5 questions to ask when implementing a compliance program

1. How involved is your leadership?

A compliance program will only be as strong as its level of support. The most effective plan will need leadership (including the program managers) to commit to it, especially if it intends to encompass the whole spectrum of EHS needs. This commitment involves more than execs saying they’re on board with the program but also showing that they are, providing support for both the plan and its participants. 

2. Where should you set your targets?

There’s a difference between what you want to achieve and what is truly realistic. Good intentions to tackle all compliance areas in all facilities can end up undermining your plan – burning out employees and fizzling out the entire program. 

Give your compliance program the best chance to succeed with achievable targets and timelines built from what’s most important for your organization – considering the option to focus on high-risk areas first before moving on to other facilities. 

3. What types of resources can you allocate to implementing a compliance program?

Successful rollouts need sufficient resources. This includes both monetary funds and human resources. 

 First, designating internal experts and sometimes involving external consultancy is essential to lead or assist the roll-out process. Secondly, it’s imperative to provide sufficient employee training from first steps through evaluation and beyond.  

4. How will you report evaluate progress?

Another important element to successfully implementing a compliance program is to have a consistent system for reporting and performance evaluation. 

Before you take the first steps, you’ll need to know how to track results. Make sure to put your reporting system in place ahead of any planned action. Rolling out the other way around will lead to wasted effort and even missed opportunities to leverage potential learnings.  

5. Why will your teams participate?

Just as important as determining who needs to be involved in implementing your compliance program, is giving a beneficial reason to those people for why they should be involved. For your compliance program to be effective, employees will need to understand that they play an important role. This means getting everyone on the same page as soon as possible and keeping them in the loop along the way. 

The keys to implementing a compliance program.

A meticulously developed compliance program deserves optimal implementation. Make sure your teams’ hard work doesn’t hit a wall. 

 From pinpointing your priorities to equipping your employees, there is a multitude of steps that need to take place before you begin implementing a compliance program. Go deeper into the details of these essential steps with the free eBook Implementing a compliance program: 5 best practices. In this expert overview, you can learn the essentials of laying the right foundation for your most success compliance program.