The Most Important Traits of Successful Compliance Professionals

The field of compliance isn’t as simple as hiring honest people who will hopefully “always obey the rules.” In fact, careful hiring doesn’t constitute a compliance plan at all.

It takes hard work, knowledge and a special kind of something to really excel as a compliance professional. If you ask me, anyone wishing to be successful in a compliance leadership role must possess three important characteristics: Professionalism, Patience and Pluck.

Patience: Compliance Takes Time

Effective compliance programs are rarely established quickly. There’s almost always a sense of urgency in what we do as compliance officers but we can’t let that urgency become paralyzing or make us impatient. Steady progress is important but it’s important to remember that a compliance program is never really “done.” Effective compliance programs are on a never-ending path of continuous self-evaluation and improvement. An effective compliance program is never perfect, nor does it arrive at a state of perfection.

Additionally, I’ve never met a compliance officer who couldn’t use a budget increase or who wouldn’t welcome additional resources such as more FTEs. But no one has unlimited resources, so it’s very likely that your compliance program will have to prioritize just like the rest of the organization and that often requires patience and incremental steps of improvement.

One way to monitor improvement is through a compliance program effectiveness review. In speaking of effectiveness reviews, the OIG stated, “Building and sustaining a successful compliance program rarely follows the same formula from organization to organization. However, such programs generally include…regular self-assessment and enhancement of the existing compliance program.”

They also set the expectation of how frequently such effectiveness reviews should be done when stating “this review should be conducted at least annually and should include an assessment of each of the basic elements individually, as well as the overall success of the program. This review should help … identify any weaknesses in its compliance program and implement appropriate changes.”

The fact that the OIG expects improvement from year to year, in part based on the results of an effectiveness review, should tell each of us that compliance programs are a marathon, not a sprint. It takes patience to grow your program year by year.

Want the full scoop? Download our free eBrief, Professionalism, Patience and Pluck: The 3 P’s of Compliance, to learn why these three qualities are vital for success and why compliance professionals must stop thinking of themselves as police, prepare for a never-ending path of improvement, stand up for what they believe in.