The more highly regulated an industry is, the more challenging it becomes to keep up with the rapid pace of compliance regulations. From banks and healthcare companies to those brands that work closely with government departments, regulatory change is a very real factor that needs to be monitored and updated rapidly and efficiently. Not only does the business itself need to remain compliant, but policy changes and new rules need to be aligned throughout the organization. Keeping up with regulatory changes is essential, and there are some clear and practical methods for ensuring that your company is always up to date with new environmental and safety regulations. Here are the five best ways to ensure you know what needs to be done to stay compliant.
Regulation Monitoring
Ideally, you need to keep up to date with the source of any regulatory changes. Depending on your sector, there will be agencies that you need to monitor. This used to mean checking into their websites on a constant basis, but RSS feeds have made it much easier to stay aware of what agencies like OSHA and the EPA are doing. RSS feeds are an efficient tool for regulation monitoring and should be adopted as part of your compliance strategy.
Social Media
The majority of regulatory agencies have their own dedicated social media presence. Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts are now being used by regulatory agencies to share policy updates and agency activity. Whether it’s the FDA, the DoT, or the USDA, make sure that you have your social media follows dedicated to the agencies that make regulatory change happen.
Compliance Software
Technology is changing the way that enterprises monitor and implement rapid compliance changes. The most valuable tech tool for this is a dedicated regulatory intelligence software solution. Not only does this type of software help you to avoid enforcement fines, it will also allow for more accessible data and provable information regarding compliance. Centralized tools make it simpler to monitor new requirements and to create the company-wide reports that are easily accessible by every department.
Newsletters and Blogs
Most regulatory bodies have their own marketing department, and that means both blogs and email newsletters will be available to sign up to. There isn’t much that’s more convenient than having the latest regulation changes delivered immediately and directly to your inbox. Remember to also sign up for update alerts from industry competitors, so that you can monitor their compliance changes as well.
Cross-Company Alignment
It’s no good for an enterprise if there are whole departments lacking access to the compliance information that they need. Information accessibility is a priority if you want your HR teams and IT departments to work towards a common goal of compliance. This can be achieved via the right software, an enterprise’s own intranet, or even an HR portal. Team members that are unable to access regulatory information are slowed down, which means the company is slowed down. Ensure that all reports are easy to understand and easily accessible across the company and your compliance processes will be far more secure and agile.
The larger an organization, the more challenging it is to ensure that regulatory change is monitored, managed, and controlled. Use these methods to ensure compliance and your organization will be more agile and ready to adapt quickly to even the broadest and all-encompassing of regulatory changes.
