Whether your regulatory compliance department is a team of one or 100, the evolution of work over the last two years has probably presented some unique and unexpected challenges for your financial firm. Literally overnight, broker dealers, RIAs, ERAs and other financial advising offices shut their doors and instructed their employees to work remotely…indefinitely. And that changed compliance programs for good.
In our recent Virtual Customer Summit, the audience reported that 65% currently work in a hybrid environment, while 10% are completely remote and the remaining 25% are fully back in the office. So, what does this mean for you? Compliance departments must be agile enough to address ongoing challenges and risk points regardless of their working environment.
How your regulatory compliance department can navigate remote and hybrid work environments
While remote work comes with quite a few inherent bonuses – a two-minute commute to your desk or couch being at the very top – it does create new challenges for compliance departments who, in the past, relied on their ability to interact with employees directly.
So, how can you alleviate this aggravation?
1.Create new methods of communications.
Prior to the pandemic, the majority of financial firms functioned primarily in-office. Which meant if you needed something from an employee, you could simply walk to their desk. But in today’s remote world, you have to get a little more creative. We suggest holding office hours, creating a specific Slack or Teams channel for any compliance questions and generally creating an environment that opens the door to two-way communication.
2. Prioritize consistent onboarding and training.
Never before have onboarding and training been so important. With everyone working from their home office (whatever that might mean), employee education is a must to ensure the entire firm stays up to date on the latest compliance requirements and risk points. Because, like we said in the point above, you can’t just walk over to their desk and remind them of their compliance obligations.
3. Integrate a regulatory compliance technology.
Can you imagine the disfunction of remote work without Zoom? Simply put, technology provides the means to work remotely. And regulatory compliance technology is no different. By investing in a strategic, detail-oriented compliance solution, you enable your team to continue to mitigate risk, whenever and wherever they may be.
Hybrid and remote work have become the new standard across multiple industries. Ready to see how ComplySci can help you achieve compliance for years to come, all while navigating the work environments of today and tomorrow? Schedule a demo!