TechLearn Insider

Counter Compliance Complexities Using On-Demand Technology 

By Adam Miller

Having to meet the demands of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has brought compliance into a new light for many organizations. After the initial rush to amend processes and educate executives, companies are now faced with finding more effective ways to deliver mandated compliance training across the enterprise. Moreover, navigating the maze of compliance mandates extends beyond SOX.

The challenges include reducing the costs associated with compliance, increasing compliance rates and minimizing exposure to risks. Today’s business leaders recognize that opportunity exists in the shadow of even the most colossal challenges. Not surprisingly, the role of technology continues to expand.

Today’s Technology Answers a Multitude of Challenges

Current best practice compliance management software is available on demand. It can be integrated with learning management tools and other elements of integrated talent management systems. Such integration can lead to time and cost savings as you determine what compliance training to deliver and how to deliver it.

Integrated talent management systems provide an easy solution for delivering training and administering compliance and certification programs. Business is faced with the need to manage multiple types of certification and compliance issues among their various business units. Firms must stay on top of everything from an internal, one-time training requirement to complex licenses, certifications, permits and other designations required by an industry, state government or federal regulatory body.

One-Time Certifications

Compliance management tools include those for one-time compliance requirements, whether driven by external regulation or internal mandates. One-time certification management systems can track any type of industry-related or non-industry specific compliance training, including the types of activities often mandated by such internal company initiatives as the following:

• Sarbanes-Oxley defense;
• Human resources directives, including state-regulated workplace harassment training;
• Human resources administration, including acknowledgements of employee handbooks and e-mail communications policies;
• IT training compliance, including disaster recovery and security.

Compliance management systems integrated with a learning management system are able to administer and track instructor-led training, as well as deliver online training and other documentation required for compliance and regulatory requirements.

One benefit to integrating compliance management with an on-demand integrated talent management system is that some vendors offer pre-integrated training courses, which are immediately available and satisfy a variety of requirements, from general HR to industry-specific compliance training. Because these courses are pre-integrated, you can purchase training courses through a more cost-effective means of delivery. And, because the training is delivered online, individuals can easily access it,, helping to increase compliance rates.

Multi-Year Certifications

Compliance management software also delivers tools to track recurring, renewal-based, and multi-year designations. These applications support continuing education programs, acknowledging that CE credits can vary from industry to industry, state to state, and year to year. An on-demand system acts as a toolkit to allow different organizations operating in different regulatory environments to build customizable programs.

Compliance management systems allow firms from any vertical industry to create compliance programs that match externally controlled requirements—sch as CPA, CFP, and CLE learning credits—with existing training content (whether classroom-based, e-learning, or otherwise). More importantly, the application can track non-traditional CE credits (attending meetings, videos, etc.).

Audit Management

For companies that interact with regulatory bodies, leading compliance management technologies should include the following:

• Audit Trail and Electronic Signatures : Compliance management provides complete audit trail, electronic record, and electronic signature capabilities. Even under the most rigorous regulatory environments, these platforms can provide information to offer protection during audits.
• Online Automated Surveys: For internal audits, on-demand compliance management delivers online survey capabilities for dynamic assessments or surveys, including those for employee reliability tracking. These tools support such complex requirements as delivery randomization; specified percentage of employees receiving a survey; and iteration of the same survey for the necessary number of subordinates.

Enterprise Reporting and E-Mail Reminders

Once compliance programs are set, robust reporting capabilities are essential to track status and progress against program requirements. The ability to track completion and expiration of certifications, licenses, permits, accreditations, and more is also necessary to increase visibility and to minimize the repercussions of non-compliance, such as potential fines. Organizations must have the ability to see, at a glance, compliance status, and where there may be risk.

In addition to reporting, automatic e-mail reminders are useful to both users and managers as a means to inform them of open compliance requirements, helping to increase completion ratios for training while simplifying the administrative process.

Ensure Vendor Meets Required Objectives

More organizations recognize the increasingly cumbersome administrative process of compliance training—from delivery to management to reporting. Administrators are charged with ensuring that training operations are efficient, effective and current. Faced with this imposing triumvirate, the prospect of an outsourced solution appears a logical and hopefully trouble-free approach.

Now accept the next challenge: determining if the vendor capabilities meet the objectives. Questions to ask when qualifying a compliance management solution should focus on its viability and organizational fit. Some high-level examples include the following:

• How does the vendor guarantee up-to-date expertise?
• How can the vendor help your business reduce administrative overhead associated with risk and compliance management?
• How does the vendor help your business manage the solution and concurrently provide accountability?
• How can the vendor help your business increase compliance rates? Ask for an explanation of measurement system and tools.
• How does the vendor minimize your organization’s exposure to risk? Ask for real examples, such as fewer audits and fines.
• How is employee participation and responsibility encouraged? Ask how the solution delivers visibility of compliance programs throughout the organization.

As today’s organizations continue to allocate budgets to meet and maintain compliance requirements, qualifying the solution is key. Selecting a compliance management application delivers the simultaneous benefits of decreasing compliance costs while increasing compliance.  A l comprehensive approach to compliance management includes support for one-time requirements; ongoing, multi-year certifications and licenses; and the flexibility to track internal and external compliance issues.  Finally, and most importantly, ask how the proposed solution delivers enterprise-wide reporting to give you visibility into the state of compliance across your organization as well as deep within any business unit or branch office.

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Adam Miller is president and chief executive at Cornerstone OnDemand.