On a daily basis, compliance officers are asked to find solutions to a variety of operational requirements. For example, consider a regulatory change requiring the organization to adjust an operational process in order to bill for a particular service. In this case, the solution must be compliant and operational-friendly, but who’s responsible for making that happen? 

While supporting operations in finding compliant solutions is part of our role, becoming the de facto fixer of what constitutes “operationally friendly” is beyond our scope. That piece must be owned by operations.  

The challenge then becomes how to get operational leaders to take ownership for resolving their own compliance challenges. 

Five Strategies to Help Operational Leaders Take Responsibility 

These five strategies will help your operational leaders take responsibility for their particular compliance issues, while preserving your role as a trusted advisor. 

#1 Use a “Coach” Mindset, Not a “Gotcha” One 

If you want your leaders to take more ownership of their own compliance challenges, then position yourself as a coach who helps them think through problems and find solutions—not as a person who catches mistakes. 

To pull this off, you need to be intentional about the types of questions you ask. More specifically, you want to ask curiosity-based questions, not judgmental ones. Here are some examples of guiding questions you can ask as you’re helping them find a solution:  

• What challenges are you facing right now? 
• Is there a part of this new regulatory change that feels uncertain to you? 
• What steps do you think you need to take to address this issue? 
• What’s one small step you could take today to move forward? 
• What options or solutions have you considered? 

Know When to Step In and When Not To 

Having a coach mindset also means knowing when to step in—and when not to. For example, your role is to escalate compliance risk when appropriate (e.g. a deadline looks like it’s going to get missed), but it’s not to do the operational work for them (e.g., following up with a subject matter expert for their input).  

If a leader doesn’t take action despite your support, then resist the urge to fix it yourself. Instead, document it and elevate appropriately within your organizational structure to bring about resolution. 

Having a coach mindset encourages operational leaders to own their compliance challenges because when leaders feel heard and supported, they’re more motivated and invested in their work to find a solution. Also, by supporting those closest to the work in addressing issues, it leads to more practical (and often) faster solutions. 

#2 Frame Risk as Operational Risk, Not a Compliance Burden 

In my experience, operational leaders are more likely to engage when compliance is framed in business terms and not compliance jargon. For example, instead of reading or citing regulations, explain the operational impact of the requirement to them. Talk about things like billing delays, lost revenue, patient safety, or reputational damage.  

Additional topics to consider when framing risk as operational risk include: 

• Patient care 
• Staffing 
• Operational costs 
• Budget variances 
• Workflow 

Framing risk as operational and not as a compliance burden helps promote ownership in solving compliance challenges for a couple of reasons. First, this approach speaks their language. When you frame risk in terms that operations understand, they’re more likely to grasp the urgency and relevance of the ask.  

Second, it makes the problem theirs—not yours. If the risk is shown to impact their budget, performance metrics, or reputation, they’re more likely to feel responsible for addressing it.  

Finally, presenting risk in this way increases engagement and accountability. When compliance risks are reframed as disruptions to their performance goals—employees naturally step into problem-solving mode and take accountability.   

 
#3 Stay Curious, Not Critical 

In my experience, the most effective way to approach communications with operational leaders when it comes to compliance is one rooted in a curious mindset, not a judgmental one.  

For example, let’s assume a leader did not follow through on something they said they would do. A judgmental way to respond would be: “You said you would do this, but clearly that meant nothing.” On the other hand, if you said, “Tell me what challenges you’re facing in moving this forward?” that comes across less adversarial, and more likely to produce a collaborative discussion.   

To help compare and contrast the two approaches, consider these additional examples: 

Taking a curiosity-based approach helps support leaders in solving their own compliance challenges because it builds psychological safety by inviting open dialogue and new perspectives. In my experience, operational leaders are more likely to think creatively when they don’t feel scrutinized.  

#4 Make It Easy for Leaders to Act 

Like compliance officers, operational leaders face constant pressure, decision fatigue, and competing priorities—all of which leads to cognitive overload. Relatedly, if the problem-solving process feels overly complex or burdensome, leaders are likely to disengage or defer responsibility.  

To that end, making compliance easier for your leaders doesn’t mean dumbing it down—it means removing friction. (YouCompli Software is designed for this.) 

When you need support, free up mental bandwidth demands by simplifying the work. Clearly communicating expectations or removing unnecessary steps frees up their mental bandwidth. In my experience, when leaders feel less overwhelmed, they are more likely to engage with issues and take initiative.  

So how can you make the work easier for them? Here are some examples that may help: 

• Explain compliance language in terms they can understand. 
• Take the initiative to set up and facilitate root cause analysis discussions. 
• Coordinate and facilitate stakeholder calls to discuss solutions. 
• If they’re feeling stuck, suggest a series of smaller goals to achieve the work. 
• Provide templates, decision trees, checklists, or other tools to make compliance easier. 
• Offer potential solutions (but as pointed out above, don’t take on the work involved.) 

Making the work easier for your operational leaders encourages them to solve their own compliance challenges because it makes the process more approachable and less threatening. That, in turn, increases their willingness to participate and take ownership. When leaders feel less overwhelmed, they are more likely to engage with issues and take initiative.  

#5 Recognize and Reward Ownership 

Finally, another way to foster operational ownership is to call out your leaders (publicly or privately)—in a good way of course—when they take the initiative to solve their own compliance issues.  

For example, let’s assume an audit was conducted in a clinical department related to medical necessity documentation. As part of a corrective action plan, monitoring is needed to ensure the documentation is in the patient’s medical record. If the department director proactively develops a tool for monitoring and vets it with you, then in response, you might say:  

“I really appreciate how you took ownership to proactively develop this tool. That kind of initiative supports us in maintaining a strong culture of compliance in the organization.” 

If leaders only get attention when their problems are escalated to you, they learn to seek approval through dependence. Recognizing effective problem-solving flips the script. It signals that ownership and resolution—not escalation—are what gets rewarded. 

