Compliance Lessons learnt from ‘Shoe Gate’

I thought this would be a useful blog to highlight the importance of communication when it comes to ensuring people are compliant within their business. Unless you have been in a regulated world, compliance requirements are often overlooked, or forgotten about when setting up new businesses. Whilst there are many reasons for this, communication shouldn’t be one of them. This lesson was highlighted after the children returned from the school holidays, just to give it some context.

‘So it has been an interesting week - there has been some heated discussions, even uproar, as in what is classed as a black shoe and what isn't.

You know the typical back to school scenario when a school tries to stick to their 'School Uniform Policy' - which 'has never changed' but wasn't really implemented properly as there was so much stuff going on over the last year. 

Now, I'm not sure why it is so difficult, but some people's interpretation of a black shoe is not the same as others. And well, some people think a trainer is the same as a black shoe. Needless to say, it's been an interesting week but what is more interesting to me is people's willingness or inability to follow the rules.

So I have been thinking, are you the sort of person that looks at the rules and comes up with every reason why that rule doesn't apply to you, or that it doesn't really mean what it says. You know, you know a trainer isn't a shoe but it was okay last year so surely its okay now? What's changed, I don't like change so I'm going to stick my head in the sand and ignore it. Then when you get pulled up for not doing the right thing, the 'it's not fair excuses' come, 'well it was okay last year, what's changed' or I don't agree with it so I won't follow it.

Or do you take control of the situation and implement the rules in a way that you are happy with - in a way that works for you. After all surely it's better to take control of the situation and implement the rules in a way that you see fit and that you are comfortable and can live with, than to have the rules imposed onto you when something bad happens and it is effectively taken outside of your control? And could potentially impact others.

You may not agree with all the rules, even I think some of them are unnecessary but by burying your head in the sand, well it is paramount to being the ostrich, you may not see what's coming but it gives people the opportunity the ability to kick us in the arse without us seeing it coming!

So what has shoes and data got to do with a pound of tripe (good old yorkshire saying)? - Everyone says that GDPR changed the way in which data was used in 2018, and some people are still sticking their head in the sands thinking the rules don't apply to them. However GDPR didn't really change anything that wasn't already in place in the UK under the Data Protection Act 1998 (as it was then) it just was never really implemented or monitored as it should. So a bit like the shoe policy, some people are still kicking off about how unfair it is, or it doesn't really matter or apply to them, as opposed to understanding and implementing it in line with a way that works for them.

The Genie can help with the interpretation and the implementation of the rules to make the process as painless as it can be for you and your business. In turn protecting you, your compliants and your business from potential complaints, which can occur when sticking your head in the sand.

So what learnings did we have from 'Shoe Gate' - some communication needs to be a bit clearer for some people than others, but at the end of the day even if the rules don't appear to have changed, it doesn't mean they should be ignored and it's always better to implement them on your terms as opposed to suffering the consequences of ignoring them.’

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