These are challenging times, but even difficult circumstances produce opportunities to learn.
That’s why we’ve been sharing knowledge to help organizations better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and future crises. We’re also supporting our customers through new features, templates and configuration packages available free of charge.
I recently spoke with Caitlin Bergman, Senior Product Manager for compliance management solutions at Enablon.
I asked some questions about compliance management in the context of COVID-19 response. Here’s what Caitlin had to say.
From a compliance management perspective, what is the most important thing right now for organizations and their response to the COVID-19 crisis?
Caitlin: Let’s first define what we mean by “compliance”. In the case of COVID-19, it’s important to identify and distinguish the two types of requirements.
First, there is compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines published by government agencies or health organizations. A few examples include the guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
We’re not talking about “compliance” in the traditional sense here. This is more about following guidelines and advisories. But the same approach deployed to ensure compliance with regulations can also be used, even if these are not laws and regulations in the traditional sense.
Second, there is compliance with government rules about business operations during the pandemic, for example, what constitutes an essential business. This would fall under the traditional definition of compliance, i.e. strict rules that you have no choice but to follow, not merely voluntary guidance.
We’re seeing a great variety of COVID-19 rules from one country to another, and even within countries. In the U.S., different states have different rules, and it’s the same in Canada with different provinces. Organizations with global operations must be aware of all the rules and what applies to them. For example, some jurisdictions may force companies to operate only on certain hours so workers can rest, or to provide extra PPE than what the law already requires.
And we’re seeing that compliance is clearly a pain point. A Compliance Week survey asked respondents about the most prominent operational disruptions that their company is facing (they could choose up to two). The top answer was “Disorganization due to remote working” at 37%, while “Keeping tabs on coronavirus-related regulatory guidance” was number two at 32%.
And we’re seeing that compliance is clearly a pain point. A Compliance Week survey asked respondents about the most prominent operational disruptions that their company is facing (they could choose up to two). The top answer was “Disorganization due to remote working” at 37%, while “Keeping tabs on coronavirus-related regulatory guidance” was number two at 32%.
We’re constantly learning new things about the virus, and as a result, rules and guidance keep evolving. Companies need to stay up to date on what’s being published, incorporate it into their policies and procedures, and ensure that sites have enough resources to execute on the new guidance and rules.
What type of assistance can we provide today to the Enablon community for compliance management in the context of a COVID-19 response?
Caitlin: At the heart of our solution is the ability for each site to self-assess its COVID-19 preparedness, by using for example OSHA’s “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19”. Guidelines from other regulatory agencies can also be used.
Audits can be conducted with a COVID-19 questionnaire and through the Enablon Go mobile app. In addition, the Enablon platform includes a scoring system to benchmark sites and identify those that need the most attention and resources.
As government regulations related to COVID-19 evolve, our clients can continue to assess the applicability of regulatory changes to their operations and sites. This is also helped by the integration of the Enablon platform with industry-leading regulatory content providers.
You mentioned the benchmarking of sites for COVID-19 preparedness in your previous answer. Can you give more details? Is there any extra advice that you want to give?
Caitlin: What you do with the information is more important than the information itself.
Many companies today benchmark sites. They put the information in a dashboard with graphs where they can see their best- and worst-performing sites. A meeting is then organized where executives get around a table and comment on what they see. And then the efforts to improve tend to die out from there, as people return to their daily routines.
But an integrated platform like Enablon helps organizations go beyond simply benchmarking sites for COVID-19 preparedness and put everything in a dashboard. Once the best-performing sites are identified, their best practices can be documented and shared with everyone. Also, once at-risk sites are identified, action plans can be launched right away to take corrective measures.
Enablon connects the dots. It starts with self-assessments, followed by the benchmarking of sites, to the identification of the most at-risk sites, and the launch of action plans to address issues. And then the cycle starts again with another round of self-assessments. Everything is managed in a single software system accessed by everyone.
In what ways do you think the COVID-19 crisis may change how organizations do compliance management in the future? What do you think will be the future impacts on processes, operating procedures, etc.?