Here are some ways you can recognize and reward your leaders:  

• An unexpected handwritten thank you note directly to the leader, or better yet, the leader’s supervisor  
• One-on-one verbal recognition 
• A note sent from the Chief Compliance Officer (if that’s not you) to the leader 
• Public recognition in a department or team meeting 
• Nomination for a leadership award 
• Feature in a compliance or organizational newsletter 

Recognizing and rewarding great work is helpful for motivating leaders to solve their own compliance challenges. It creates a positive feedback loop where those behaviors become self-reinforcing and then contagious to others on the team. 

Compliance work is complex, and compliance work requires human interaction. That is especially true when it comes to getting your operational leaders to find solutions to their own compliance challenges.  

By following the strategies outlined above, you empower operational leaders to manage their own compliance risks. Just keep in mind that it is a process that takes time, but in the long run, an empowering leadership style will improve buy-in to your program and create a more cohesive culture of compliance.

Download a free PDF Tip Sheet Version of this blog below.

Jay is a compliance professional and consultant in Colorado. He is a healthcare lawyer with significant industry knowledge of the U.S. healthcare market. Over the past 20 years, he has worked for large for-profit and non-profit health systems and small physician-owned entities. In tackling the countless regulatory and operational issues for these diverse organization types, he has developed a deep understanding of the business of healthcare and the regulations governing the industry. 

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27 Ungated Resources for Compliance Leaders and Teams 

Compliance professionals sometimes feel undervalued in comparison to other functions in their organization. They think leaders and colleagues don’t really understand what they do.  

These resources will help. Packed with ideas, tips and recommendations, these pieces were written by professionals with many years of compliance experience. 

You can quickly skim for articles that relate to your needs and interests. Bookmark this page as a reference for future questions or projects.

Visit Now

---

• One Compliance Pro’s Regulatory Change Management Process    by Amy Laufmann, MBA
• Five ways to show how healthcare Compliance delivers value by Jerry Shafran
• Revenue Cycle Management Compliance: Ensuring… by Maya Turner, CPMA, CPCO, CFPC, CPC, CPC-I, AAPC
• 12 key metrics for compliance officers looking to… by Kenneth Zeko, JD, CHC
• Transforming Compliance to a Department of Yes  by Lisa Herota, RHIA, CHC, CHPS, CCS Compliance & Privacy Officer
• Three Strategies to Align Compliance with Revenue Cycle  by CJ Wolf, MD
• How the Three Lines Model Strengthens Healthcare Compliance by Kenneth Zeko, JD, CHC
• Mitigating Conflicts of Interest that Drive Profit… by Susan Thomas
• Navigating Compliance Responsibility: A Foundation… by Amy Laufmann, MBA
• New Regulation– Now What? Step-by-Step Guide to… by Amy Laufmann, MBA

The post 5 Strategies for Compliance Accountability Across the Organization  first appeared on YouCompli.

Assertive Communication Skills for Compliance Officers | 8 Steps 

A career in healthcare compliance can be both exciting and overwhelming. You’re tasked with ensuring regulations are followed; risks are managed, and ethical standards are upheld—all while working with clinical and administrative leaders who may have vastly different priorities. 

When it comes to the compliance program, effective communication is essential for building strong relationships, resolving conflicts and gaining buy-in. One of the most valuable interpersonal tools to help you achieve these goals is assertive communication. It allows you to express your thoughts, needs and boundaries in a clear and respectful manner.  

But here’s the challenge—it’s easy to confuse being assertive with being aggressive.  

Understanding the difference between these styles can help you avoid unnecessary conflict and communicate more effectively when it comes to compliance-related needs.  

In this article, I cover: 

• Key differences between the two communication styles 
• How assertive communication benefits the compliance program 
• Strategies to help you master this skillset 

What Is Assertive Communication? 

Assertiveness is a positive form of communication that uses a balanced approach. You express your opinion about something that you want (which is placing value in yourself), while respecting the opinions of the other people involved (which is placing value in others). 

For example, let’s assume your audit plan includes a review of medical necessity documentation for your cardiac rehab program. Let’s further assume the program’s director insists her unit doesn’t need to complete the audit, nor does she have available staff to complete the work.  

Assertive communication might look like you saying:  

“I understand your team is extremely busy right now. However, cardiac rehab billing has been the subject of a number of government settlements lately, and we want to make sure our practices can withstand a government investigation or audit. What if we work together to find the least disruptive approach for your team to complete the work?” 

This response is assertive because it acknowledges the program director’s concerns while communicating a compliance need.  

An assertive approach has several benefits:  

• First, it shows respect for yourself, which can help build confidence and self-esteem as you are expressing your needs in a positive manner.  
• Second, it’s an effective way to resolve conflict because you place equal value on everyone’s opinions.  
• Finally, it strengthens the relationship because you demonstrate respect for others.  

What Is Aggressive Communication? 

Aggressiveness is a negative form of communication. When you communicate aggressively, you offset the above-noted balance by sending a message to others that your opinion has a higher value than their opinion. It tends to be forceful, disrespectful, and often disregards the needs or perspectives of others.  

Let’s circle back to the scenario involving the cardiac rehab audit for a moment. The following might look like aggressive communication when responding back to the program director:  

“This is completely unacceptable. If your team doesn’t care about complying with the regulations, I’ll escalate this to your supervisor and let them know you’re putting the organization at risk.” 

Yikes.  

Such a response is aggressive because it uses blame, sarcasm, threats and an authoritarian tone.  

An aggressive approach can create several risks for the compliance program.  

• While it may produce short-term results, it damages trust and long-term relationships, reducing your chances of buy-in.  
• Taking such an approach demonstrates an intent to shut down dialogue at a time when you need it most for your compliance program activities.  
• It creates an environment where operational leaders feel reluctant to seek your advice. This can result in little messes becoming big ones because leaders are not reaching out to you proactively.  

Key Differences between Aggressive and Assertive Communication 

Generally speaking, assertive communication focuses on standing up for yourself. Aggressive communication focuses on attacking others. To help distinguish the difference, consider the following comparison and ask yourself—which feels more respectful?  

