This is a guest post by Trainual Certified Consultant Vince De Benedetto of Automated Dreams.

In today's rapidly changing business environment, the challenge for businesses to remain in tune with compliance regulations is on the rise. You're confronted with an increasing number of regulations, stricter quality standards, and the need to prevent potential legal issues. Failure to comply with these could result in harsh penalties, damage to your reputation, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

To prevent such disastrous outcomes, it’s necessary to maintain appropriate documentation, provide regular training for employees, and continually improve processes, among other measures. 

Plus, it helps to have compliance programs in place. The 2023 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report by LRN reveals that companies with effective compliance training programs are able to reduce business risks and improve business outcomes. 

Sadly, only 12% of organizations have advanced compliance and ethics training programs.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can harness Trainual’s intuitive employee training features while deploying business process management (BPM) solutions to mitigate compliance issues in your business.

What is Compliance Risk?

Compliance risk is the potential exposure of a business to fines, legal penalties, and material losses caused by a failure to comply with industry best practices, laws, and regulations. It is a risk for all businesses, regardless of their profit/non-profit status, size, or sector.

Common Types of Compliance Risks in Business

1. Privacy Breaches 

Running a business comes with handling sensitive and confidential information. So, protecting data such as intellectual property, trade secrets, and personally identifiable information of employees and customers is a top priority. Failing to prioritize and protect these sensitive pieces of information leads to potential fines and also damages trust.

2. Environmental and Sustainability Concerns

More and more, our friends and neighbors are becoming conscious shoppers. Sustainability and environmental impact are no longer afterthoughts, but deciding factors in the buying process. Many are even happy to pay a premium for products that are kind to our planet.

In response to this change in consumer mindset, it's high time to look in the mirror and ask: "Are we doing enough?" Let's not wait until we start losing customers or getting bad press. Let's proactively consider the environmental friendliness of our supply chain, the impacts of our products, and our carbon footprint.

In essence, what we do inside our organization should match up with what our customers and stakeholders want to see. It's about doing the right thing, not just because it's good for business, but because it's good for the world, too.

3. Corrupt and Illegal Practices

Addressing the risk of improper conduct in your organization is absolutely essential. This isn't just about high-level bribery but also includes everything from common fraud to embezzlement. It's all too easy to believe that "it couldn't happen here" or to trust that everyone on the team will always play by the rules.

However, it's always better to be safe than sorry. That's why it's so important to establish strong internal controls and keep an eye on your operations for any signs that something might be amiss. As the business leader, you're the one who will have to answer for anything that happens under your watch. So, let's work together to ensure we're creating a clean, fair, and transparent environment for everyone involved.

4. Improper Process Risk Management

Process risk management covers day-to-day activities like quality assurance checks and maintenance of critical machinery or IT systems. Without proper monitoring and systems, compliance breaches in these areas are inevitable. 

You’ll often face issues like incomplete or inaccurate financial reporting and missed repair schedules which increase your system’s vulnerability to hackers and systemic failure.

5. Unprofessional Workplace Behavior

Undesirable occurrences between employees and employers increase compliance risks. Discrimination by managers and colleagues leads to legal issues and often causes havoc to your brand and public perception. Other unprofessional acts such as harassment, bullying, and workplace violence are serious compliance issues that you need to address with a zero-tolerance approach. 

As a leader, you have a duty of care toward your workforce, and failing to uphold it results in severe consequences for individuals and the entire business.

6. Payment Card Data Leak

Failing to protect customer’s payment card data is a critical compliance concern in the digital business landscape. Mishandling this sensitive information will result in legal penalties and long-term reputational damage, posing significant business risks.

7. Inadequate Disaster Preparation

When you don’t proactively plan for disasters, you risk compliance issues like policy failures which expose your organization to financial risks and potential legal consequences. Failing to consider different disaster scenarios leaves you unprepared for an effective response, and this usually leads to operational disruptions and reputational damage.

Using BPM and Trainual to Manage Compliance Risks

Think of Business Process Management (BPM) as your organization's very own personal trainer. It's a structured game plan designed to whip your business processes into shape, making them as efficient and streamlined as they can possibly be.

But that's not all — BPM also plays the role of a stern, yet helpful compliance officer. It sets the rules of the game and ensures we play by them, keeping us in line with all those pesky legal and regulatory requirements that are so easy to overlook.

Now, let's delve into how BPM and Trainual can help us play it safe and sidestep compliance risks.

1. Standardization of Processes

BPM provides a structured framework for documenting and standardizing processes. This ensures compliance-related activities are consistently carried out and reduces the risk of errors or deviations from regulatory requirements. 

BPM consultants use Trainual’s employee training platform to create training modules on data privacy regulations such as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act). So, employees get to learn about the importance of safeguarding personal information, understanding consent requirements, and managing data breaches effectively.

For example, an employee who has undergone Trainual's data privacy training would know how to handle customer information securely and also avoid the mishandling of sensitive data.

2. Automation of Compliance Tasks

BPM tools help to automate repetitive compliance tasks, such as data collection, validation, and reporting.

