Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi everyone. Today we'll take a look at how medical products company Convatec executes its outstanding annual Compliance Week program. I'm your host, Bill Coffin, and this is the Ethicast.
Convatech is a global medical products and technologies company focused on therapies used to manage advanced chronic conditions and acute wound care, ostomy care, continence and critical care, and infusion care used in the treatment of diabetes and other conditions.
As a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer in the highly regulated medical products industry, combatek must meet significant compliance requirements, which is why it is so important that the entire organization understands what is expected of them and how they can all play their part.
But that level of education, communication and engagement doesn't just happen on its own.
Comvatek has invested a considerable amount of time and energy into its Compliance Week program as a keystone event aimed at advancing compliance across the organization as well as advancing their culture of integrity.
Joining us today to talk about this is Comvitek Deputy Chief Compliance Officer Chris Corallo. Chris, thank you for joining us.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: Nice to be here, Bill. Thanks so much.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: Comtech puts a lot of effort into its Compliance Week. Can you talk about why you hold this event, how it reflects your larger ENC strategy and how this one week reverberates across the enterprise for the rest of the year?
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Compliance Week is definitely an opportunity to showcase the importance of having an ethical and compliant culture. And you know, again, it's, it's just, it's great to be able to reinforce best practices, introduce new topics and, and really get that buzz around all the business units and functions to really embrace, you know, having integrity in everything that we do and again, really, really supporting our vision statement which is pioneering trusted medical solutions to improve the lives of the touch.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: A lot of organizations want to do a compliance week, but they don't really know where to start. Can you walk us through a high level overview of how you plan and execute your Compliance week?
[00:02:15] Speaker B: So I think first it's really important to put together a little, I guess, tiger team or consult various stakeholders and look at what are some of the current trends, issues, topics that would be most relevant to reinforce during Compliance Week. And then once you have that assembled, then that's where the work begins. How do you want to convey that information?
Who do you want to showcase with compliance to discuss those things, whether it's quality, data privacy, regulatory, other functions.
Because you want to have a compliance. We're not just compliance, you know, pushing out guidance and such and making it words, you know, you're in A classroom learning versus it's a collaborative team building exercise.
So the more you can make it inspiring, entertaining and thoughtful, I think the more it will be adopted by, you know, those individuals within your organization developing, you know, the concepts, developing how you're going to communicate it. But then it's also what, like I was saying, making it interesting and entertaining. How can you actually get the, you know, all the different functions and employees and such to want to participate and look at what's being communicated during that week. Every company is obviously has different shapes and sizes and most companies have an intranet or some type of a, you know, a platform where they put out news and updates and things and that's where a lot of the compliance with information is going to be distributed. You know, obviously we're since COVID we've been moving away from the brick and mortar facilities and you know, those are shrinking, there's more remote working.
So you're going to be reaching people, you know, from, from that intranet more so than that personal touch relationship and most people are accustomed to from years past. So you have to look at how do I get to the most people in the most strategic way. And oftentimes if you don't have that in person opportunity, it's going to be through your intranet. So in addition to, like I said, just developing these concepts, you know, it's also having it entered, you know, having, having that the content be displayed in such a way that it's not overbearing, it's possible punchy, it's, it's short, it's very strategic.
But also how do I engage other than them opening up something on the Internet and looking at something or looking at a video, how else, you know, are we going to get them to participate? So one of the things that we've done is we have quizzes or we have surveys and sometimes we include, well, if you participate, you know, you might get company champions points or something that you'd be able to order from our company library or store or what have you where it's giving them a little more of an incentive to participate. And we've also had situations where we've asked, you know, various stakeholders, record your own video of what it means to you to be compliant or why is it important for you as a leader or manager to reinforce best practices. And we had a really great response with that.
I think having that raw, unscripted, personal and passionate testimonial of why ethics and compliance is important I think goes beyond anything that the compliance team can put Together, because I think it's more inspiring.
[00:06:21] Speaker A: How do you choose what topics you focus on during your compliance week, and how do you decide how much content to include?
[00:06:28] Speaker B: Well, and that's a great question, because our comms team always approaches us and say, listen, you know, we have to be strategic. We can't be abundantly worthy, and we don't want to keep having the same repetitious content year over year, you know, because then it becomes whitewash and white noise and it's not, you know, impactful. So we really, like I said at the outset, we look at, you know, what are the current trends, like AI or, you know, at the time it was virtual, you know, when we obviously, when Covid was around, at least virtual meetings.