3 Ways Assertive Communication Drives Compliance Success 

Healthcare compliance officers often deal with sensitive topics like billing errors, patient privacy breaches or improper medical record documentation, all of which, by their very nature, can be emotionally charged situations. This makes good communication more important than ever. 

Assertive communication helps when it comes to carrying out sensitive compliance work for three main reasons.  

1. It nurtures your professional relationships.  

Assertive individuals communicate openly (i.e., sharing the good and bad news), which leads to trust and mutual respect while preventing resentment and misunderstandings. Open communication also fosters collaboration, productivity and teamwork. These traits are important when it comes to things like finding a compliant solution to a business proposal or carrying out corrective action plans. 

2. It improves self-confidence and decision-making.  

When individuals advocate for their needs and opinions, they feel more empowered. This confidence leads to better decision-making and problem-solving skills. Assertive communicators are willing to ask questions, clarify expectations, and negotiate effectively. This benefits work such as investigations, internal consulting and auditing.  

3. It encourages respect and professionalism.  

Assertive communication promotes a culture of mutual respect. When you communicate in a way that sets clear expectations and provides constructive feedback, you create an environment where ideas are valued.  

When it comes to things like implementing a new operational process to meet a requirement, or handling a government payer refund, compliance officers must communicate expectations, provide guidance and handle conflicts professionally. These are characteristics of an assertive style that will improve your results. 

Jay is a compliance professional and consultant in Colorado. He is a healthcare lawyer with significant industry knowledge of the U.S. healthcare market. Over the past 20 years, he has worked for large for-profit and non-profit health systems and small physician-owned entities. In tackling the countless regulatory and operational issues for these diverse organization types, he has developed a deep understanding of the business of healthcare and the regulations governing the industry. 

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The post Aggressive vs Assertive Communication: What New Healthcare Compliance Officers Need to Know  first appeared on YouCompli.

Want Better Training Results? Tell Your Story. 

It’s really simple – people get hooked on stories, and the tales stick with us.  For example, once upon a time, there was a girl named Cinderella. Not only does that line open every fairy tale, but it also won’t leave your mind, no matter how old you get. That’s the same result you want for compliance communication and training, right? 

What’s more – the same tales can be told as moral lessons as we get older. In Cinderella, the Princess gets invited to the ball and ends up with her Prince Charming, so it’s the classic, recognizable tale of good trumps evil. Beauty and the Beast centers on a young lad cast under a spell that can only be broken by true love and when it is, the two live happily ever after. The connections with stories are timeless.

Own Your Story with Confidence 

People have always related to stories, and everyone has a story to tell. What’s yours? You just need to own it and believe it’s worth telling. In the business world, your story might be communication about an important regulatory update that affects multiple departments.  

Have the confidence to get in front of adult learners and teach them about this important change. If you’re real, if you own and tell your story, you too can connect to people and change cultures, even in healthcare compliance. 

Crafting The Compliance Narrative  

It’s one thing to be a knowledgeable teacher and convey information to students, but it’s a whole other skill to be creative and entertaining with the subject matter so it sticks with students in a fun, engaging way. A well-crafted narrative definitely has its place in education, and that includes compliance training.  

Achieving this level of success means first putting thought into what that story looks like. You need to determine exactly what it is you’re trying to teach. Is it a policy? A finding from a recent inspection? Best practices? Whatever it is, figure out the best way to connect this information with your audience. That could take different formats, depending on the situation. 

Simple and Straightforward 

For example, an inspector is on-site investigating a complaint received about your facility. They just want to know what happened from beginning to end. This means you need to find out and tell them the full truth, clearly articulating the story from beginning to end so you won’t prompt too many questions.  

Get Attention with Negative Consequences 

Here’s another example. You’re at a nursing meeting, and a new policy has rolled out. At this point it’s not about you. Present it in a way that shows you understand how the new policy impacts THEM. Explain why they should adhere to this policy and the consequences if they don’t. This situation is a perfect place for a story illustrating negative consequences.  

Craft your story based on audience, requirements and outcomes.  

Two Steps to Building an Effective Compliance Narrative 

Drawing on your own strengths, abilities and resources often leads to more resonant, relevant interactions with colleagues. We’ve found taking these two steps can enhance your ability as a communicator. 

1 – Share your experiences to create meaning.  

Draw from your personal life to show how problems can be solved. This not only clarifies concepts but also motivates learners to learn new skills and solutions, making the story more meaningful to them. When learners find meaning in the concepts you teach, they’re more likely to pay attention, stay on task and grasp what is being taught.  

2 – Embrace your authenticity to build trust.  

People smell fake. They know when speakers have agendas and are trying to sell something or are even flat-out lying. Speaking your authentic truth builds trust with your learners. Yes, it’s hard to put your innermost thoughts and opinions out in public, especially in an open forum. You open yourself up to possible criticism, and that’s hard to take. But what that does is help you grow a little tougher skin, and that’s very healthy.  

Practice Being a Compliance Communicator. Then Do It Again. 

If you’ve never done much group speaking before, communicating as an educator will be new and possibly intimidating. But you will find that being real speaks volumes. You’re not teaching to impress or cater to anyone. Practice telling your story warts and all. Then do it again and again and again. 

Stories connect people while transmitting knowledge. Make yours compelling, and you contribute significantly to your educational effectiveness.  

John R. Nocero, Ph.D., and Andrea L. Bordonaro, MAT, blog on LinkedIn as “The Q-Kids,” discussing everything related to clinical research education, inspiration, and professional connection. 

John is the Director of Quality at River Vista in Columbus, Ohio. He has worked in clinical research since 2003 and is inspired by the Irish professional wrestler Becky Lynch, whose personal and professional story centers on achievement, tenacity, grit, and overcoming adversity.  

Andrea has taught first grade in Willoughby, Ohio for 25 years. She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from John Carroll University and a Master’s Degree in the Art of Teaching and Education from Marygrove College. 