Through automation, for instance, the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance process in banks becomes more seamless. Banks can deploy Transaction Monitoring Systems (TMS) that use predefined rules and machine learning algorithms to screen vast numbers of transactions in real-time and flag potentially suspicious activities. This automation not only accelerates the review process but also reduces human errors, and facilitates timely reporting to authorities and adherence to regulatory standards, all while saving on manual review costs.

3. Collaboration and Visibility

At fast-growing tech startups, onboarding new team members is often a challenge due to the rapidly evolving nature of products and processes. With Trainual’s intuitive collaboration features, you get to streamline your training materials into a centralized platform.

This not only standardizes the onboarding process but also fosters a collaborative environment. New hires can easily comment on training modules, ask questions, and provide feedback so everyone is on the same page. This increased visibility into the training process will allow senior team members to quickly address concerns and continuously refine the content based on real-time feedback.

4. Compliance Training Tracking and Reporting

Trainual’s tracking and reporting tools help to monitor employee compliance training completion rates and quiz scores.

For instance, in the pharmaceutical industry, where adherence to regulations is strictly monitored, it is important that employees are up-to-date with the latest compliance training. Trainual can help to automatically track each employee's progress, send reminders for upcoming training deadlines, and generate reports for internal audits and regulatory bodies.

As a result, organizations in the industry can easily demonstrate their commitment to compliance, reduce the risk of non-compliance penalties, and ensure that all team members are consistently informed about the latest industry standards and practices.

5. Monitoring and Alert Systems

Business process management consultants create monitoring and alert systems that will notify you about potential compliance issues or deviations from established processes. These systems detect anomalies in real-time and trigger alerts to relevant personnel, allowing for timely action.

6. Continuous Process Improvement

Business process management (BPM) promotes a culture of continuous process improvement, which is essential for effective compliance management. With data analysis and performance metrics provided through BPM tools, you’ll be able to identify areas for improvement and implement corrective actions.

Continuous process improvement also includes regular training for employees. With Trainual’s simplified interface, you’ll be able to build useful training materials and create a central location for your manuals and SOPs while providing easy access to employees. Trainual equally lets you customize training materials and create tracks for specific roles. This ensures employees in different departments are familiar with role-specific regulations, compliance requirements, and best practices to avoid regulatory breaches.

Plus, by keeping all your training and documentation in Trainual, updating old information and training modules is easier than ever. You can even share your changes directly with the people assigned to the content.

7. Seamless Compliance Policy Updates

Trainual ensures your compliance documentation stays fresh and up-to-date. You get to revise and propagate changes in policies quickly and update your team members of any changes to the material instantly. With this, your employees will always be in the loop and never miss a beat on compliance information.

Other Ways to Manage Compliance Risks

1. Exercise Caution When Dealing With Third Parties

Third parties, including vendors, partners, contractors, and service providers, can create compliance issues. Sharing sensitive customer data with suppliers, for instance, carries the risk of data compromise and potential liability. It is crucial to conduct a thorough check before entering into any third-party relationships to mitigate such risks effectively.

Use Trainual to manage onboarding and agreement processes with external bodies securely. It offers a centralized hub where third parties can access essential onboarding materials, policies, procedures, and training, ensuring they are adequately equipped with the necessary knowledge to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively. Trainual's e-signature feature also offers an extra layer of security and legality. Third parties can sign documents electronically within the platform, demonstrating their acknowledgment and understanding of the materials presented to them.

2. Stay Updated on Rules and Regulations

Falling behind in learning the changes to legislation and regulations that are relevant to your industry increases compliance risks. Establish clear procedures to stay informed about the latest legal and regulatory developments. This may involve attending conferences, reading industry publications, or setting up automated reminders on compliance software.

With automated reminders, you can schedule the review of specific policies or regulations at regular intervals, ensuring that you're always working with the most current information. Depending on the platform used, you can also set up notifications for any updates or changes made to these policies or regulations. This system ensures that you’re notified whenever a change is implemented. It lets you adjust your practices quickly to stay in compliance. You can equally personalize automated reminders to cater to different roles within your organization. This ensures that the relevant parties are alerted about the updates that pertain to their specific roles.

3. Promote Transparency and Open Communication

Your workforce plays a vital role in mitigating compliance risks. Encourage a culture of transparency and open communication. It is important to employ anonymous feedback loops where employees can report illegal, unethical, or unsafe practices without fear of exposure or reprisal. Creating an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking up helps reduce potential legal threats to your business.

Final Thoughts

Navigating the complex maze of compliance is no longer optional — it's a must for any organization worth its salt. Because skipping compliance management is a recipe for disaster. It's like inviting hefty penalties, a tarnished reputation, and potentially crippling liabilities to your organization's doorstep. Nobody wants that kind of house guest, do they?

Here's the good news though. And the compass guiding us through that maze? Business Process Management (BPM). When you adopt BPM methodologies and commit to continuous learning through an employee training platform like Trainual, you're not just minimizing compliance risks — you're keeping your business goals well within sight, too.

Trainual isn't just a training tool — it's like your organization's handy-dandy knowledge playbook. It comes packed with features designed to get your whole team up to speed and keep them in the loop with all the important processes and policies.

And the icing on the cake? By tapping into these useful features, you're not just reducing the likelihood of compliance incidents and risk exposure, but you're also freeing up more time to focus on what truly matters: growing your business and taking care of your workforce. Now that's a win-win!