And, you know, there's always the speaker programs and, you know, and other transfers of value around meals and things like that. But really, it's looking at, you know, what other topics have come up through your ramp process, through your monitoring and auditing, you know, through either your internal audit or other just anecdotal things that have happened over the course of the year or prior year that might be really important to either introduce or reinforce. Because, you know, the company is now the compliance team's captive audience. And this is really your time not only to, you know, reinforce those best practices, but also to showcase the team. Because oftentimes everyone's in silos, whether, you know, you're in North America, you're in Asia, you're in Europe, Latin America, wherever you are. And some people don't see the different topics as frequently. So again, it's that opportunity to really touch on those areas that may not be relevant all the time.
But once you do identify what's relevant, it's, again, like I said, it's the packaging. The packaging is really important to make it impactful.
[00:08:29] Speaker A: Now, I understand that you also have an Ethics in Business award that's part of. Part of your compliance week. Can you tell me about how that got started and what impact it has?
[00:08:38] Speaker B: You know, it's an opportunity for us to really honor those individuals that, you know, really stepped up and are consistently doing things the right way.
And, you know, we thought it was really a worthwhile cause to really showcase those individuals. We do their image, we do a little bio of what they actually did that warranted this, you know, this reward or recognition.
And, you know, it's. It's something that, you know, these individuals post on their own social media page or their LinkedIn page because it is important to be recognized out of all of the company, you know, these individuals are being recognized. And we try to do something from each region, you know, to make sure it's, you know, it's representative of the entire company, not just a specific region.
And they also get a little award with it as well, beyond that recognition.
But one other thing I wanted to step back at when we were talking about when you're planning Compliance Week, it's also good to really look at beyond just putting up a post.
Are you going to have videos, are you going to have panel discussions? And I think panel discussions are rich with information because depending upon the top, the scope of the panel and who you're inviting to the panel, it's really great to get different perspectives about that particular topic. And again, it's also offering up information from people other than compliance that are on that panel. You know, one of the panels we did this year was Women in Compliance. And, you know, we had all of, you know, various, various individuals from across the globe who are in a compliance function and looking at, you know, what are their. What's their perspective, what are some challenges, where wins, where opportunities for improvement. But panels are really great. And then one other thing to think about is, you know, making sure that your CEO is part of Compliance Group, whether it's at the outset, whether it's throughout in some capacity, followed by your chief compliance officer, you know, wrapping up, you know, lessons learned, highlights from the week. Because again, the more cohesive you can make it and the more you can create some type of a story, I think, again will add to that impact across the organization.
And, you know, another thing that, you know, with our comms team that they always ask that we do is not just make compliance weakness.
The only time of the year, other than when you're doing your ethics and compliance training, that it's being discussed. So it's, you know, it's beyond coming up with those topics for Compliance Week. What other content you want to have showcased leading up to Compliance Week and after? Because Compliance Week is always in November. And then typically we'll have, you know, the other, the holidays and things coming up. So it's making sure about gift reminders and other restrictions that, you know, can cause companies, you know, a challenge to manage.
So the more you can get ahead of that through those different communications, I think the better off the organization will be. Risk mitigation standpoint.
[00:11:58] Speaker A: Well, we've covered a lot of territory in this conversation, but in the minutes that we have left, do you have any additional advice that you'd like to share?
[00:12:04] Speaker B: You know, I think every, like I said earlier, every company has a different size and shape and, you know, resources are always, you know, a consideration. And you know, some companies don't have comms teams that help create content and make sure everything goes out, you know, the right way at the right time. So, you know, you have to, you know, be strategic. You have to look at what's going to be the most impactful and you have to, as we all say, read the room. You know, what, what do your stakeholders need?
What you know will resonate the most with them based on the type of business that you're in, the type of landscape that you're supporting. And I think that will really help drive, you know, a successful compliance rate. But I think planning is everything.
If you wait to the end to just try to slap something together, then it's gonna, it's gonna show, as, you know, not well thought out and likely not not resonating with the organization. And you want everyone to come away with learning something, whether it's through that guidance document, through that panel, through that short video or whatever the case may be. You want it to be impactful and really reinforce why we have an ethical and compliant culture and we want to act with integrity in everything that we do well.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Chris, this has been a very insightful conversation. Thank you so much for coming onto the show and explaining how cometech does its Compliance Week.
[00:13:34] Speaker B: I appreciate you being here and hopefully this will help any organization think about their approach to developing Compliance Week.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: For more insights on planning and executing your own ethics at Compliance Week, check out our Bella Asks episodes. How do I plan a global ethics and compliance weekly? And what are fresh ideas for a 2025 Ethics Week? You'll find links to both of those episodes in this episode's Show Notes. If you'd like to appear as a guest on the ethocast to share a best practice success story or your own proof point around how business integrity builds value. We would love to hear from you. To drop us a line, visit ethisphere.com ethicast thanks for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed the show. For new episodes each week, be sure to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. And until next time, remember, strong ethics is good business.
