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Blog

Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Surveillance Systems with Data Analysis

This week I have a special five-part podcast series, sponsored by Verint on the Future of Communication in Financial Compliance on the Innovation in Compliance podcast series on the Compliance Podcast Network. My guest in this series is Phil Fry, VP and GTM of Financial Compliance Strategy at Verint. Over this series, we will take a deep dive into the current status of communications in financial institutions; how to be or not be compliant; an analysis and insight into the area; and how to avoid accentuating the negative and the human element in compliance. In this third post, we consider the topic of improving surveillance systems through data analysis and risk management.

We highlighted the challenges faced by surveillance teams in managing large amounts of data and identifying relevant information. It also emphasized the importance of proactive decision-making and efficient risk response in the face of ever-expanding regulations. One of the key issues discussed in the episode was the overwhelming amount of data that surveillance teams have to deal with. Fry mentioned that surveillance teams often find themselves looking for needles in haystacks, trying to find the data they need among thousands or even tens of thousands of calls in a day. To address this challenge, early analytics and risk analysis can be employed to provide proactive and smarter decision-making processes. By analyzing captured data, surveillance teams can focus on conversations that raise red flags or are deemed high risk, rather than being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data.

To enhance surveillance systems, Fry suggested implementing “pre-surveillance surveillance” and adding additional metadata points. This includes considering factors such as geography, time, and the technology used during communication. By capturing this additional information, surveillance teams can gain a comprehensive view of spoken interactions, enabling them to respond to incidents and risks more quickly and efficiently. This approach also aligns with the need for compliance with regulations, as non-compliance consequences can be severe, including hefty fines and even imprisonment.

The episode also highlighted the value of insights derived from spoken interactions. Fry emphasized that conversations are a gold mine of information, and with the right transcription and analytic capabilities, valuable intelligence can be extracted. By combining speech and conduct insights into the core capture, compliance officers can have a single pane of glass view of all spoken interactions within their organizations. This includes detecting changes in sentiment, and language switches, and gaining an overview of conversation topics. The solution discussed in the episode has been trained for the financial domain, making it easier for surveillance teams to perform audio reviews and detect possible compliance breaches.

Furthermore, the episode touched upon the wide range of corporate disciplines that can benefit from this data. It is not just limited to compliance and audit teams but can also provide insights into functions such as Chief Financial Officers, strategic risk compliance, and operations. The data collected can be used to gain insights into how solutions are working and aid decision-making processes across various departments.

In conclusion, improving surveillance systems through data analysis and risk management is crucial in today’s regulatory landscape. The challenges of managing large amounts of data and identifying relevant information can be addressed through early analytics and risk analysis. By implementing “pre-surveillance surveillance” and capturing additional metadata points, surveillance teams can gain a comprehensive view of spoken interactions and respond to incidents and risks more efficiently. The insights derived from these interactions can be valuable to a wide range of corporate disciplines, making it a valuable asset for organizations. Continuous monitoring and improvement of surveillance systems are essential to ensure compliance and mitigate risks effectively.

For More Information check out Verint.

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Career Can D0

Tapping Into Your Unconscious to Land Your Dream Job with Alex Morgan

What if you could reprogram your mind to achieve career success? Alex Morgan joins Mary Ann Faremouth on this episode of Career Can Do, to explain how we can tap into the power of our unconscious mind to unlock our limitless potential. Alex is a certified professional hypnotist and author of The Transformative Power of Suggestion. He uses hypnosis and neuro-linguistic programming to help people overcome negative emotions and achieve their goals. In this episode, he explores specific strategies to manage stress, adopt an abundance mindset during your job search, and constantly seek feedback to grow.

Our unconscious mind shapes our beliefs and behaviors. Alex remarks, “Everything begins as a thought. The chair that I’m sitting in, at some point, someone, thought of this in their mind and created this. Everything around us was created by a thought.” By tapping into the unconscious mind through hypnosis and visualization techniques, we can reprogram limiting beliefs and instill empowering suggestions.

Believe that you deserve career success. Holding empowering beliefs helps you build confidence to take risks and put yourself out there during a job search. “When you actually speak to people,” Alex points out, “you have this belief that the people you’re talking to, you’re going to find them interesting, and they’re going to find you interesting as well. And this will help build a lot of beneficial relationships.”