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The post How Storytelling Improves Compliance Communication and Training  first appeared on YouCompli.

Within the business of healthcare, we talk a lot about a strong culture of compliance. Typically, such discussion is focused on really committing to compliance throughout all levels of the organization. Given that people make decisions that affect how the organization operates, understanding human behavior is essential skill for any compliance professional. It helps you determine why certain decisions are made or not made, and aids in your ability to cultivate a strong culture of compliance.  

Below are five strategies to help you align human behavior with your compliance program. 

1-Understand the Root Cause of Non-Compliance 

In my experience, non-compliance is often the result of competing priorities, misunderstandings, or systemic issues – not someone’s malicious intent. To know for sure, you have to dig into what is causing the non-compliance from the perspective of those living with the rules, not the person enforcing them. For example, are factors like workload, operational complexities, lack of awareness, or unclear policies driving the lapse in compliance? 

In a book called Humanizing Rules, former regulator and compliance officer/author Christian Hunt points out that “if one person breaks a rule, you’ve got a people problem. If lots of people break a rule, you’ve got a rule problem.” 

Tip: Always be mindful about what is driving non-compliance and make that your focal point. 

2-Simplify Your Policies 

Another approach for aligning human behavior to your compliance program is to make sure your policies are clear from the end user’s standpoint.  

In my experience, policies that are complex, vague, overly technical, or contain a lot of regulatory language or legalese (i.e., gobbledygook) are harder for workforce members to follow and more likely to be overlooked. To overcome this challenge, simplify your organization’s policies into clear and actionable steps that are connected to an already understood purpose. 

In a book called Ethics and Compliance for Humans, author Adam Balfour advocates for starting with “the why” behind the policy. Balfour rightly points out that if you can’t clearly explain why you need a policy, then you should be questioning whether or not the policy is truly needed.  

Tip: Seek input from the individuals who have to live with the policy or regulatory requirements to help you in designing policy language that is practical and clearly understood by the end user. 

3-Design Training that is Tailored to Your Audience 

Another approach for ensuring your compliance program aligns with human behavior is to ensure your training materials are tailored to your audience. For example, if I were educating a group of physicians about HIPAA and safeguarding PHI, I might use an example of discussing a patient’s treatment plan in front of friends or family members. 

Keep in mind that most healthcare organizations contain employees of varying demographic, educational, and professional backgrounds. For that reason, you need to be intentional to take these differences into account when you are delivering your compliance message. Any time you can use relatable examples, it will help you in carrying your compliance message of “do this” or “don’t do that.”  

Tip: As you design your training, use practical scenarios and real-world operational consequences relevant to your audience.  

4-Recognize and Reward Behavior Supporting the Compliance Program 

A big challenge we all face as compliance officers is getting people to speak up about reporting concerns. A human-centered approach you can take to help overcome this struggle is to recognize and reward employees when they have supported the compliance program.  

For example, if someone asks a clarifying question in a meeting about a new policy or regulatory requirement, publicly acknowledge your appreciation of them for asking the question. If an employee reports a concern that turns out to be legitimate, send them a thank you note. Or better yet, send it unexpectedly to their supervisor. Taking steps like these will encourage them to continue to support the compliance program and model that behavior to other employees. 

Tip: Develop a routine practice of acknowledging your appreciation of others when they support the compliance program.  

5-Make Compliance Easy by Providing Tools to Reduce Friction 

In the book Atomic Habits, author James Clear argues that to increase positive habits and eliminate negative ones, you should focus on reducing the inconvenience friction that is causing bad habits.  

I would argue the same concept can be applied to compliance work. For example, if you have a clinical documentation form that needs to be completed by physicians and nurses, color-code which sections apply to the physicians and which ones apply to the nurses to avoid confusion.  

Checklists, templated forms, calendar reminders, and check-and-balance procedures amongst multiple team members are some additional examples of tools that can be created to help others ensure consistent rates of compliance.   

When you make compliance easy for others, you are taking an approach to your work that is focused on human behavior.  

Tip: Engage with your audience to help co-design tools that will help reduce friction to compliance.  

Compliance work is complex, and success in compliance requires human interaction. Addressing human behavior in compliance requires empathy, adaptability, and strategic thinking. By understanding the psychological and organizational factors influencing decision-making, you can create work product (e.g., policies, training) that empowers employees to consistently make better operational decisions and foster a stronger culture of compliance.  

Jay is a compliance professional and consultant in Colorado. He is a healthcare lawyer with significant industry knowledge of the U.S. healthcare market. Over the past 20 years, he has worked for large for-profit and non-profit health systems and small physician-owned entities. In tackling the countless regulatory and operational issues for these diverse organization types, he has developed a deep understanding of the business of healthcare and the regulations governing the industry. 

Take Free RL3M Assessment (Regulatory Lifecycle Management Maturity Model)

RL3M Assessment

Download our Latest Whitepaper

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Qualified compliance professionals do the heavy lifting for you, simplifying regulatory change management  

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27 Ungated Resources for Compliance Leaders and Teams 

Compliance professionals sometimes feel undervalued in comparison to other functions in their organization. They think leaders and colleagues don’t really understand what they do.  

These resources will help. Packed with ideas, tips and recommendations, these pieces were written by professionals with many years of compliance experience. 

You can quickly skim for articles that relate to your needs and interests. Bookmark this page as a reference for future questions or projects.

Visit Now

---

• One Compliance Pro’s Regulatory Change Management Process    by Amy Laufmann, MBA
• Five ways to show how healthcare Compliance delivers value by Jerry Shafran
• Revenue Cycle Management Compliance: Ensuring… by Maya Turner, CPMA, CPCO, CFPC, CPC, CPC-I, AAPC
• 12 key metrics for compliance officers looking to… by Kenneth Zeko, JD, CHC
• Transforming Compliance to a Department of Yes  by Lisa Herota, RHIA, CHC, CHPS, CCS Compliance & Privacy Officer
• Three Strategies to Align Compliance with Revenue Cycle  by CJ Wolf, MD
• How the Three Lines Model Strengthens Healthcare Compliance by Kenneth Zeko, JD, CHC
• Mitigating Conflicts of Interest that Drive Profit… by Susan Thomas
• Navigating Compliance Responsibility: A Foundation… by Amy Laufmann, MBA
• New Regulation– Now What? Step-by-Step Guide to… by Amy Laufmann, MBA

The post Five Strategies for Aligning Human Behavior With Your Compliance Program first appeared on YouCompli.

