Many organizations overlook the importance of a compliance culture. The reality is that a compliance culture has a direct bearing on how compliance is treated by all staff. In my experience, the weaker the compliance culture, the more instances of non-compliance that will surface. Some of these are minor, some are more serious, resulting in fines and negative publicity.
Where the compliance culture in an organization is weak or non-existent, some signals could be:
- no written compliance policy which was formally endorsed by the board or governing body.
- Compliance reporting is sporadic, inconsistent, and usually incomplete.
- Instances of non-compliance are not reported to the governing body or board.
- Instances of non-compliance that result in fines.
- Staff tend to know little about the compliance function (if there is one). Staff are hardly aware of any compliance policy.
- Hotlines and other platforms to report alleged improprieties are perceived by staff to be ineffective.
- Written policies are dated, for example, referring to King III instead of IV. Failing to incorporate new and amended legislation where it is necessary to do so (the Disaster Management Act and Regulations come to mind).
Compliance culture or a lack thereof is often rooted in how compliance has been perceived by management teams over the years that the organization has been in existence. This makes addressing the issue of compliance culture exceptionally difficult because it is systemic in nature.
With the return to the work place of about 8 million workers in South Africa, compliance culture will be the difference between compliance and non-compliance with the Disaster Management Regulations, other applicable laws, and guidelines. We can all agree that compliance here is quite literally a matter of life, ill health or even death. Perhaps the occasion will illuminate why the topic of compliance culture is anything but academic.