Mastering your mental state is key for performing under pressure during interviews and on the job. Alex recommends relaxation techniques like controlled breathing and autogenic training to relieve stress. He explains that you can reprogram your mind to be relaxed, calm, and motivated in stressful situations, using these strategies. 

Resources

Alex Morgan on LinkedIn | The Transformative Power of Suggestion

Faremouth.com

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to More Effective Compliance Through Culture: Day 11 – Psychological Safety in the Middle

Advancing ethical culture through psychological safety can be a powerful tool. But how can you determine the state of psychological safety in your organization? Once again using the article “Fostering Ethical Conduct Through Psychological Safety” as a starting point, “there are a number of things organizations can do to make it more likely that people will speak up when they observe unethical behaviors.” But one key is psychological safety, defined by co-author Edmondson as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking” — or, put another way, that “we can say what we think” or “be ourselves around here.”

There is a non-siloed nature of psychological safety at the workplace. Ethics, risk management, legal and compliance functions, plus HR all share an interest in fostering such an environment. This mandates a cross-functional approach as an essential requirement of molding an organization’s culture to include psychological safety. The authors believe, “Managers throughout a company must become aware of the blind spots created by a psychologically unsafe environment, along with the associated risk of underreported misconduct.” They also caution that a formal program such as a reporting hotline “may capture only a fraction of the problematic behaviors that occur.” This leads the authors to posit that gauging psychological safety “may help companies determine whether misconduct is being reported and, in turn, enhance the effectiveness of their formal speak-up programs.”

The authors also confirmed a greater problem which is that “in a global context, psychological safety is not uniform across nations.” Survey respondents from “the Americas and Europe tended to score higher on psychological safety than respondents from Asia.” This suggests to the authors that “the potential effectiveness of tailoring interventions that promote speaking up in order to address the specific circumstances of different groups of employees.” Moreover, “global organizations that seek to build psychological safety must assess its various region-specific drivers and derailers to adjust their activities to specific seniorities and cultures.”

 Three key takeaways:

1. How can you determine the state of psychological safety in your organization?

2. Psychologically safety at the workplace is non-siloed.

3. Middle managers are critical.

Do you want to improve your culture? How can you assess your culture and develop a strategy to improve it going forward? In this free webinar on the new tool, The Culture Audit with Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein on Tuesday, November 28, 12 CT. For more information and registration, click here.

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Principled Podcast

Principled Podcast – S10E10: What are the E&C Priorities for Companies in the Middle East?

What you’ll learn on this podcast episode

In the nearly 10 years of running our annual program effectiveness research, LRN has had the good fortune to discuss trends in E&C with leaders from across the world. The Middle East is one such region. How do business practices differ in this region compared to other parts of the world? Who are the like-minded professionals that E&C leaders can connect with in the Middle East? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast, host Amy Hanan is joined by Elvis Angyiembe, the co-founder of the Middle East and Africa Compliance Association (MEACA). Listen in as they discuss Elvis’s experience working in the Middle East for various multinational companies, what led him to start MEACA, and what the E&C priorities are for companies in the Middle East. 

Are you an E&C professional based in the Middle East? Take this 10-minute survey and share your experiences for LRN’s 2024 E&C Program Effectiveness research. Results will be published in February.

Guest: Elvis Angyiembe

Elvis Angyiembe – Grayscale

Elvis Angyiembe is co-founder and co-chair of the Middle East and Africa Compliance Association (MEACA). He has significant experience working for multinational companies helping them manage significant legal and compliance matters. He has supported three companies under deferred prosecution agreements with the US Department of Justice. He has lived in Cameroon, Germany, US, South Africa, and currently in Dubai. He holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland.

Host: Amy Hanan

Amy Hanan – Grayscale

Amy Hanan is the chief marketing officer at LRN. A B2B digital marketing leader, Amy has a nearly 20-year track record in product, brand, lifecycle, and demand-generation marketing as well as corporate communications for media, professional services, and technology companies. One of her central areas of expertise is executing tech-enabled marketing initiatives for growth. Before joining LRN, Amy was the chief digital officer at Baretz+Brunelle, a marketing and communications agency serving the legal and financial services industries. Her previous experience includes Reorg Research, ALM Media, and The Associated Press. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Arizona University.