In the hustle and bustle of today’s business world, speed often takes precedence over everything else—especially in the world of a compliance officer. As regulations change or investigations are needed, we often get pushed to work faster, meet tighter deadlines, and juggle multiple tasks simultaneously.  

While this approach might seem efficient on the surface, it often leads to several downsides—burnout, decreased productivity, and a decline in the quality of work.  

Here are five tips to help you and your compliance team slow down: 

1. Lead by Example 

One of the most effective ways to encourage employees to slow down is for compliance leaders to model this behavior. If compliance officers see their leaders constantly rushing, overworking, and neglecting their well-being, they will likely feel pressured to do the same. On the other hand, when compliance leaders prioritize quality over quantity, take time for thoughtful decision-making, and emphasize work-life balance, their employees are more likely to follow suit. 

What does “lead by example” look like in practice? It all starts with being intentional, focusing on one task at a time, and openly discussing the importance of pacing and taking breaks.  

2. Define Productivity 

Sticking with the theme of intentionality, it’s also essential to define productivity for your compliance team. Instead of measuring success solely by how much work is completed or how quickly tasks are done, emphasize the importance of quality and sustainable performance to your team members. For example, whenever appropriate, encourage them to take the time needed to produce high-quality work rather than rushing to meet an arbitrarily imposed deadline. Also, recognize and reward your team members for things like their attention to detail, innovative thinking, and problem-solving skills.  

3. Set Realistic Expectations 

Unrealistic deadlines and excessive workloads are major contributors to a rushed and stressful work environment. To help your team members slow down, it’s important to set realistic expectations, based on risk to the organization, for what can be accomplished in a given timeframe. 

For example, internally consulting to an operational leader on a proposed business deal should not take precedence over responding to a government audit deadline. To help set realistic expectations, work closely with your team to understand their workloads and help prioritize tasks.  

4. Encourage Regular Breaks 

Another approach is to advise your team members to take regular breaks. You can encourage them to take time out to work on another project, stretch, walk around, or even just step away from their computer screens. Doing so helps maintain focus and prevent fatigue, especially in the context of working through a complex investigation or audit.  

5. Educate Them on the Importance of Quality Over Speed 

Emphasize to your team that the quality of their work product is more important than the speed with which they turn it around. As you communicate this message, educate them about the pitfalls of prioritizing speed over quality: that rushing leads to mistakes, and questions are not asked that should be. In these cases, this ends up creating more work for everyone in the long run.   

Compliance work is complex, and in today’s environment there is a constant push to be faster. If you follow the approaches outlined above, you will help your employees find a more balanced approach to their work and improve the efficiency and overall performance of your compliance program. 

Jay is a compliance professional and consultant in Colorado. He is a healthcare lawyer with significant industry knowledge of the U.S. healthcare market. Over the past 20 years, he has worked for large for-profit and non-profit health systems and small physician-owned entities. In tackling the countless regulatory and operational issues for these diverse organization types, he has developed a deep understanding of the business of healthcare and the regulations governing the industry. 

Download a .PDF Version of this Tip Sheet

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The post How Slowing Down Makes for a More Productive Compliance Program first appeared on YouCompli.

Leaders in compliance often come from a variety of backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives and skills to the table. Whether their expertise lies in law, business management, or clinical care, these professionals play a critical role in ensuring that healthcare organizations meet their regulatory obligations while maintaining high standards of patient care and operational efficiency.  

Let’s review how the backgrounds of compliance leaders in legal, business (MBAs/MHAs), and clinical fields often shape their approach to compliance leadership, and why each’s approach is valuable. Diversity is essential in navigating today’s complex healthcare landscape, and understanding each approach is something to consider when evaluating your compliance leadership. 

Legal Background: Navigating Regulations with Precision 

Compliance leaders with a legal background have significant experience working with healthcare laws and regulations. Their strength lies in their deep understanding of regulatory frameworks, including the nuances of state and federal laws such as HIPAA, the False Claims Act, and Stark Law. 

Strengths 

• Regulatory Expertise: These leaders excel at interpreting and applying laws to the organization’s operations. They also anticipate legal risks, ensuring that the organization stays ahead of potential compliance pitfalls. 
• Risk Mitigation: Lawyers are trained to think critically about liabilities, making them highly effective in identifying and mitigating legal risks before they escalate. 
• Contractual Acumen: Legal professionals also bring a strong understanding of contracts and legal agreements, which is critical when working with third-party vendors or in mergers and acquisitions. 

Potential Challenges 

• Operational Disconnect: Compliance leaders with legal backgrounds may struggle with the operational aspects of healthcare if they lack hands-on experience running a healthcare business.  
• Rigid Approach: Sometimes, a legalistic mindset may lean towards conservative or overly cautious approaches that can slow down decision-making processes. 

Leadership Style 

• Compliance-First: Legal-trained leaders prioritize adhering to regulations and preventing legal infractions, often implementing detailed policies and procedures to maintain strict compliance standards. 

Business Background: Strategic, Big-Picture Thinkers 

Compliance leaders with a background in business – often holding MBAs or MHAs – bring a different perspective focused on strategy, operations, and organizational efficiency. These leaders often have experience in healthcare administration or executive management, which gives them a comprehensive understanding of the business side of healthcare. 

