No one in HR wants to be considered a Peter from Peter and the Wolf. But yet, when it comes to compliance issues, it is easy to fall into that trap. We are often running around saying “we can’t do that! We’ll get in trouble!” After a while, leaders start to tune us out. To be effective, we have to seize a case for compliance in terms of business.
Consider this: What if we looked at employment laws and regulations like best practices with teeth? Now, I get that this is controversial. Very, very few people would design a diversity program like the OFCCP’s affirmative action regulations and other examples certainly exist, but bear with me. What if we looked at the underlying reason for a particular law and compared that with a business goal? Wouldn’t they be similar in most cases? Would that make it easier to sell compliance? The answer: You betcha!
Take for example, paid sick leave. As of December 31, 2016, 37 jurisdictions (mostly cities, counties, and some states) had enacted paid sick leave laws. While paid sick leave is certainly a trend at the local and state levels, many employers have understood that they needed to provide sick leave to employees for decades. These businesses knew that if they didn’t offer the paid time, they would not get the talent they were looking for and employees might leave if they didn’t have the time to care for themselves and their families. While paid sick leave is now law in some areas, it has long been a recruitment and retention tool for employers.
For an employer in a jurisdiction with a paid sick leave law who doesn’t offer it, HR is now in a position where it needs to sell the benefit as a legal requirement. HR could package a proposal like this – paid sick leave is needed to get and keep the talent we need and the new ordinance provides a framework to do that. Would that be an easier sell?
What about sexual harassment? We know that anti-harassment laws were designed to protect women in the workplace so women could be productive, safe, and contribute our skills. These laws also try to create workplaces built on the respect for all employees. These are business goals. When there is a culture rife with disrespect or disharmony, productivity comes to a near halt. Turnover increases. Employees are disengaged. No business leader wants this to happen. Preventing and then stopping harassment in its tracks protects the workplace and protects the business from legal claims and PR nightmares and keeps the focus on where it should be – the organization’s mission.
CEOs care about talent. They care about finding the best talent the can and holding on to the great talent they have. According to PwC’s 2017 CEO survey, talent remains a top priority and as does diversity. When we view employment laws and regulations as things that can be aligned with business goals, it becomes easier to get buy-in from the top.
This works for every employment law. If you can’t come up with a business goal, try me. I believe there is a business goal attached to nearly all employment laws. I’ll accept the challenge to find one for your organization!
I can remember having this conversation at the hospital I worked at when we were talking about Joint Commission: these regulations aren’t about making life more difficult for hospital staff, the regulations are about doing the right thing. Same with employment regulations. We need to just do the right thing!
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