Culturing compliance and clarity?

How can we build a culture of compliance in the built environment? In this blog James Bradley, discusses why clarity is the first step towards a fail-safe culture of compliance in the built environment.

Compliance is not part of the corporate vocabulary in the same way that health and safety is, but why is this the case?

Nearly all institutions provide some level of compulsory training, often with a five-minute video or small booklet explaining standard procedure. But simply ticking a box in this way once a year fails to establish proactive vigilance among a workforce. The problem is this kind of unintended negligence can, as we know, lead to serious failures.

Recent events have brought built environment compliance right into the mainstream’s consciousness. While this has undoubtedly raised the profile of corporate regulation among the wider public, we’re still a long way off the idea of a ‘culture of compliance’ – the kind of ‘buy-in’ whereby colleagues naturally put regulatory concerns to the front of their minds when going about their day to day. So, what, if anything, can be done?

Educating staff in a way that’s dynamic, and therefore memorable, is vital. Granted, learning about compliance for an entire afternoon may not delight an employee with a full to-do list, but a more engaging approach will make it feel less like a chore and instead like something which is actually helping them to make a difference.

Technology clearly has a key role to play here. It’s well known that younger generations now expect a level of tech capability similar to that encountered in their personal lives. These colleagues, which now make up the largest portion of the UK’s working demographic, demand the same convenience in their office as they experience when at home. Harnessing things like software and apps, then, provides organisations with a prime opportunity to get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Particularly emerging generations of workers who have yet to develop less-than-judicious habits around the maintenance of standards.

While technology may not completely solve the cultural compliance issue, it will certainly give the workforce the clarity they so often need in order to do their jobs properly. All too often, a state of non-compliance is squarely down to the fact that colleagues are unsure about who did what and when, and if anything needs looking at again. Luckily, this can all be avoided with the right kinds of tools.

Making compliance more convenient and accessible will ultimately discourage individuals from leaving anything to chance as it’s far more difficult to confuse what actually needs attention and what does not. This kind of structure provides everyone with a much clearer picture of their obligations, ultimately building the foundations a better regulatory culture.

A SaaS based platform like Cati does just this. It offers staff an easily accessible location for not just building compliance but also other regulatory matters like lease management and data security. What’s more, when using Cati businesses create a complete trail of evidence for complete auditability and total peace of mind.

Get in contact to find out how Cati can build a culture of compliance for your business.