Congratulations to Tosin Umukoro on her honorable mention in the 2024 Risky Women Writing Competition, presented in partnership with Bovill Newgate.
Get into the essential skills for compliance professionals beyond a law degree. Discover how effective communication, data literacy, and the art of influence can enhance your compliance career. Join the conversation at Risky Women and empower diverse backgrounds in the compliance field.
I recently listened to a podcast by the compliance evangelist Tom Fox and equally zealous, Matt Kelly of Radical compliance. The topic: the age-old question of whether a law degree is necessary for a chief compliance officer1. As a compliance professional, I’m considered as having a non-traditional background, in that am not a lawyer, accountant or an auditor, roles typically viewed as entry points into compliance. Perhaps due to my own career aspirations, the ongoing reverberation of this topic within the compliance sphere continues to intrigue me. Surely, I thought to myself, by now, the countless articles and commentaries, clarifying the connected, yet distinct, roles or competencies of legal and compliance professionals, has resolved this this? Moreover, after more than a decade in the profession, three of those leading an international program, I am more convinced than ever, that enhancing certain skills, not exclusive to those with law degrees, have proven to be more useful in my compliance journey. Below are the three that I have found particularly helpful.
Communication, maybe a soft skill, but isn’t easy!
Though engaging and informative communication is considered a soft skill, I genuinely believe It’s one of the hardest to master! An effective compliance program requires leadership support and ownership. Therefore, effective communication is essential to inform and prepare leaders, from diverse functions, for their roles within the program. Moreover, regular occasions to discuss the program’s health and wellbeing (so-called compliance committee meetings), are another area in which effective communication is essential. The balance between selecting topics that give the necessary insight, reinforce the connection to organizational objectives and the motivate leaders and other stakeholders, to take any action required in the short or long term is no mean feat! I’ve personally benefiting from investing in a communications coach to enhance message development, ensure delivery is both concise and compelling.
Making moves with data
The second area I’d propose as another essential proficiency for compliance professionals is data literacy. Data driven compliance programs is a hot topic in recently updated compliance program guidance from both Office of Inspector General Health and Human Services 2 and the Department of Justice3. In their podcast episode on the topic, Tom and Matt refer to the compliance function needing to have the competency1. This can be having the capability within the team or partnering with another team that specializes in data analysis1. Either way, understanding data and making an informed decision is a skill anyone can learn. In compliance, it is generally accepted that a risk assessment is the most effective way to determine program priorities. The ability to get insights from data related to program priorities is revolutionary, as it can help to determine where to focus efforts going forward. To simply illustrate: due to industry requirements regarding provision of hospitality to healthcare professionals, life sciences compliance programs typically pull data on employees who have exceeded the customer meal limits. Repeated exceptions in a particular part of the organization or by specific individuals warrants the need for closer examination of the cause. This will then help to determine a course of action.
The art and science of influence
I’m a real believer that to be effective as a compliance professional you need to be a strong collaborator. Often, effective risk management requires immense effort and energy to take people from one point to the next step and effect the changes needed to address risk4. This influence is built upon other skills such as the ability to deal with conflict, facilitation, and change management4 and proficiency in this area is extremely advantageous when working cross functionally. The ‘art’ aspect of influence refers to the need to know when to adjust in your approach. Successful influencers appeal to others through a combination of emotion and reason to shape perspectives, feelings, beliefs, goals, and/or actions5. The ‘science’ aspect refers to psychology of changing people’s mind: identifying what is preventing change and then learning how to mitigate it6.
It’s all connected.
As cliché as it may sound, compliance really is a team sport, so effective communication is a must to initially engage and coordinate efforts and activities. Insights from program related data is helpful in determining potential focus areas and subsequently, the importance of articulating why a change is crucial to achieving trust and gaining support. Gaining trust that program efforts are for the good of the organization and other stakeholders such as customers, facilitates for more successful change management needed to collaborate and mitigate risk. These skills are not exclusive to those with a law degree and can certainly be developed in a wide range of roles or experiences. I therefore appeal to all those involved in recruiting for compliance professionals at all levels, let’s focus on the job at hand and the skills best suited to do that. I also invite those without so called traditional backgrounds, but proficient in these areas, to consider a career in compliance. I rest my case.
References
- Compliance into the Weeds Podcast: Does a CCO Need to be a Lawyer? – Compliance Podcast Network
- HHS-OIG General Compliance Program Guidance | November 2023
- US Department of Justice – Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (Updated September 2024)
- The Art and Science of Influence, Saboe, D (2016), masteringbusinessanalysis.com, Available at: (Accessed 23.09.24)
- The Art and Science of Influence, Vertical leadership and management consultants Available at: The Art and Science of Influence – Vertical Performance Enterprises, LLC, (Accessed 23.09.24)
- The Art and Science of Persuasion, Caragol, T, (2023), achieveunite,com. Available at: The Art and Science of Persuasion | AchieveUnite, (Accessed 23.09.24)