I came across this statement in an FT partnership document with some organisation which will remain nameless as the article has gone! This was the point of the article that came from the partnership.
As AI transforms communications – from messages to video – teams can shift from reactive oversight to smarter, more efficient, strategic control. How can compliance become a competitive edge?
This question fills me with dread. Do we really compete to be compliant? That doesn’t sound much more than a dystopian view of the world which George Orwell wrote about in “1984”. 1984 was in the future when Orwell wrote it, it came and went and the human spirit has survived!
I hate the idea that we can compete with each other on compliance. It does not give us the opportunity to push against the status quo to get innovation ,
Because regulation always looks back and looks to constrain what is new. This is not bad, it is good, we need compliance to be on the right side of exploitation but to suppose that compliance is something you can compete on?
What can we agree on for AI as getting us compliant?
Here are 6 things I do agree on , as the use of AI to build a platform of compliance on which entrepreneurs can develop great produce. This is not my work, but the work of Nitzan Boyarsky of the Israeli technology group Sedric
The question is not how compliance becomes a competitive edge but how it is the basis of a business, AI can facilitate compliance but compliance is not an edge.
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You mitigate risks, early.
Well designed compliance programs and policies are meant to detect potential violations and risky practices early on. The earlier, the better. Whether it’s an affiliate marketer who failed to disclose their relationship to your company or an overpromise by a support staff member, compliance errors present costly legal and financial liabilities. But as a growing company experimenting with and launching new campaigns, mistakes and errors will happen. You need a way to quickly and proactively identify and address risks. In today’s world, the best way to catch risks early is to work with an AI-driven compliance tool that is trained to detect and remediate risk immediately. This compliance safety net can give you a huge edge and it’s best to start when your company is still small.
- You can grow faster.
Once you’ve reduced risks through good corporate governance and a streamlined compliance program, growth becomes much easier and more seamless. You can move faster and break fewer things. (Hopefully none, in fact.) If you are putting modern technology to use and have an automated system in place for monitoring and managing company wide compliance, scaling the system should be simple. Whether you’re adding new clients, expanding to new markets or partnering with another company, the system will be set up to grow with you and continue to offer automated ways to screen potential partners, identify risks, flag violations and implement fixes.
- You set the stage for global success.
Similarly, having a strong compliance program makes it much easier to expand to new countries. Compliance gets trickier as you scale because each country has a unique legal climate and requirements may vary greatly. It’s best to have a compliance system in place before this happens so that the growth can happen effortlessly. Ideally, you want to take advantage of a compliance tool that offers multijurisdiction and multi language monitoring to ensure that your company and affiliates are adhering to the specific policies and regulations of each jurisdiction and in any language.
- You establish a trustworthy brand.
In every industry, people want to work with companies they can trust. Want a strong brand reputation? Make sure you’re known for your values, transparency and ethical marketing practices. It’s a no-brainer and this can be a decisive factor in setting your company apart from the competition.
- You save time and resources.
Time is money, so whenever you implement policies or work with tools that increase efficiency, you’re contributing to your company’s bottom line. Today’s compliance technology is designed to automate many aspects of compliance and integrate easily into your teams’ existing workflows. With a minimal investment of employee time, you can set up systems that automate tasks such as monitoring affiliate compliance and helping ensure customer facing agents are compliant, in real time. An AI-driven tool like Sedric can even do this in hundreds of languages, with instant translation to English.
- You foster a company culture of excellence.
Compliance is not just the responsibility of the compliance team, HR or legal department. It should be integrated into the company culture. As a core company value, it’s something to take into consideration in every aspect of the business from hiring decisions, mergers and acquisitions, product development, growth strategies and more. This helps prevent violations, but it also builds a positive work environment. When compliance is built into the ethos of your company, you help build employee trust and satisfaction.
Happy employees and high employee satisfaction means lower turnover and more employee loyalty. Plus, it helps you attract top talent to your company, specifically within the compliance department but throughout the company as well. Taken together, these present a huge competitive advantage.