In a recent national radio show a DJ was heard to declare, ‘…banks – well they are all swindlers.’ A casual remark perhaps said in a light-hearted way but it underpins why Regulatory Technology matters so much in today’s marketplace and perhaps now more than ever. RegTech exists to reaffirm the element that matters most in any business, trust.
Trust is defined by a common source such as Wikipedia as ‘confidence in or dependence on a person or quality’.
The degree to which one party trusts another is a measure of belief in the honesty, fairness, or benevolence of another party. The term ‘confidence’ is more appropriate for a belief in the competence of the other party. A failure in trust may be forgiven more easily if it is interpreted as a failure of competence rather than a lack of honesty.
Both trust and confidence therefore play a critical role in business.
Fundamentally then, RegTech is really all about aiding the building of both confidence and trust and ensuring it is present and maintained. At RegTech conferences, attendees will hear trust mentioned in many presentations, particularly from potential clients. Let’s consider what we mean by trust and why it matters so much.
Whatever industry you are focused upon, you will have consumers of the services or products you provide to the market. In the public sector you may not have buyers per se but you will have those who benefit from the services which you provide. Whether commercial or public, an organisation’s value is built on the trust of its consumers in consuming and receiving benefit from the services and products offered. Consumers expect consistency, quality and value as well as speed of delivery and other factors. When one chooses a supplier, one trusts that what is advertised is what one trusts one will receive.
However the value of trust starts far earlier in a business cycle. From the outset an employer trusts that it has made the right decision in selecting a particular candidate. Similarly the new employee trusts they have made a wise employment decision. There is a relationship here defined between the employer and employee built on trust. The employee trusts they will be paid on time for their work and will not be harmed in the workplace. The employer trusts that the employee will follow policies, rules and procedures in performing their role to set expectations. A breach of that trust affects the relationship.
Should either party breach the rules of engagement established between them then there can be serious repercussions. For example, a machine operator not following correct operating procedures may injure themselves, which in term may mean the employer receiving a health and safety fine which subsequently damages their brand or reputation in the market and loses them business. Therefore trust has to be maintained on a constant basis as well as confidence that what is being requested is correct.
Regulatory authorities trust that organisations within their remit are to be trusted to carry out services and business within the law. When they fail to do so, they may be made an example of. We read about it in the media and we lose trust in such organisations. With SMCR and other legislation, individuals too may be made examples of for breaching the rules set out to them. When this happens there has been a breach of trust and may seriously affect both the consumer and the teams that senior managers control.
Which brings us back to business. For any organisation to succeed, trust and confidence in people, processes, procedures, guidelines and the law being followed are critical. They are the key not only to operational success and to profits, but to brand building, reputation and recognition. The more an organisation builds a brand which is trusted, the more they are likely to succeed.
As the vast majority of policies, procedures, compliance guidelines and legislation are published in digital document format, so it is absolutely critical to underpin an organisational approach to trust with a document compliance solution. Such a solution as Orchestra Read & Comply™ by Signarus not only underpins trust but derives confidence and regulatory compliance. In doing so your organisation is in a far better position to ensure that trust and confidence are high in what is supplied, how it is supplied and whether it meets regulatory requirements. This works by ensuring that you know who has received and read which compliance documents and you know that your teams are receiving the most up to date regulatory content on a consistent basis. If people are choosing not to comply then you can immediately identify the issue and do something about it such as address and apply a better training strategy.
Would you trust someone who nods their head about making changes then does nothing and hopes nothing will go wrong? Perhaps that’s a legacy of the banking crash why the DJ still has a poor view of industry a decade later. It’s time to rebuild that trust and RegTech document compliance is specifically designed to assist that process.
For more information about Signarus compliance solutions for the Microsoft cloud get in touch on (UK) 0207 788 9445.
