Persuading Compliant Behaviour

Our society is evolving rapidly. The age of connectivity has brought awareness and networking at fingertips. It is also an age where people get 'offended' too frequently and for variety of reasons. The constant connectivity has also faded the line between personal and professional spaces! I am sure we all agree, it takes skill and practice to compartmentalize the situations we face with same individuals on personal and work front.

As a Compliance Officer I have observed that the variety of colleagues who come and interact with you have one thing in common - a heightened sense of awareness of what they are communicating to officers! Most of them try not to share anything more than needed and even compliance officers try to read a lot between the lines! Hence it poses a peculiar problem that your stakeholders may not be 100% transparent and officers might continue to be skeptical even if the information provided to them is 100% accurate.

So how to tackle this? Let me refer you to the six principles of persuasion by Dr. Cialdini which are Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Consistency, Liking & Consensus. Let's apply these to the role of Compliance Officers (referred as CO henceforth) and explore how officers can make use of these principles to persuade others to be compliant.

1) Reciprocity: By standard definition, this explores human nature of responding in the same way someone has chosen to behave with you. But for a CO this might be a double-edged sword as COs cannot appear to be exchanging favors of any kind. We cannot let this become a perception of CO or the department. Example: Stakeholders supporting CO's initiatives cannot be under the impression that COs might give them a helping hand in supporting their initiatives even when these may have an element of concern or gray. The best way to use reciprocity by a CO is by being responsive to each stakeholder alike and showcasing in an impartial way that everyone is treated alike and that there are no short cuts to CO's approvals.

2) Scarcity: Scarcity is the sense of urgency that drives behavior. Compliance departments usually are lean and have lesser personnel. They can use this principle by stating how scarce their time will be for supporting stakeholders. If used well, this principle can improve overall efficacy of interactions and the clarity of approach. However, a word of caution, playing too much of 'Time Scarcity' card may lead to disengagement of stakeholders and might drive a completely opposite behavior. Also, while playing this card please re affirm the benefits that stakeholders can obtain, examples - clear next steps, no ambiguity in decisions made, etc.

3) Authority: This is a principle that all COs must bank on. It's not your designation alone, a CO must display his/her experience, any certifications, accolades, etc. as a visual reminder to stakeholders on how well you know your role and how you have the right experience and insights on all matters from a Compliance POV. It's a good idea to share CO- team profile with the organization, have accolades/ certificates etc. displayed visibly on your desk, etc. This automatically reassures the stakeholders that they are talking to experts. In addition to this, there is a thin line between people perceiving COs as Assertive or Rude, hence it is advisable to be observant of nonverbal cues and if the individual(s) in front of us are perceiving the conversation to be Rude, the COs need to tone the assertiveness down!

4) Consistency: Consistency implies human nature to being consistent with what has been committed. It sounds tricky but is simple to implement. COs must bring in accountability for stakeholders by asking for small doable commitments; Some of the things can be as simple as 'Go through pre reads before coming to the meeting'. Driving such smaller commitments, helps COs to build in a culture where stakeholders take up bigger ones without hesitating.

5) Liking: Lets be real, not everyone will Like you! so COs should not aim for that at all. But as we know there are Leaders and Followers in any organization, so if CO is liked by leaders, most will follow. Now if you thought I am referring to 'Leaders' by roles, that's incorrect. I am referring to those individuals who are 'Influencers' at workplace irrespective of their roles or designations. Also, Liking should not be interpreted as an interpersonal quality, for a CO it should be more of a Professional Attribute that will help create an environment where COs can develop more Share of Voice and help in convincing their POV in more subtler ways rather than confrontation. Being cordial, respectful, awareness on discomfort of other individuals, carrying a smile, sharing commonalities & interests, occasional small talks, sharing lunch table conversations and healthy sense of humor are some of the traits that COs must look at developing.

6) Consensus: COs can use this skill effectively to drive behavioural changes. Example: if you have numbers that show that more than 50% of individuals who involved COs in their projects at planning stage got the project running in less than 2 months' time! This will probe other individuals not involving COs in time to try and do it. COs can look at various such comparisons and measurements to be recorded and if the same are effectively communicated, a behavioural change can be achieved. COs must identify areas where such changes are necessary and strategize a communication plan which is based on numbers and facts. This will help improve the adherence to norms and create a more sustainable environment for all stakeholders. In a complex organization, it may also help COs achieve a standard / best practice model.

This above is based on just my experience and I will be happy to learn from the readers of this article. Please do share inputs & tips from your experience on the topic. All the best and do refer to the video attached, I am sure you will enjoy it!