Compliance Red Flags: 5 Ways To Realize That Your Organization Is Not Audit-Ready
To ensure the success and smooth operation of your business, you must always be prepared for a scheduled or extraordinary visit from an auditing authority. Then again, you also need to conduct internal audits to ensure everything is above board and hold employees accountable. In this article, we describe a few warning signs that your organization will not perform well in an upcoming audit and what you can do to turn the situation in your favor.
Which Compliance Risks Should Be On Your Radar?
1. Frequent On-The-Job Mistakes And Accidents
Employee safety is an issue you can expect auditors to insist on, as it often presents considerable gaps that warrant hefty fines. Even though the vast majority of workplace accidents are attributed to human error, this usually points to poor compliance training on your part or difficult working conditions. Overworked employees who are rushing to meet unrealistic deadlines are more likely to make mistakes that could cost money in compensations, result in lost workdays, and negatively impact overall productivity. Therefore, if on-the-job accidents are a common occurrence in your organization, consider taking a closer look at your safety compliance training before your next audit.
2. Policy Violations
Policy violations can come in many forms and severity levels in an organization. They can range from a relatively simple case of insubordination to a more serious violation of company security policy. For example, an employee opens a phishing email attachment that leads to a costly leak of confidential documents and data. An array of lawsuits for mishandling protected information will, most assuredly, not benefit your audit results. Common policy violations can usually be attributed to employees ignoring or not knowing how to apply company guidelines. Verify that compliance training activities are repeated regularly and performed in a realistic manner that helps employees turn theory into practice.
3. Weak Documentation
A usual problem during audits is organizations struggling to present documents that prove that their compliance certifications are up to date. Poor tracking of your staff’s adherence to organizational compliance can result not only in penalties due to missed deadlines, but will also negatively affect the overall efficiency of your organization. Learning management systems can make you feel more confident about your next audit, as they give you the ability to monitor the online training activity of each learner. Keeping track of when each training was completed, LMSs can also automatically reassign certifications when they expire. Thus, you know your company is always compliant and audit-ready.
4. Low Certification Completion Rates
Most organizations notice a trend of inconsistency when it comes to tracking employees' performance. For instance, not all employees have gone through the same training or some guidelines don't seem to be put into practice, even though they have been covered in training. You might also notice that some certifications have low completion rates. This will not go over well when it’s time for your audit. Auditors judge your ability to deliver training in a timely and consistent manner across the entirety of your staff. Motivate employees to complete certifications by giving them clear deadlines and holding them accountable for their skill and knowledge development.
5. Poor Communication Between Managers And Their Teams
Another reason why organizations often perform poorly in audits is the fact that managers have little or no idea of what is actually going on with their teams, even if they have the best intentions. An essentially leaderless team lacks organization, vision, and efficiency. If you want to succeed in your next audit, make sure that managers are actively involved in their team’s learning development. Provide admins and managers with tools that give them the ability to monitor any team member’s progress, learning history, gaps, and goals. Leaders will also be able to notify team members about new available courses, upcoming or missed deadlines, and certification completions. This way, employees are informed about training requirements and motivated to remain compliant.
Conclusion
Audits can make or break a business, and it is often hard to know what you can do to secure a desirable score. The points discussed above are designed to act as warning signs that your organization probably won’t score high on an upcoming audit. Take the advice we have shared and figure out what changes you need to implement to increase your organization's efficiency and compliance.
One of the most effective ways to prevent on-the-job mistakes and reduce compliance risks is to keep a watchful eye on employee performance. Unfortunately, managers can't be everyone at once. For this reason, every organization should invest in an LMS that helps them track individual progress and provide ongoing support. Adobe Captivate Prime has features like My Team View and recurring certifications to not only measure performance but hold employees accountable. Request a free demo today to see how Captivate Prime can ensure that you're always ready for an audit.
Download the eBook Are You Audit-Ready? How To Deliver A Seamless And Scalable Compliance Training Program to learn how to launch a compliance training strategy that gets results and boosts remote employee engagement.
