By Blandine CORDIER-PALASSE, Revue RH&M n°54 p.52
After the United States, it is now Europe's turn to witness the emergence of a new profession, the Compliance Officer. Far from being a censor, the recruitment specialist will have to identify the guarantor of a company's DNA.
Necessity is often the law. BNP Paribas and Alstom are the most recent examples of the risks faced by major groups. The subject also concerns medium-sized companies. This is less visible in the media when a malfunction affects their image and reputation. The effect is to jeopardise their long-term survival.
Within companies, the development of increasingly complex national and international regulations and standards is leading to the emergence of a new and increasingly important figure with a central and strategic role: the Compliance Officer.
What is the role of the Compliance Officer?
Under the impetus of the board of directors and management, human resources managers now have a particularly important role to play in helping their company avoid pitfalls. It is up to them to find the rare pearl and not to make a mistake in the profile they are looking for. It is not uncommon for financial institutions to limit their search to compliance managers. Although very useful to their companies, compliance managers are nevertheless limited to monitoring compliance with regulations.
The role of the Compliance Officer in the company goes far beyond this, with real operational and cross-functional dimensions. This role is considered to be that of certifying business. They are conducted in accordance with the legislation and regulations in force. To this must be added compliance with professional rules and ethical behaviour. For others, it is to ensure that business is conducted with diligence, loyalty, fairness and ethics. Finally, some favour a vision based on the identification and management of global risks, not only legal or regulatory, but also reputational. In all cases, most consider risk awareness, training and advice to be an essential part of their mission.
In fact, they are all right, because a good Compliance Officer has to fulfil all these roles at once, in all their demands and complexity.
An ideal candidate?
Recruitment specialists know that the right candidate will combine an excellent knowledge of the company's activities, a great ability to adapt, an open and inquisitive mind, and a good sensitivity to people, different cultures and changing rules.
These include their ability to listen to candidates, and their ability to understand and analyse complex issues. Added to this is the candidate's ability to make proposals. These are also qualities that recruiters appreciate. A good Compliance Officer will have to work within complex rules and standards. These are sometimes contradictory, depending on the geographical area and the culture. It is up to them to analyse them and report back to their management. The aim is to help them make the right decisions, to avoid putting their company at odds.
What's more, these qualities often have to be sought externally. The newness of this profession sometimes leads companies to turn initially to an 'in-house' profile. There are some excellent professionals who are well versed in legal and business cultures. They are perfectly suited to training in the issues and problems of compliance. They can also be given support at the start of their assignment. One of their strengths is their knowledge of the company and its challenges, its strategy and culture, and the sometimes subtle balances of power within it. They will also benefit from the legitimacy that comes from having been with the company for a long time and from the support of their management.
However, the support of the Board of Directors must not hinder their independence or the impartiality of their judgement. They must not be influenced by internal or external pressure, or by their own interests. The multi-disciplinary team can be built around this profile by bringing in complementary skills from outside. To this can be added technical, geographical and cultural expertise.
It would be particularly inappropriate, and often counterproductive in court, to set up a "cosmetic ethics" compliance programme that is not real. The credibility of the company is at stake. The Compliance Officer's ultimate task may be to sanction strategic decisions, practices, employees or suppliers. But all this must be done in a way that everyone understands. It may be a question of the overall interests of the company in a long-term perspective. It's not just about censoring operational initiatives.
Finding an excellent Compliance Officer is a highly skilled recruitment task. This mission is commensurate with the ambitions of the programme. The candidate will have to set it up or continue it: a great challenge. A challenge that cannot be ignored.
