Certainly not a question you hear every day when talking about your compliance program, but it may be the most important and overlooked question you should be asking. The goal of a compliance program is to build a culture where employees do the right thing, the right way, at the right time. When such a culture exists, you know the compliance program is sticky. By sticky we mean, it is part of every decision employees make; it is “just how we do things around here.” Just having the infrastructure of compliance is not enough, it has to be an important part of how the organization functions. It has to be sticky!
The best way to make sure compliance is ingrained in the culture of the organization, in other words, make sure it is sticky, is to brand the compliance program in such a manner that employees live the culture of compliance without even thinking about it. Good branding can make compliance memorable, for all the right reasons!
Here are a few ideas for how to make your program sticky:
- Have a compliance mascot. Any time someone sees “Chase the Compliance Cheetah” it is a reminder they are chasing after the best care for you clients/residents, and his face is next to the hotline number wherever it is posted.
- Create a slogan. The fictitious provider, Southern Hospitality Group (SHG) compliance program slogan could be “Simply Helping to Greatness” (SHG). Greatness implies a culture of compliance.
- Have a catchy tune and change the lyrics to emphasize compliance.
These are just a few examples and ideas of what could make your compliance program sticky. Right about now you are saying to yourself “those ideas are way too cheesy to work in our organization”, but the thing is, cheesy sticks with us. Think about the commercials from your childhood that stick with you even to this day because they had the “hook” of a catchy jingle, or silly mascot, (remember the Kool-Aid guy??) Or maybe it is the song or slogan that you just can’t get out of your head when you hear the name of a certain company, (We are Farmers, bum da dum bum, bum bum bum). These are examples of ad agencies that knew how to make things sticky, and to potentially influence the choices we make.
By taking steps to make the compliance program sticky, you can influence staff to make decisions consistent with the culture where employees to the right thing, the right way, at the right time. So go ahead, venture outside your corporate comfort zone, be a little cheesy and make your compliance program sticky!
Most business leaders get frustrated when employees don’t do the right thing. You shouldn’t have to convince people to do what is right. MCA builds a compliance program and a culture where employees do the right thing, the right way, at the right time so you can focus on taking care of the people you serve.
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Midwest Compliance Associates
(319) 553-0258