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Making an impact
Compliance protects the organisation but also provides a strategic advantage. Companies that invest strongly in compliance build trust with clients and suppliers, which also helps attract new talent.
Compliance also creates real value. The advice was to make that value tangible through concrete data and examples, for instance in a compliance impact report. This not only provides a strong reporting tool for management but also helps engage the business in your story.
Both management and the business are crucial actors for the compliance professional. On the one hand, management must communicate the compliance message strongly: the ‘tone from the top’ is essential for a compliance professional to make an impact. On the other hand, compliance truly comes to life within the business, where the rules and principles are put into practice. More organisations now view their compliance departments as true business partners rather than distant control functions. This requires listening, asking the right questions and staying close to the business. Only in this way can the compliance team act proactively instead of merely reacting.
To achieve real impact, the compliance professional must also dare to be concrete and take clear positions, and to do so in the language of the business. This not only delivers direct and visible results but also strengthens credibility and trust in compliance as a trusted adviser.
Finally, strong compliance is not only about knowledge of rules and legislation. A successful compliance professional also possesses strong soft skills, such as communication, empathy and persuasiveness, to build support among both management and the business.
Compliance and HR
This brings us to a second topic that was highlighted during the Compliance Summit, specifically during the panel discussion in which our colleague Sylvie Gerlo took part: the importance of cooperation with HR and the recruitment of compliance professionals. The insights that emerged from that discussion are relevant for organisations wishing to anchor compliance within their corporate culture.
The panel underlined the need for close cooperation between HR and Compliance teams. Compliance should be seen as a fully-fledged business partner, including for HR.
HR therefore plays an important role, as a compliance culture does not live solely within legal teams. By highlighting the importance of compliance during recruitment interviews and onboarding, new employees quickly understand which values the organisation stands for. This creates trust and encourages new employees to feel safe in reporting possible breaches, thereby strengthening overall engagement.
Through targeted training and communication initiatives, HR can also ensure that compliance remains high on the agenda.
Attracting talent? Think beyond the classic profile
The demand for compliance professionals is increasing, but the number of plug-and-play professionals willing to change employer remains limited. Since Belgium has no dedicated ‘Master’s in Compliance’, recruitment can be challenging. Moreover, many young professionals still hold the misconception that compliance is mainly an administrative or controlling ‘box-ticking’ function. In reality, it is a strategic and multidisciplinary role with a strong link to the business.
Companies that focus on clear communication about the role and offer a strong, people-oriented recruitment process have a clear advantage. An open perspective also helps: alongside legal profiles, we increasingly see candidates with a background in communication or (business) analysis – precisely because they can translate regulations into understandable and workable guidelines.
In short, the reality calls for shared ownership: HR, Compliance and Management must jointly determine how integrity and compliance are embedded in every phase of the employee journey.
Would you like to discuss this further?
Is your organisation facing the challenge of structurally embedding compliance or attracting the right talent?
Feel free to contact Sylvie or Morgane - they will gladly discuss the best approach and the most suitable profiles for your organisation.
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