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: November 14, 2023 – The Supreme Court Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day we consider four stories from the business world, compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Stories we are following in today’s edition:

  • The Supreme Court issued its first-ever Ethics Code. (WSJ)
  • Chinese corruption in Nepal? (NYT)
  • The FDIC hires a law firm to investigate allegations of a toxic workplace. (FT)
  • The law firm said it didn’t know the partner was living with the judge. (Reuters)

 

Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to a More Effective Compliance Program Through Culture: Day 10 – Improving Culture Through Investigations

Meric Bloch strongly emphasizes the importance of workplace investigations and fostering a culture of employee compliance. He believes that merely setting up a hotline and establishing policies is insufficient; companies must actively engage with employees to understand their motivations for speaking up or remaining silent. Bloch also underscores the need for accountability and a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of compliance programs. His experiences with multinational companies have shaped his understanding of the challenges they face, particularly the fear of being perceived as incompetent and the difficulties in reporting.

One of the key points raised by Bloch is the importance of making speaking meaningful and credible. He pointed out that companies often fail to communicate what should be reported, leading to confusion among employees. Bloch also highlights the lack of follow-up interviews and training for reporters as a problem. He stressed the need for organizations to engage with reporters and gather additional information to better understand the context and potential gaps in the initial report. Bloch also discussed the importance of addressing friction points within organizations. He mentioned that employees often hesitate to speak up due to concerns about the involvement of headquarters or fear of retaliation. Organizations must actively address these concerns and create an environment where employees feel safe and supported when reporting issues.

To create a culture of speaking up, organizations must move beyond passive measures such as hotlines and policies. They need to actively engage with employees, educate them about their role in the process, and provide clear guidance on what should be reported. By doing so, organizations can foster a culture of compliance where employees feel empowered to speak up and contribute to maintaining ethical standards.

Three key takeaways:

1. Your investigation process must go beyond simple policies and procedures.

2. Seeking additional information from a reporter will enhance the investigative process and your culture.

3. Remove friction points in the speak-up and investigative processes.

Do you want to improve your culture? How can you assess your culture and develop a strategy to improve it going forward? In this free webinar on the new tool, The Culture Audit with Tom Fox and Sam Silverstein, on Tuesday, November 28, 12 CT, For more information and registration, click here.

Categories
Innovation in Compliance

The Future of Communication in Financial Compliance: Part 2 – To Be or Not To Be Compliant

This week, I have a special five-part podcast series sponsored by Verint on the Future of Communication in Financial Compliance. My guest in this series is Phil Fry, VP and GTM of Financial Compliance Strategy at Verint. Over this series, we will take a deep dive into the current status of communications in financial institutions, how to be or not be compliant, analysis and insight into the area, and how to avoid accentuating the negative and the human element in compliance. In this second podcast, we consider how to be compliant.

Phil Fry, the VP and General Manager of Financial Compliance Strategies at Verint, brings over forty years of experience in the financial compliance industry and a deep understanding of the challenges financial firms face in adhering to regulations amidst evolving communication modes. He believes the shift towards these models has increased the need for digital compliance solutions, as communication and collaboration have become predominantly digital.

Fry emphasizes the importance of capturing data from Unified Communications (UC) tools and enhancing them with AI-based features to support businesses in maintaining compliance. He introduces the concept of “human compliance,” which involves monitoring a regulated user’s interactions across channels and locations to prevent misconduct. Fry’s perspective is shaped by his experience at Verint, where he saw the company’s investment in AI technology to enhance compliance features. Join Tom Fox and Phil Fry on this episode of the Future of Communications podcast to learn more about the need for comprehensive and proactive digital compliance solutions in the context of hybrid work models.

Key Highlights:

  • The Impact of Hybrid Working on Business and Compliance
  • Revolutionizing Communication Capture in the Digital Age
  • Verint’s Comprehensive Financial Markets Website

Resources:

Phil Fry on LinkedIn

For More Information check out Verint.

Categories
Blog

Hybrid Work Models Driving Need for Digital Compliance Solutions

This week I have a special five-part podcast series, sponsored by Verint on the Future of Communication in Financial Compliance on the Innovation in Compliance podcast series on the Compliance Podcast Network. My guest in this series is Phil Fry, VP and GTM of Financial Compliance Strategy at Verint. Over this series, we will take a deep dive into the current status of communications in financial institutions; how to be or not be compliant; an analysis and insight into the area; and how to avoid accentuating the negative and the human element in compliance. In this second post, we consider how to be or not be compliant.

