Secure Your Seat: Fitting In With The Executive Team

This episode of The Ethicsverse explores strategies for compliance officers to effectively communicate with and influence executive teams and boards of directors. The discussion covered understanding your audience, crafting impactful presentations, building relationships, and demonstrating the value of compliance programs through ROI metrics. Experts shared insights on overcoming common challenges and elevating the compliance function’s strategic importance.

Key themes included tailoring messages for different stakeholders, translating technical concepts for non-experts, and demonstrating return on investment (ROI) for compliance initiatives. Presenters shared practical tips on preparing for board interactions, managing time constraints, and positioning compliance as a business enabler. The discussion emphasized the need for compliance officers to move beyond activity metrics and focus on demonstrating behavior change and business outcomes. Strategies for building coalitions, leveraging data from across the organization, and continuously improving communication approaches were also addressed. Overall, the webinar provided a comprehensive toolkit for compliance professionals seeking to elevate their influence and secure a seat at the strategic decision-making table.

Meet The Ethics Experts:

• Angie Gorman, Managing Director, FTI Consulting – Strategic Communications
• Evan Roberts, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
• Giovanni Gallo, Co-CEO, Ethico

Understand Your Audience

• Thoroughly research board members’ backgrounds and experiences with compliance issues to tailor your presentation to their specific interests and level of expertise. It’s important to recognize how board expectations differ from those of the executive team and to adjust your approach accordingly.
• Seek feedback from colleagues who regularly interact with the board to gain insights into their preferences and concerns. Analyze past board meeting minutes to identify recurring themes and questions, using this information to anticipate potential areas of focus.
• Understanding your audience is crucial for effective communication with boards and executive teams. By aligning your message with the board’s primary concerns and motivations, you can significantly increase the impact and relevance of your presentations.

Craft Key Messages and Prepare for Q&A

• Focus on creating 3-5 key points that clearly articulate the “why” behind compliance initiatives and their direct impact on business strategy and priorities. It’s crucial to replace technical jargon with clear, accessible language that non-experts can easily grasp.
• Anticipate potential questions, especially on challenging or sensitive topics, and practice your responses to build confidence and ensure consistency. Prepare a comprehensive Q&A document that covers a wide range of potential inquiries, including difficult or unexpected questions.
• Developing a set of core messages that resonate with your audience is essential for effective board communication. By reinforcing your key messages throughout your presentation and in your Q&A responses, you can create a cohesive and memorable narrative that supports your compliance objectives.

Optimize Your Presentation Content and Delivery

• Develop concise, visually appealing slides that convey key points without overwhelming the audience with excessive text or data. Use your verbal presentation to bring these points to life, providing context and insights that go beyond what’s written on the slides.
• Highlight clear connections between compliance efforts and broader business objectives to demonstrate the strategic value of your function. Incorporate storytelling techniques and real-world examples to engage your audience and make complex concepts more relatable.
• Creating an impactful presentation goes beyond simply sharing information; it requires careful attention to both content and delivery. Before finalizing your presentation, seek feedback from colleagues outside your function to ensure clarity and relevance for a non-specialist audience.

Build Relationships and Coalitions

• Cultivate informal connections with executives between scheduled meetings by offering brief updates or insights that demonstrate the value of the compliance function. Align your messaging with other risk management functions such as legal and finance to present a unified front on key issues.
• Identify potential allies within the organization who can advocate for compliance priorities and support your initiatives. Leverage these relationships to gather intelligence on board dynamics and individual member preferences, using this information to refine your approach.
• Effective board communication extends far beyond formal presentations, requiring ongoing relationship-building and coalition-forming efforts. Collaborate closely with peers in other functions to ensure consistent messaging and avoid contradictions or redundancies in board communications.