Caitlin: I see two main things. First, the situation with COVID-19 has been constantly evolving, and government responses have also been evolving as a result. Companies will have a greater appreciation of the need to keep up with evolving regulations in a more dynamic and proactive way. Some best-in-class companies were already doing that, but those that were not will realize that they also need to do it.
COVID-19 just may be the catalyst that some organizations need to move towards proactive compliance management where a set of actions are automatically triggered whenever a regulatory change takes place.
More importantly, COVID-19 shows why basic compliance is not enough and why a risk-based approach is needed. This is also a case where best-in-class companies were already doing it, and now others may follow.
I said earlier that organizations need to keep track of and stay on top of government rules regarding COVID-19 from multiple jurisdictions. For example, some U.S. states were quick to issue confinement orders and restrict or stop the activities of all non-essential businesses. Other states took more time. It’s the same in Europe, where for example Norway instituted a lockdown, but its neighbor Sweden adopted a completely different approach.
Government reactions vary greatly, but a virus doesn’t recognize jurisdictional boundaries. Some companies and sites in jurisdictions with a less strict COVID-19 response may have adopted a compliance-only approach. But they could’ve instead listened to health experts who were advocating more measures or voluntarily applied rules from jurisdictions with a stricter approach to all their locations.
That’s the big lesson: Don’t rely only on compliance, but take a proactive risk-based approach. Just like a virus, many workplace safety and health hazards also don’t recognize national or state borders.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you personally? How are you handling social distancing and working from home?
Caitlin: I was already working from home in Ohio, so it wasn’t a big change. But the lockdown has allowed me to evaluate my priorities and how I spend my time. It helped me to learn more about the amount of time I allocate to family, friends, work, myself and my health. It puts things in perspective and shows you how to achieve the right balance.
Also, in a world filled with constant notifications and distractions, it’s nice to slow things down sometimes. It reminds me of a quote from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
That’s our Q&A with Caitlin Bergman. We hope that it gives you valuable insights and knowledge that you can share with your colleagues.
Check out also our post on how three companies are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, Taylor Allis, our VP of Product and Marketing, shared his thoughts on the topic.
There’s also a Q&A post on incident management systems, and a Q&A post on mobile technology if you want to go into a specific aspect of COVID-19 response in more detail.
I recently spoke with Caitlin Bergman, Senior Product Manager for compliance management solutions at Enablon.
I asked some questions about compliance management in the context of COVID-19 response. Here’s what Caitlin had to say.
From a compliance management perspective, what is the most important thing right now for organizations and their response to the COVID-19 crisis?
Caitlin: Let’s first define what we mean by “compliance”. In the case of COVID-19, it’s important to identify and distinguish the two types of requirements.
First, there is compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines published by government agencies or health organizations. A few examples include the guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
We’re not talking about “compliance” in the traditional sense here. This is more about following guidelines and advisories. But the same approach deployed to ensure compliance with regulations can also be used, even if these are not laws and regulations in the traditional sense.
Second, there is compliance with government rules about business operations during the pandemic, for example, what constitutes an essential business. This would fall under the traditional definition of compliance, i.e. strict rules that you have no choice but to follow, not merely voluntary guidance.
We’re seeing a great variety of COVID-19 rules from one country to another, and even within countries. In the U.S., different states have different rules, and it’s the same in Canada with different provinces. Organizations with global operations must be aware of all the rules and what applies to them. For example, some jurisdictions may force companies to operate only on certain hours so workers can rest, or to provide extra PPE than what the law already requires.
And we’re seeing that compliance is clearly a pain point. A Compliance Week survey asked respondents about the most prominent operational disruptions that their company is facing (they could choose up to two). The top answer was “Disorganization due to remote working” at 37%, while “Keeping tabs on coronavirus-related regulatory guidance” was number two at 32%.
And we’re seeing that compliance is clearly a pain point. A Compliance Week survey asked respondents about the most prominent operational disruptions that their company is facing (they could choose up to two). The top answer was “Disorganization due to remote working” at 37%, while “Keeping tabs on coronavirus-related regulatory guidance” was number two at 32%.
We’re constantly learning new things about the virus, and as a result, rules and guidance keep evolving. Companies need to stay up to date on what’s being published, incorporate it into their policies and procedures, and ensure that sites have enough resources to execute on the new guidance and rules.
