For numerous Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs), the challenge of directing employees towards the right communication channels is substantial. The compliance mandate introduces a delicate balance between adhering to regulatory requirements and accommodating employee preferences. This often arises due to potential clashes between proposed compliant solutions and employees’ favored communication methods.
Key Tensions Include:
1. Restricting Communication Channels: Enforcing limitations and capturing conversations across various communication platforms demands organizations to prevent employees from utilizing unauthorized applications or platforms. This task proves intricate due to the prevalence of numerous consumer applications used by employees for business purposes. Transitioning from familiar platforms to compliant alternatives can trigger initial resistance or pushback from employees.
This challenge is compounded by the necessity to capture, archive, and surveil conversations, rendering compliance teams limited in their capacity to manage more than a handful of channels.
2. Training on Specific Devices or Applications: Introducing new devices, platforms, or applications tailored for compliant communication necessitates comprehensive training programs. These programs are designed to familiarize employees with the tools’ functionalities, features, and best practices. Providing thorough training requires substantial time and resources, especially in the context of large workforces or geographically dispersed teams.
The mandate for using new devices or applications often requires significant behavioral changes among employees. Adapting to these changes involves not just compliance training but also an understanding of how CCOs expect employees to engage with new channels and devices.
3. Day-to-Day Operation Inconvenience: Transitioning to new devices or dedicated applications is one aspect; altering daily communication behaviors is another challenge. These new compliance-oriented approaches often deviate from employees’ natural communication choices. This misalignment impacts employee productivity and adherence. For instance, employees must juggle multiple communication tools, follow specific protocols or guidelines, and navigate unfamiliar interfaces. Such adjustments can momentarily disrupt workflow efficiency and overall productivity.
4. Upkeep for New Applications and Regulations: Emerging compliance directives or features in chat applications frequently demand adjustments to ensure dedicated applications remain compliant. Keeping up with evolving regulations and integrating new chat applications entails revising existing communication policies, procedures, and technologies. These revisions may require substantial updates, additional security measures, and heightened monitoring capabilities. Aligning organizational practices with new compliance requirements is often resource-intensive and time-consuming.
5. Organizational Tensions between Compliance and Employees: The juxtaposition of compliance requirements against employee communication preferences can lead to internal conflicts within organizations. Employees might resist changes that disrupt their accustomed communication methods. The introduction of compliant channels could be perceived as overly restrictive. Striking a balance between compliance needs and employee convenience hinges on effective communication, transparency, and engagement from management.
6. Natural Communication across Consumer Applications: Employees tend to gravitate toward familiar consumer applications due to their convenience and user-friendly features. However, integrating these applications into business operations while ensuring compliance presents a challenge. The inability to leverage preferred channels for business communication can lead to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and reduced employee satisfaction.
In the realm of messaging, finding equilibrium between regulatory adherence and employee satisfaction remains a central challenge for compliance officers. Addressing these challenges requires innovative solutions that enable seamless, compliant communication while respecting employees’ natural communication inclinations.