Demonstrate ROI and Business Impact

• Move beyond simple activity metrics to show tangible behavior changes and positive business outcomes resulting from your programs. Collaborate with other departments to access relevant data sources that can help quantify the impact of compliance efforts on key performance indicators such as employee retention, corporate reputation, and customer trust.
• Conduct and present results from comprehensive compliance culture assessments to provide a benchmark for progress over time. Develop a consistent framework for tracking and reporting both risk mitigation and business enablement aspects of compliance, highlighting how your function contributes to strategic goals and competitive advantage.
• To secure ongoing support and resources, it’s critical to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) and business impact of compliance initiatives.

Tailor Approach for Board vs. Executive Team

• For board presentations, focus on high-level trends, emerging risks, and strategic implications of compliance initiatives. In contrast, provide more tactical details and frequent updates to the executive team, who are involved in day-to-day operations.
• Adjust the level of technical depth based on the audience’s expertise and areas of focus, being prepared to dive deeper on specific issues if requested. For board discussions, emphasize strategic alignment and long-term business impact, while executive team interactions allow for more detailed exploration of operational challenges and solutions.
• Recognizing the distinct needs and expectations of the board versus the executive team is crucial for effective communication. Build personal connections more actively with executives, as these relationships can provide valuable context and support for your board-level communications.

Manage Time Constraints Effectively

• Prioritize 3-5 key points that must be conveyed, even if your allotted time is cut short. Prepare a condensed version of your core message that can be delivered in as little as 5 minutes, ensuring you can communicate essential information under any circumstances.
• Use appendices or offer follow-up materials for less critical details, allowing you to focus on high-priority topics during the presentation. Practice transitioning smoothly between topics to maintain flow if you need to adjust your content on the fly
• Given the limited time often allocated for compliance presentations, effective time management is critical. Leave adequate time for questions and discussion on priority issues, as this interaction often provides valuable insights into board concerns and preferences.

Translate Technical Concepts for Non-Experts

• Focus on explaining the business implications of technical compliance requirements rather than delving into regulatory minutiae. Use analogies or real-world examples to illustrate complex ideas in a relatable way.
• Provide context on why specific regulations or standards matter to the organization’s operations and strategic objectives. Emphasize outcomes and risk exposure rather than technical details, helping board members understand the practical impact of compliance issues.
• Offer to provide deeper technical explanations if board members express interest, but be prepared to pivot back to business-focused discussion. Consider developing a “layperson’s guide” to key compliance concepts that board members can reference between meetings.

Position Compliance as a Business Enabler

• Highlight specific examples of how compliance efforts have directly supported strategic business objectives, such as facilitating entry into new markets or enhancing the company’s reputation. Demonstrate how a strong compliance program can serve as a competitive advantage, particularly in highly regulated industries or when dealing with risk-averse customers.
• Quantify time and resources saved through effective compliance measures, showing how proactive risk management can prevent costly incidents and regulatory penalties. Align compliance initiatives with the company’s core values and mission, emphasizing how ethical business practices contribute to long-term sustainability and success.
• To secure ongoing support and resources, it’s essential to position compliance as a strategic business enabler rather than just a cost center or necessary evil.

Continuously Improve Your Approach

• Actively solicit feedback from board members and executives after presentations to identify areas for improvement and topics of particular interest. Analyze which aspects of your presentations generate the most engagement and questions, using these insights to refine your future approach.
• Stay informed on emerging compliance trends and evolving board governance issues to ensure your communications remain relevant and forward-looking. Benchmark your approach against peers and industry best practices, seeking opportunities to innovate in your presentation methods and metrics.
• Effective board communication is an ongoing process that requires constant refinement and adaptation. Regularly reassess and update your key messages and performance metrics to ensure they continue to align with the organization’s strategic priorities and the board’s evolving concerns.

Conclusion

By implementing these strategies, compliance officers can significantly enhance their influence and effectiveness in communicating with boards and executive teams. The key lies in understanding your audience, crafting clear and relevant messages, building strong relationships, and demonstrating tangible business value. With practice and persistence, compliance leaders can secure their seat at the table as strategic partners in driving organizational success.