When it comes to hiring for a compliance leadership role, it’s important to look for certain qualities and skills to ensure the success of your organization. A strong compliance leader should have a deep understanding of relevant regulations, strong ethical standards, and the ability to communicate effectively and lead a team.
The need for hiring a compliance officer is critical. However, the process of hiring a compliance officer slightly differs from hiring any other type of P, despite some similarities in the process.
An ideal candidate should have a track record of successfully managing compliance and implementing effective compliance processes.
This article will explore the key factors to keep in mind when hiring for a compliance leadership position.
The compliance landscape is a complex one, and its readily evolving. So an ideal compliance leader must have enough industry knowledge and be a step ahead to learn what’s new in their operations industry. Remember, how much industry knowledge your compliance leader has and how eager they are to keep themselves up to date can have a crucial role in your business.
Your ideal compliance leadership should be ready to dive deep into the nitty-gritty of the regulation and compliance laws. The person must be able to pay attention to details so that they are better poised to detect any compliance issues that can be intervened promptly early. For example, some specific requirements in the jurisdiction and screening tools may have different parameters. A detail-oriented compliance leader can easily identify such issues.
Your next compliance leader needs to be a problem solver who can proactively predict and solve issues. As the dynamics of the business environment are changing and new regulations popping up every day, the compliance leader must be adept at interpreting new regulations, should be able to assess the situation, and advise on the most appropriate action for the company. The person should also be skilled in finding an alternative solution whenever and wherever possible.
Networking is an essential trait for a compliance leader. Since this role requires the person to work closely with different teams, especially under pressure and crisis, building a strong rapport with people can help in a smooth workflow. Communicating effectively, fostering active listening skills, and empathizing with team members can help develop a positive relationship.
The compliance leader must collaborate and work with multiple departments to ensure the overall organizational compliance program is upheld. Strong organizational skills can come in handy when dealing with different audits, reports, and timetables. So look for a person with strong organizational skills that can help establish a strong and efficient workflow in the system.
No matter how knowledgeable your leadership is, your compliance program won’t run as smoothly as you expect if they cannot communicate clearly and concisely. For example, the person has to be comfortable addressing the employees from time to time and explain complex regulatory and reporting obligations to the investors and higher management. So, look for a leader who has strong communication skills. Additionally, the person should practice active listening skills to understand many critical aspects and communicate them effectively.
How your compliance function performs depends largely on who is at the helm. Your compliance leader should have strong leadership skills, which means the person must be knowledgeable and have strong industry insights, vision, and objectives for the modus operandi. The person should be able to communicate from the top down in a balanced way.
Strong ethics and integrity might be the most compelling traits of a compliance leader. So look out for this trait in your next hire. You can ask probing questions like “what integrity means to you” or “have you ever faced the consequences for doing the right thing” and see how the person responds. This can help you gauge the ethical side of the candidate.
Finally, don’t miss to ask for regulatory and compliance issues that the person has managed in their previous organization. Go in-depth to understand the issue, how they managed and mitigated it, and most importantly, if any penalties were paid.
Compliance leadership is critical in any organization; you must make an informed decision to ensure the compliance program is in the right hands. The above-discussed points will help you guide to look for the most important traits in your next compliance leader and ask the right interview questions.
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