Strengths 

• Operational Efficiency: Business leaders excel at streamlining processes and ensuring that compliance initiatives align with the organization’s broader goals, such as improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, or enhancing operational efficiency. 
• Data-Driven Decision Making: They often use analytics and metrics to drive decision-making, measuring compliance effectiveness and ensuring resources are allocated efficiently. 
• Cross Departmental Collaboration: With a deep understanding of organizational dynamics, they are adept at fostering collaboration across departments, ensuring that compliance is integrated into every aspect of operations. 

Potential Challenges 

• Regulatory Knowledge Limitations: Leaders from a business background may lack the same depth of knowledge in healthcare regulations as their legal counterparts, which can be a potential blind spot without strong legal collaboration.  
• Over-Emphasis on ROI: A business-minded focus on profitability or return on investment (ROI) may conflict with compliance initiatives that prioritize regulatory adherence over cost-saving measures. 

Leadership Style 

• Strategic and Collaborative: Business leaders are typically big-picture thinkers who seek to align compliance initiatives with broader organizational strategies, ensuring a balance between legal compliance and operational success. 

Clinical Background: Patient-Centered and Ground-Level Insight 

Compliance leaders from clinical backgrounds, such as nurses, physicians, or other healthcare providers, bring an invaluable, patient-centered perspective to compliance management. Their experience in direct patient care allows them to understand how compliance affects both patient outcomes and day-to-day operations. 

Strengths 

• Patient-Centric Focus: Clinical leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure that compliance initiatives enhance patient safety and care quality, as they understand the direct impact of regulatory adherence on patient outcomes. 
• Real-World Insights: Their hands-on experience provides them with a deep understanding of how compliance policies play out in real-world clinical settings, making them effective at implementing practical, patient-centered solutions. 
• Credibility with Clinical Staff: With their shared background, clinical compliance leaders often gain the trust and respect of healthcare staff, making it easier to foster a culture of compliance across clinical teams. 

Potential Challenges 

• Business and Legal Gaps: Clinical leaders may lack familiarity with the legal or business aspects of healthcare compliance, potentially leading to gaps in regulatory interpretation or strategic alignment without adequate support from other departments. 
• Narrow Focus: A highly patient-centric approach can sometimes lead to overlooking broader operational or financial considerations that are critical to comprehensive compliance management. 

Leadership Style 

• Patient-First, Practical Approach: Clinical leaders often advocate for compliance measures that directly improve patient care, seeking to align regulatory adherence with clinical excellence. 

The Power of a Diverse Compliance Team 

Healthcare compliance is a multifaceted challenge, and compliance teams benefit from having people from diverse leadership backgrounds. Leaders with legal, business, and clinical expertise each bring unique strengths to the role, ensuring that compliance initiatives are legally sound as well as strategic and patient-centered. The most successful compliance programs often come from a collaborative approach, where legal precision, business strategy, and clinical insight intersect to create a robust framework that promotes both regulatory adherence and high-quality care.  

Regardless of who is leading the team, it’s critical to include staff on compliance teams from all backgrounds. No single background has all the answers, but by combining the strengths of these diverse perspectives, healthcare organizations can navigate the complexities of compliance with agility and confidence.  

Amy Laufmann is client success manager at YouCompli. She has 10+ years of experience in healthcare compliance and operations, and is passionate about helping healthcare organizations operate better and deliver better patient outcomes.  

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The post Compliance Leadership Diversity is Key: Legal, Business, and Clinical Backgrounds  first appeared on YouCompli.

As a healthcare compliance professional, you are tasked with navigating complex regulations, ensuring your organization adheres to the highest standards of ethical and legal practices, and protecting patient safety. Demonstrating competence, building credibility, and fostering collaboration are key to success in your role. These qualities enhance your effectiveness and ensure you are a valuable and trusted partner within an organization. 

Demonstrating Competence 

In the complex landscape of healthcare regulations, we cannot possibly know the answer to every question we receive at the moment. That said, not knowing the answer does NOT equate to a lack of competence. Competence is best displayed by knowing where to go to provide a full and comprehensive response to regulatory questions, and what questions to ask yourself to ensure a comprehensive response based on common healthcare rules and regulations. 

Here are some tips to clearly demonstrate your competence as a compliance professional: 

• Know what rules apply and where to go to find answers!  
  • Understand the impacts of federal, state, and accreditation standards that affect organizations. Many responses from compliance professionals require referencing and reviewing one or many of the regulatory bodies to draft a complete response. Do you need to reference state scopes of practice, federal rules like Conditions of Participation, or accreditation standards?  
  • Understand that outside of federal and state rules and regulations, any organization-specific policy must be followed and can be cited in surveys and investigations. If your policies are stricter or include more clearly defined timeframes than the regulations, you should incorporate all applicable organizational policies into your response for operational teams to review, address, and update as needed. 
• Communicate clearly and effectively!  
  • Respond in a manner appropriate to the person asking the question. Anyone can copy and paste rules, regulations, and policies – but it’s our role to take it one step further. When the risk of non-compliance exists, we need to provide guidance and insight on what organizations are getting right or where an update or change may be necessary. 
• Stay informed!  
  • In addition to monitoring, reviewing, making recommendations, and identifying areas of non-compliance, professionals must proactively educate themselves. Be sure to stay informed on the latest industry trends, best practices, and regulatory changes and trends that may impact your organization.  
• Set the tone! 
  • Are surveyors onsite? Surprise investigation? How you react, respond, and approach stressful situations as a compliance professional will set the tone for all others included in those activities. No one responds well to those who immediately show a state of irritation, apprehension, and anxiety with unplanned compliance activities. Approach each unplanned survey, inspection, and investigation as a learning opportunity and present a professional, calm, and collected approach when working in these stressful situations.  

Building Credibility & Fostering Collaboration 

To make advancements in the state of compliance in your organization, you need people to engage with and trust in your ability to help them improve upon compliance challenges.  

