Employee classification is beyond important when it comes to staying compliant.
For example, let’s say that you class some workers as independent contractors instead of actual employees. In some cases, this can cause major compliance problems (usually related to taxes) that you have to deal with. Whether it’s a fine or a damaged industry reputation, you’ll naturally want to avoid these types of problems at all costs, so you must be very careful when classifying employees.
Classify the worker accurately, no matter who the worker is or what role they undertake. This way, you won’t have to worry about it becoming an issue.
5. Conduct Regular Audits
The fifth and final tip is this: conduct regular business audits.
Audits provide business managers with the perfect opportunity to discover underlying red flags before they explode into something more serious. When these red flags are discovered (such as mismanaged finances), they can be handled immediately.
When it comes to auditing, you should conduct a business audit at least once a year. However, to ensure you remain as compliant as possible, conducting an audit every six months is better. You can even outsource your auditing if this is something that you don’t want to do yourself, but it will naturally require you to pay a fee.
What Happens if My Business is Non-Compliant?
This is something that depends on the specific case. However, some of the most common consequences of non-compliance for businesses include:
- Fines
- Compensation claims
- Reputational damage (that’s often very difficult to recover from)
- Loss of customers
- Loss of employees
Luckily, you won’t have to worry about any of this happening to your business, providing that you stay compliant. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the healthcare, marketing, or health and fitness industry — being compliant is key. When you remain compliant, it ultimately gives your business a better shot at being successful.