Creating a “culture of compliance” is a buzz phrase you’ve probably heard when talking to regulators, legislators, auditors, and compliance consultants. At Allay Consulting, we’ve worked with a multitude of companies and found that creating a culture of compliance alone isn’t enough to keep your employees happy enough to track all compliance. I would say that creating a “culture of excellence” that includes compliance is the best way we have seen to mitigate risk and reduce lost revenue due to turnover and lack of employee engagement. . This article aims to encourage our industry to create a culture of excellence in the workplace. I hope our guidance and hands-on experience will help you create the culture you want in your workplace.
At Allay Consulting, we help companies create a culture that holds compliance in high regard. Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of companies achieve compliance and certifications that go beyond what most companies are required to do in the space. Through this experience, we have seen several unexpected positive results that have benefited both certified and compliant companies.
One of the biggest compliance projects we work on with our customers is current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) certification. So I will use cGMP throughout this article as an example. Yes, getting cGMP certification has many benefits directly related to profit. It reduces the risk of recalls and disposals, creates a more expensive product, increases consumer confidence, opens up more sales opportunities for big buyers, and can help you get a better price for your overall business when you go out. (for more on cGMPs, see the April Blog post).
What we didn’t expect is that cGMP also helps create a culture of compliance, develops clear expectations of what each employee is responsible for, includes required trainings, reduces safety incidents, reduces turnover, attracts higher-level candidates to apply for your jobs, gives employees a sense of pride, and creates a more enjoyable work environment. Because of the hidden benefits of certification and compliance, we should talk about what we think are the benefits of not only creating a culture of compliance, but also creating an overall culture of excellence!
Create a culture of excellence
We’ve all heard of toxic work environments. Some of us have personal experiences with negative conflict in the workplace, and those jobs usually don’t last long. Job dissatisfaction often leads to demotivated staff, reduced productivity, errors, anxiety and staff turnover. These undesirable results clearly indicate that the company culture is not working. An effective approach to keeping your staff happy and reducing conflict is to create a culture of excellence.
What is a Culture of Excellence? In a culture of excellence, employees feel that what they are working on is meaningful, important and goal-oriented. Everyone involved is strongly inspired by the common purpose, which becomes the driving force behind everything they do. As you can see, a culture of compliance and a culture of excellence go hand in hand. With a meaningful and strong culture of excellence in place, compliance would simultaneously be addressed as one of the main business goals is to operate in a compliant manner and create safe products for its consumers.
Creating a culture of excellence is a must in any organization! At the heart of “culture” are people; people are the foundation of any culture, especially in the workplace. People are dynamic and unique in their own way; we must celebrate our differences while remaining guided by the company’s values and objectives.
Establish company purpose and values
Companies that choose compliance as a value may initially experience difficulties with staff buy-in due to process change, implementation of nested documentation systems, training, etc. At first, employees may not like the new processes and new documentation requirements, but many quickly realize that there are benefits to making compliance a corporate value. Often, employees find that checks and balances provide structure, accountability, pride, and satisfaction in knowing that their tasks are being done correctly and documented.
A company’s purpose and values are the common thread in creating culture. They must be authentic, just like the people who work for the company: you humanize the company and its intention! Your authentic and intentional purpose and values create a common and clear purpose for employees. This creates an environment with clear expectations for achieving the common goal. Once the company has established its purpose and values, each department can then determine its own departmental goals, and although this is central to the culture of the company, they cannot be successful without being associated with leadership. adequate.
Transparent and consistent leadership
Transparent and consistent leadership fosters a culture of excellence in the workplace. Leadership must be completely transparent and able to clearly and effectively communicate common purpose, values and goals to employees. Although there are several methods of communication styles, leaders must remain supportive and consistent so that the employee is not left guessing. By not allowing employees to simply guess your next move, you are creating a supportive environment. Clear and consistent leadership creates accountability for achieving the collective goal.
Set clear expectations
Since people are at the heart of the culture, leaders must be able to set clear expectations with their staff. Setting expectations can be part of company standard operating procedures, daily meetings with management, and a well-developed training program. Training gives the employer the opportunity to set expectations, and setting expectations gives employees a free hand, which makes employees happier. Training not only ensures that all employees are on the same page, but it also promotes product consistency and quality across product lines. Promoting product consistency and quality reduces the likelihood of errors or recalls and increases customer satisfaction. This is the perfect time for interns to ask questions and understand the “why” behind the company’s expectations. Generally, employees want to do their jobs well, and a strong training program provides employees with the tools and confidence they need.
Build trust
Trust is not given, trust is earned. Staff in leadership positions must “speak and lead” consistently. Each employee is unique in their way of establishing trust. We have found that our clients build trust with their staff in a variety of ways, including these guidelines:
- As leaders, be present
- Listen and respond without being defensive
- Use clear and consistent expectations that are directly linked to company purpose and values
- Create a psychologically safe work environment that encourages staff to voice their concerns and issues
- Enjoy! It’s normal to laugh at work.
Valuing employees
Feeling valued at work can make or break an employee’s success and desire to work for your company. Each employee is unique and valuable in their own extraordinary way. This uniqueness is to be celebrated! Because each person has their own perceptions based on past experiences, we can learn more about how the business or management can be more effective. For this to happen, employees must feel safe to speak up, and leaders must listen and provide feedback. This translates into creating respect and seeing the immense value we all present. Leadership must also recognize and reward even the small efforts made by employees! Valuing employees can create an environment that fosters creativity, willingness to support company goals, increase production, and increase overall happiness.
Conclusion
We hope you will apply some of these tips to your own business or business and create a culture of excellence!
About the Author
Kim stuck is the CEO and founder of Allay Consulting. Direct correspondence to: kim.stuck@allayconsulting.com.