Build your credibility and foster collaboration by: 

• Building relationships and being present! 
  • Credibility is built on trust, and trust is earned through relationships – interacting, working, and engaging with teams. Take the time to build rapport with colleagues across various departments. Be approachable, listen actively, and show empathy for the challenges others face in their roles. By being a trusted advisor rather than a distant enforcer, you can encourage open dialogue and foster a culture of compliance that is collaborative rather than adversarial. In my opinion – compliance MUST be visible, be present, and be engaging directly, regularly, and frequently across ALL LEVELS of the organization. 
• Being transparent! 
  • Share the state of compliance openly within departments of the organization. This allows staff at all levels to identify where compliance risks lie and where great achievements have been made. Risks and progress towards goals should regularly be reported to organizational staff where appropriate. Be sure to identify compliance challenges and frame them as opportunities to grow – and celebrate the wins. Showcase those successes! 
• Staying adaptable and open to change! 
  • Compliance professionals must help teams be adaptable and stay positive in what can be a field that tends to focus on the negative. They can help facilitate these mindsets by staying open to feedback and continuously seeking ways to improve the organization’s compliance process and approach. Ask the teams you’re working with what’s going well and what your compliance department may be able to improve upon. Then report back to them about your progress to show that you are interested in being a strategic partner and can follow your own advice. 
• Being accountable! 
  • Do what you say you are going to do! It’s that simple. So often, compliance teams are stretched to manage so many activities and it feels like they can’t get everything done. Still, be accountable for what you communicate. Do what you say you are going to do. If any delays arise that impact your ability to complete specific requests, tell people as openly and completely as possible.  

Compliance is not just about enforcing rules – it is about guiding your organization towards a culture of integrity and excellence. By embodying these principles, you can show competence, credibility, and collaboration and help ensure your organization thrives in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. 

Amy Laufmann is client success manager at YouCompli. She has 10+ years of experience in healthcare compliance and operations and is passionate about helping healthcare organizations operate better and deliver better patient outcomes.  

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27 Ungated Resources for Compliance Leaders and Teams 

Compliance professionals sometimes feel undervalued in comparison to other functions in their organization. They think leaders and colleagues don’t really understand what they do.  

These resources will help. Packed with ideas, tips and recommendations, these pieces were written by professionals with many years of compliance experience. 

You can quickly skim for articles that relate to your needs and interests. Bookmark this page as a reference for future questions or projects.

Visit Now

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The post How to Build Compliance Competence, Credibility, and Collaboration first appeared on YouCompli.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Jenny O’Brien is one of YouCompli’s Titans of Compliance. As part of her “Next Jen” series, she contributes posts that help the next generation of compliance leaders learn skills, attributes, and other characteristics to succeed in their careers. It’s all part of her commitment to developing both the compliance profession and individual compliance professionals. For more posts by Jenny O’Brien, visit her Author Page.) 

In my last article “I Got the Compliance Job, Now What?” our focus was tips and tricks to help you bring value and be relevant to your new team. In this article, the focus shifts from the individual to how your compliance program and team bring value and are relevant to the goals and priorities of your organization. 

The Parallel Path of a Compliance Program 

Truly effective compliance programs have a strategic vision supported by a business plan that is communicated to C-suite leaders. The plan should encompass a comprehensive roadmap that takes it down two distinct but equally critical paths. The first is to ensure regulatory requirements are met, and the second is to demonstrate awareness and alignment with key business priorities. Ultimately, supporting both results in compliance being a key partner around the organization and achieving its business priorities and goals. 

Meeting Regulatory Expectations/Requirements 

A compliance program exists quite simply because it is mandatory for organizations that accept funding from Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal government programs. To participate, organizations must demonstrate there are processes in place to prevent, detect, and correct regulatory issues. The framework of the seven elements of a compliance program is established by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and other state and federal regulations. All of these were recently detailed by the OIG’s General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG); even though this is voluntary, it signals regulators’ expectations if/when your program is audited.  

At its core, demonstrating to the regulators that you have a framework for the seven elements of an effective compliance program is a fundamental reason an organization invests in a compliance program. However, limiting your compliance program’s impact to this singular purpose is shortchanging both your program and your organization. 

Compliance’s Value Proposition to Your Organization 

The second, and (I would posit) even more critical role your compliance department should play for your organization, is to demonstrate the value-add of a compliance department beyond satisfying regulatory requirements.  Examples include: 

• Aligning with Business Priorities: Embedding your team into each operational area allows for awareness and input early in the process, and for compliance to serve as strategic advisors and proactively support implementing business priorities.  
• Scaling for Growth: The compliance team needs to understand key business priorities so they can be part of the solution and respond to business needs. This requires hiring talent that can be flexible and nimble in supporting new areas of growth and emerging risk issues. 
• Prioritizing Consumer-Centric Focus: So much of any organization’s focus is on organic growth and ensuring retention of current customers and/or patients. Compliance aligns well with others around the business committed to providing high quality, operational excellence, and a zero-defect mindset. 

Bottom line: rather than limiting the breadth and scope of your compliance program to what is minimally required by regulators, think of the breadth and scope of what it should be. As I mentioned in my last article, you should be building relationships with business partners to better understand their priorities. This enables you to think strategically, be innovative, and bring ideas and solutions that are proactive rather than reactive. Now that is a quantifiable value proposition! 

Jenny O’Brien, JD, MS, CHC is president and principal at BlackBridge Advisors. She has been the chief compliance officer (CCO) at multiple companies, including UnitedHealthcare, as well as a state assistant attorney general and a partner at a law firm. She is a past president and board member of HCCA/SCCE, serves on the boards of Bon Secours Mercy Health System and St. Charles Health System, and the advisory boards of Stellar Health and YouCompli. 

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27 Ungated Resources for Compliance Leaders and Teams 

Compliance professionals sometimes feel undervalued in comparison to other functions in their organization. They think leaders and colleagues don’t really understand what they do.  

These resources will help. Packed with ideas, tips and recommendations, these pieces were written by professionals with many years of compliance experience. 

You can quickly skim for articles that relate to your needs and interests. Bookmark this page as a reference for future questions or projects.

Visit Now

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The post Next Jen: The Value of Compliance Programs and Teams  first appeared on YouCompli.

