Conformity is a compliance officer’s worst nightmare. Often, when compliance practitioners encounter the “I did it because everybody else did it this way,” or, “that’s the way things are done around here,” mentality, they know that a company’s culture may be at stake. In effect, breaking away and implementing change is not always easy but one strategy that has proven to be effective, according to research and a recent panel discussion is through diversity.
“It’s clear that organizations with diverse memberships are more valuable and perform better in the long run,” said Damien Atkins, General Counsel, Panasonic Corporation of North America, at a Seton Hall Law School event, “Celebrating Diversity in the Compliance Profession”. “Diversity in skills, in background, life experiences, gender, and ethnicity, in my view, is the most powerful weapon that we have against one of the leading causes of ethical and compliance challenges organizations face.”
Some key takeaways from the event:
- Organizations with diverse memberships are more valuable and perform better in the long run;
- An employee that is identified as high-potential talent is going to be well-served if they engage in a rotation of duties or spend some time in compliance;
- Mentors or sponsors can help future compliance practitioners stay focused; and
- Organizations need to do more to encourage the dialogue around diversity.
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Other members of the panel that participated in the discussion included, Sujata Dayal, Vice President, Health Care Compliance & Privacy, Johnson & Johnson; Clive Davis, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, UCB Pharma; Michele Meyer-Shipp, Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer, Prudential Financial; and Javier Robles, SVP/Group Head, Anti-Corruption and Regional Compliance Counsel, MasterCard. The speakers shared personal experiences and provided ideas on how to embed compliance across an enterprise—while mobilizing the conversation around diversity.
When a scandal unfolds, regulators immediately zero in on a company’s ethics and compliance program to ensure that the right disciplinary action was taken. If a company’s compliance and ethics program failed to identify and respond to red flags, this can lead to serious financial and reputational losses. “The strongest and most robust compliance program is going to be the one that is fully leveraging diversity,” added Davis. “At some point you’re going to do all the steps that you do in an investigation. You want a cross-section of perspectives. You want men in the room, you want women in the room and you want people who have worked in the field and haven’t worked in the field—different disciplines.”
Gender diversity is often a lead consideration, but organizations need to go further to ensure that diverse backgrounds, cultures, and expertise are in place to put the company in a better position to flourish and better align with all of its constituents and stakeholders. Join Ethisphere’s 8th Annual Global Ethics Summit, March 9-10 in NYC to advance the dialogue around diversity and inclusion.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
