By Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE, Revue RH&M n°58 p.42
If there is one area where success depends on the involvement and commitment of HR, it is compliance. Compliance is a system that enables companies wishing to protect themselves against certain risks to. These risks may have a financial or non-financial impact on the Group's image and reputation.. The aim is to use a range of measures to achieve this.
The fight against corruption and anti-competitive practices, as well as CSR, are the preferred areas for what are now commonly referred to as compliance programmes. These programmes originated in the practice of the American courts, and more specifically the US Department of Justice and the SEC. Legislators and regulators in the UK, Russia and Brazil also recommend them. They see it as a real methodology enabling companies to organise and protect themselves. The French competition authority and, more recently, the central service for the prevention of corruption are also in favour. They believe that a company that adopts a compliance programme will be better prepared. It will be better protected and subsequently less exposed to increasingly severe international sanctions.
A compliance programme generally refers to a set of essential, inseparable and complementary measures. The aim is to prevent certain acts through very clear policies and very precise rules and prohibitions. In addition, there are programmes to raise awareness and provide training in both competition law and anti-trust practices. There are also rules for these rules and prohibitions, internal control operations, audits and corrective action plans. The general idea is to develop within the company a culture of integrity. It is established on the basis of clear rules, advocated by top management and duly relayed by middle management, and their scrupulous implementation, under the direction and coordination of a Compliance Director.
This kind of implementation does not happen overnight Anti-bribery: This involves questioning the company's practices, some of which go back a long way, by implementing procedures, prior authorisations, more in-depth controls and sometimes prohibitions. For example, most anti-corruption procedures prohibit bribes. They also provide for a ban on all invitations or relationships likely to give the impression that the company is not hostile to bribes. Invitations to lunch are sometimes banned. This affects the conviviality of customer relations. It goes without saying that the introduction of this type of rule arouses little enthusiasm and requires a great deal of education and change management.
...Nor is it the sole responsibility of the Chairman, the Chief Compliance Officer or the management team.. In-depth work is needed, which requires the mobilisation of all management teams, whatever their level. The "role model" comes into its own here, in that the manager will not only have to demonstrate his or her support for the compliance policy, but also act as its advocate and spokesperson. What's more, they will be subject to observations and reactions regarding their own rigour. On the contrary, their own tolerance of non-compliance will set an example. The role of HR will therefore be crucial to the success of the Compliance programme:
- The design of the programme and in particular the code of ethics. It must reflect values and the way it interacts.
- Sound deploymentin France and many other countries. This very often requires consultation with the works council, CHSCT and other bodies.
- The training Ethics and compliance training must be systematic. They are also recurrent and compulsory, particularly for certain categories of employee. The latter are particularly exposed or at a high management level.
- The job profiles must include compliance obligations that are consistent with the activity of the person in question. They must also be consistent with the individual's level of exposure, the number and type of employees supervised, etc.
- Some annual targets and, in some cases, individual requirements must be defined in terms of ethics and compliance.
- Performance, understanding the issues compliance. It is a role played in the dissemination of the programme, compliance with procedures and, if necessary, the implementation of the programme. penalties for breaches must be applied.
The implementation of the ethics and compliance programme by the building and spreading a culture of integrity and the change management that goes with it...
...and more generally the link between this programme and the company's culture are just some of the areas in which a seamless collaboration between the HR department and the ethics and compliance department is essential. Otherwise, a compliance programme will become a Top/Down approach, probably dogmatic and theoretical. As a result, it will feel like a straitjacket if it cannot be integrated into the company's operations.
Blandine Cordier-Palasse in collaboration with Catherine Delhaye, co-founders, Vice-President and General Secretary of the Cercle de la Compliance.
Blandine Cordier-Palasse holds a doctorate in law and a degree from ESCP, and runs a recruitment consultancy, BCP Executive Search. Her clients include Companies in all sectors: CAC40, SBF120, others.
To find out more, click here: www.bcpsearch.com and www.lecercledelacompliance.com