As a former compliance professional, I have experienced how different compliance can be viewed, utilized, or integrated into various healthcare organizations. I have seen compliance and operational teams work together in a collaborative, transparent, communicative way to improve compliance objectives, decrease the number of identified deficiencies, and maintain oversight on plans of correction. I have also experienced first-hand when compliance can be its own biggest obstacle in getting buy-in, fostering collaboration, and well… being successful in getting leadership and operations on board to make meaningful changes.  

At one time in my previous experience, I had the incredible opportunity of leading a compliance program for an organization that received ZERO DEFICIENCES during an accreditation survey. Was this success mine alone? It was not! Was this success part of a solid compliance approach aimed at getting buy-in from leadership, operations, and staff at every level…absolutely! 

So how is compliance often its own biggest obstacle in achieving compliance goals and objectives?  

The “Us” versus “Them” Dynamic for Compliance in Organizations 

In my experience one of the first challenges to overcome is the “us” versus “them” dynamic that often persists amongst compliance and staff at all levels. The “us” can be staff at all levels, leadership teams, department managers, and all working clinical and administrative staff. The “them” is often anyone working outside of their immediate groups, departments, or operational functions – like compliance teams.  

Compliance teams should critically evaluate how they are perceived and how specifically their teams are integrated into the organization. This includes answering some of these questions:  

• How is compliance perceived across staff at all levels in your organization? Do you have buy-in from leadership, but run into obstacles getting department staff to engage and prioritize compliance work or objectives?  
• When your compliance teams send an email, are staff responding? Do they recognize your name, or are they familiar with who you are? Do they see you as someone beneficial to their team that they should respond to and work with? 
• Do staff view compliance as a resource or an obstacle?  
• Does your team encourage open, honest, and transparent communication about the current state of compliance? Are your teams currently getting any feedback, questions, or requests for support? 

Having competent compliance staff with the expertise and skills to support teams is certainly foundational as a first step. However, the soft skills that compliance professionals bring to the process are often just as crucial to the success of getting staff on board with the organization’s compliance plan and objectives.  

Overcoming the “Us” Versus “Them” Dynamic 

How can compliance teams overcome this “us” versus “them” dynamic? Here are some points to consider:  

• Compliance teams should regularly review their compliance plan/program and objectives. Begin with an organized approach to managing compliance within an organization, and combine that with open, honest, and transparent communication.  
• The compliance team should not solely have a plan to audit, monitor, and report on the state of compliance – it should also be visible, familiar, and regularly available to staff. This will ensure successful engagement with operations and clinical staff to meet current rules, regulations, and accreditation or certification standards.  
• Identify influential staff members at every level who can positively influence their peers to support compliance’s objectives. Compliance teams often do not have a direct line of authority over the teams they need to influence. Identifying influential individuals, and helping them become compliance allies, can help shift the perception of compliance. Instead of being perhaps an irritation or obstacle for operational teams, compliance staff can be a valuable partner, with similar goals of supporting safe patient care, identifying and reducing risk, and supporting teams to make improvements. 

While I once audited an inpatient hospice facility, I worked alongside a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who had been with the organization for years. Despite her formal role, she had more sway over the staff than the CEO in many circumstances. Her dedication to patient care, hard work, and collaborative spirit made her an invaluable ally to the compliance team. During facility audits, she became my shadow, asking questions, taking notes, and becoming aware and receptive to many aspects of compliance that were overlooked. She became a champion of the facility’s compliance objectives and helped to shift the team’s perception and understanding of working with the compliance team. This staff member made such a successful impact in terms of engagement and collaboration with the entire team that forming these connections became a top priority for me in my compliance efforts moving forward. 

In your organization, who are those influential staff members within leadership, management, and operations? How can you form connections with them, and in turn demonstrate the value, resources, expertise, and support that compliance teams can provide? 

• Obtain buy-in from leadership. While identifying those influential staff members, it’s crucial to earn buy-in from executive leaders and their support teams. It seems simple, but a great first step in this effort is engaging early and often. Keep them updated regularly on compliance activities, challenges, and success stories!  
• Continuous engagement and communication. Compliance professionals don’t just need the expertise to provide sound guidance. They also need the ability to build relationships and engage/communicate effectively with staff at all levels. In addition to being visible and available, compliance teams can consider additional channels of engagement and communication such as: 
• Newsletters. Communicate and distribute information related to compliance activities and goals – like upcoming regulatory changes, state and federal survey windows, regulations the organization is currently focused on, etc. The list is endless! 
• Websites. Share compliance information, resources, tools, and guidance on upcoming compliance-related activities.  
• Workgroups. Gather staff from across the organization to tackle compliance challenges, obtain input from stakeholders, and collaborate towards achieving compliance goals.  

By bridging the gap between “us” and “them,” compliance teams can transform the perception of compliance teams from being an obstacle into being a collaborative partner and member of their team. 

Amy Laufmann is client success manager at YouCompli. She has 10+ years of experience in healthcare compliance and operations, and is passionate about helping healthcare organizations operate better and deliver better patient outcomes.  

Qualified compliance professionals do the heavy lifting for you, simplifying regulatory change management   

Our in-house team works tirelessly to monitor U.S. regulators, carefully read the regulations in their entirety, and translate the information into simple regulatory intelligence you can use. We deliver model procedures and expert tools that can be used to fulfill your business requirements. Everything is validated by a third-party law firm. Follow the button below to get a tour of our healthcare compliance software. 

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27 Ungated Resources for Compliance Leaders and Teams 

Compliance professionals sometimes feel undervalued in comparison to other functions in their organization. They think leaders and colleagues don’t really understand what they do.  

These resources will help. Packed with ideas, tips and recommendations, these pieces were written by professionals with many years of compliance experience. 

You can quickly skim for articles that relate to your needs and interests. Bookmark this page as a reference for future questions or projects.

Visit Now

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Sign-up for our Weekly Newsletter

Schedule a quick overview

The post When Compliance is the Problem: “Us” Versus “Them”   first appeared on YouCompli.