Dear Friend,
I am happy you are back here to have some nice moments with me as we unravish the untold struggles of the compliance officer in Ghana.Let’s begin!!!
Let’s talk about the heartbreak no compliance officer prepares for : the “won’t read” attitude and the “you’re on your own” treatment from other colleagues. You invest time crafting a detailed, a well formatted policy based on a directive or a gap identified, it’s dishearting to see it sit unread, unopened, and forgotten like an old book collecting dust on a library shelf. Painful, right? But here’s the thing: in Ghanaian businesses, policies are often seen as decorations, not directions. Here’s why, and what you can do about it. Keep reading.
Now, let’s get to the main issue. When I first circulated my approved Know Your Customer (KYC) policy to staff, I expected applause. Instead, I got… absolute silence. Weeks later, someone casually asked, “Do we have a Know Your Customer policy?” I replied, “Yes, of course we do! I shared it with all of you.” I was filled with anger and burning with frustration. But that wasn’t the only time I encountered this lack of awareness. During a conversation with a staff member, I mentioned eKYC, and her reaction suggested she wasn’t familiar with the term. I asked her to clarify what she thought eKYC meant, and to my surprise, she hesitated. When she finally said “Electronic Know Your Customer,” I was shocked, not because she didn’t know, but because she didn’t seem to recall it being discussed or shared with her despite our previous policy circulation. After several similar instances, I began to wonder: why do people ignore policies? After many years, I think I’ve finally figured it out. So, stay with me as we continue to explore this subject.
People generally don’t read policies for these reasons:
1. They don’t see the relevance of the policy
2. When the policy is too technical
3. Poor rollout of policies.
4. When there is no ownership or accountability of the policy.
5.They don’t see the relevance.
Most employees want to know, “How does this affect my day-to-day work?” If your policy doesn’t connect the dots, it’ll be dismissed as another document from compliance• It’s too technical. Compliance jargon might impress regulators, but not staff. If a front desk officer needs a dictionary or any form of assistance to clearly understand the code of conduct, then we have missed the mark.
• Poor rollout.
We usually send policies by email and hope that some magic happens. But doing it that way is like planting maize and expecting beans the next day. it just doesn’t work. People need context, training, and reminders to truly engage with new rules and policies.
• No ownership or accountability.
When policies are dumped without involving leaders of various business units, they lose authority. People follow what their bosses prioritize, and if your policy isn’t one of them, it fades fast.How do we fix this?
Let’s consider these three major shifts to our approach:
1. Break it down:
Translate policies into simple language, create FAQs, visual guides, and policy highlights to make them more accessible and understandable. This way staff can grasp the essentials and apply them seamlessly.
2. Sell the benefits
Explain what’s in it for them ;the benefits of following these policies, such as protection, clarity, consistency, and reduced chaos. When they realize it’s people-centric and not too legalistic, they open up and embrace the policy.
3. Get champions on board
Involve team leads at the early stages of policy drafting and let them be your policy ambassadors. People usually follow what their leaders prioritize.
In the end
Policies aren’t meant to gather digital dust; they’re meant to guide people’s behavior. But for them to work, you need more than just good writing; you need strategy, communication, and a little marketing, yeah, compliance marketing! If we want people to follow the rules, we have to make the rules worth following.
Dear Fiend , I hope you will give these remedial actions a try.
Kindly share your experiences and moments you have had with us and how you fixed .
Watch out for the part 4 in the series!”
Comply&Thrive 