A compliance manager is someone who will keep the ethical and legal integrity of your company intact with program planning and policy enforcement. This type of manager will make sure that all departments in the business are complying with the regulations and rules that the company upholds. These managers are also responsible for keeping up with the changing laws and preparing reports for upper management that explain these laws and how the company and employees are following them.
Responsibilities of the Compliance Manager
A compliance manager will work to identify any issues with ethics and legality within a company and work to fix these issues effectively and quickly. Depending on the industry and where these problems occur, there can be serious complaints and issues that result in the firing of employees or other legal consequences if the rules are broken. Managers will work with management to make sure that there are strategies in place to deal with any compliance issues before they occur, to help preserve the integrity and reputation of the company.
Compliance managers are responsible for making and enforcing plans that are related to the legal and ethical behavior of the company. Managers are also responsible for assigning different sections of this work to other members of the compliance team if such a team exists in the company. Managers set up group meetings to make sure teams are on track. Compliance managers must set short-term and long-term goals for their department, to help make sure no illegal activities are occurring within the workplace.
Managers must recognize if there is an ethics breach that occurs within the company. If there is a breach, managers need to use their knowledge and professionalism to decide the fates of those who are involved in the breach. Compliance managers must see that if there is illegal or unethical conduct in the workplace and ensure that it is dealt with immediately. Compliance managers help those in upper management with termination or punishment and help them make the final personnel decision.
Compliance members need to be responsible for proper education and training and creating an employee handbook that helps articulate the policies and procedures and how business should be conducted. There should be scheduled HR compliance audits done, to keep an eye out for any problems.
Compliance managers don’t necessarily work in Human Resources. There are often other areas where compliance managers are necessary. Financial departments can hire compliance managers to see that the Finance department is running well. Manufacturing companies will also use compliance managers to see that all departments are running without any unethical behavior or corruption. In the production world, compliance managers are used to making sure that safety regulations are followed.
Levels of Responsibility
There are two different levels of responsibility for compliance managers. Level one is compliance with external rules given to the organization. Level two is compliance with internal systems that are imposed to attain compliance with the regulations imposed externally.
Personality Traits of Compliance Managers
One of the primary roles of a compliance manager’s job is to communicate any compliance-related issues to employees across the divisions of an organization. Sometimes this means deciphering confusing laws and determining how to integrate them into best practices. To effectively do the job, there are some things that a compliance manager must be good. They should also possess certain personality traits.
- Ethical: Being ethical is probably one of the most important qualities a compliance manager can have.
- Fair and Modest: A manager must be able to look at all the facts without making a rash judgment.
- Proactive: In any company, it’s best to be proactive with abiding by all relevant laws and regulations.
- Willing to Keep Learning: Legislation is continuously changing, so it’s vital that a compliance manager is always willing to learn and stay on top of the new things.
- Diligent: Even if it is a hassle, a compliance manager needs to be willing to see through an issue and resolve it every single time. They must be diligent in their work until the problem is solved.
- Work in a Fast-Paced Environment: Laws are always changing, so an HR compliance manager needs to able to keep up with the fast-paced environment.
For any business to thrive in today’s highly regulated environment, HR compliance managers must be dedicated to achieving and maintaining the highest level of ethics and organizational integrity. An inability to recognize challenges as they arise could be devastating for a company’s reputation and brand. The best compliance managers can look ahead, look behind, and look around to ensure the collective progress of the goals and strategy of the business.