What type of assistance can we provide today to the Enablon community for compliance management in the context of a COVID-19 response?
Caitlin: At the heart of our solution is the ability for each site to self-assess its COVID-19 preparedness, by using for example OSHA’s “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19”. Guidelines from other regulatory agencies can also be used.
Audits can be conducted with a COVID-19 questionnaire and through the Enablon Go mobile app. In addition, the Enablon platform includes a scoring system to benchmark sites and identify those that need the most attention and resources.
As government regulations related to COVID-19 evolve, our clients can continue to assess the applicability of regulatory changes to their operations and sites. This is also helped by the integration of the Enablon platform with industry-leading regulatory content providers.
You mentioned the benchmarking of sites for COVID-19 preparedness in your previous answer. Can you give more details? Is there any extra advice that you want to give?
Caitlin: What you do with the information is more important than the information itself.
Many companies today benchmark sites. They put the information in a dashboard with graphs where they can see their best- and worst-performing sites. A meeting is then organized where executives get around a table and comment on what they see. And then the efforts to improve tend to die out from there, as people return to their daily routines.
But an integrated platform like Enablon helps organizations go beyond simply benchmarking sites for COVID-19 preparedness and put everything in a dashboard. Once the best-performing sites are identified, their best practices can be documented and shared with everyone. Also, once at-risk sites are identified, action plans can be launched right away to take corrective measures.
Enablon connects the dots. It starts with self-assessments, followed by the benchmarking of sites, to the identification of the most at-risk sites, and the launch of action plans to address issues. And then the cycle starts again with another round of self-assessments. Everything is managed in a single software system accessed by everyone.
In what ways do you think the COVID-19 crisis may change how organizations do compliance management in the future? What do you think will be the future impacts on processes, operating procedures, etc.?
Caitlin: I see two main things. First, the situation with COVID-19 has been constantly evolving, and government responses have also been evolving as a result. Companies will have a greater appreciation of the need to keep up with evolving regulations in a more dynamic and proactive way. Some best-in-class companies were already doing that, but those that were not will realize that they also need to do it.
COVID-19 just may be the catalyst that some organizations need to move towards proactive compliance management where a set of actions are automatically triggered whenever a regulatory change takes place.
More importantly, COVID-19 shows why basic compliance is not enough and why a risk-based approach is needed. This is also a case where best-in-class companies were already doing it, and now others may follow.
I said earlier that organizations need to keep track of and stay on top of government rules regarding COVID-19 from multiple jurisdictions. For example, some U.S. states were quick to issue confinement orders and restrict or stop the activities of all non-essential businesses. Other states took more time. It’s the same in Europe, where for example Norway instituted a lockdown, but its neighbor Sweden adopted a completely different approach.
Government reactions vary greatly, but a virus doesn’t recognize jurisdictional boundaries. Some companies and sites in jurisdictions with a less strict COVID-19 response may have adopted a compliance-only approach. But they could’ve instead listened to health experts who were advocating more measures or voluntarily applied rules from jurisdictions with a stricter approach to all their locations.
That’s the big lesson: Don’t rely only on compliance, but take a proactive risk-based approach. Just like a virus, many workplace safety and health hazards also don’t recognize national or state borders.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted you personally? How are you handling social distancing and working from home?
Caitlin: I was already working from home in Ohio, so it wasn’t a big change. But the lockdown has allowed me to evaluate my priorities and how I spend my time. It helped me to learn more about the amount of time I allocate to family, friends, work, myself and my health. It puts things in perspective and shows you how to achieve the right balance.
Also, in a world filled with constant notifications and distractions, it’s nice to slow things down sometimes. It reminds me of a quote from the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”: Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
That’s our Q&A with Caitlin Bergman. We hope that it gives you valuable insights and knowledge that you can share with your colleagues.
Check out also our post on how three companies are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, Taylor Allis, our VP of Product and Marketing, shared his thoughts on the topic.
There’s also a Q&A post on incident management systems, and a Q&A post on mobile technology if you want to go into a specific aspect of COVID-19 response in more detail.