The rise of hybrid work models, driven by digital communications and workplace flexibility, has significantly impacted businesses and financial markets. With the shift towards remote and flexible work arrangements, essential platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have become crucial for business operations. However, this shift has also created a need for compliance capture solutions to ensure regulatory compliance and prevent misconduct in digital communications.

One of the leading compliance vendors in this space is Verint, which has been investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and developing solutions for platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Their approach, known as human compliance, focuses on monitoring regulated users’ communications across various channels. By shifting the focus from capturing tools or communications to capturing an individual’s interactions holistically, Verint believes they can effectively prevent misconduct within organizations.

The traditional approach to compliance capture involved recording and analyzing messages and calls. However, Verint’s human compliance approach recognizes that focusing on the individual is crucial to ensuring compliance. By monitoring an individual’s communications across channels and locations, both during regular working hours and outside of them, organizations can more easily identify conditions in which acts of noncompliance are more likely to occur. This proactive approach allows for the implementation of automated tools to respond to incidents, rather than passively waiting for problems to be identified.

Verint’s Microsoft Teams compliance recording solution offers features like Conditional Recording and Start Recording, which allow organizations to control recording behavior based on the participation of the interaction. This level of control enables organizations to proactively decide how they monitor and analyze an individual’s interactions, further enhancing their compliance efforts.

The shift towards hybrid work models and the increasing reliance on digital communications platforms have also led to the emergence of new and more complex regulations. Organizations must navigate these regulations while considering the impact on employee needs and behavior. The challenges associated with capturing and analyzing communications in a hybrid work environment, where conversations may involve multiple languages, transfer across different channels, and occur in noisy environments, require sophisticated compliance solutions.

Verint has been heavily investing in AI to enhance its compliance solutions. Their generative AI features, such as multilanguage transcription and summarization, help financial firms speed up audio review processes and make them more efficient. These AI-powered features provide valuable data insights and analysis, enabling organizations to meet their compliance requirements effectively.

In conclusion, the rise of hybrid work models driven by digital communications has created a significant need for digital compliance solutions. Verint’s human compliance approach, focusing on monitoring an individual’s interactions across channels and locations, offers a proactive way to prevent misconduct within organizations. By investing in AI and developing market-leading features, Verint aims to support businesses in their efforts to maintain compliance in the digital age. As organizations navigate the complexities of hybrid work models and evolving regulations, it is crucial to consider the impact on employee needs and behavior when making decisions about digital compliance solutions.

For More Information check out Verint.

Categories
Adventures in Compliance

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes – The Adventure of the Reigate Squires

Welcome to a review of all the Sherlock Holmes stories which are collected in the work, “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.” They appeared in the Strand Magazine from December 1892 to December 1893. Over the next 12 episodes, I will be reviewing each story and mine them for leadership, compliance, and ethical lessons.  In this, we look at the story The Adventure of the Reigate Squires. 

The intriguing topic of Sherlock Holmes’ ethical principles in compliance investigations is explored in the podcast episode “The Adventures of the Reigate Squires” from the “Adventures in Compliance” series. The episode delves into Holmes’ investigative prowess and ethical principles, such as honesty, integrity, accountability, and benevolence, which provide valuable lessons for compliance professionals. Tom Fox, a seasoned compliance professional, offers his perspective on this topic, emphasizing Holmes’ commitment to truth, impartiality, and fairness, regardless of the individuals involved. Fox also highlights Holmes’ unwavering integrity, intelligence, observational skills, and insatiable curiosity as crucial attributes for compliance practitioners. Furthermore, he underscores the importance of accountability and Holmes’ altruistic nature, which embodies a sense of duty and benevolence. Join Tom Fox in this episode of the Adventures in Compliance podcast to delve deeper into the ethical principles of Sherlock Holmes in compliance investigations.

 Key Highlights:

  • The Story
  • Holmes Unravels the Cunninghams’ Motives
  • Lessons in Ethical Integrity and Continuous Learning
  • Conclusion

Resources:

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes

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Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: November 13, 2023 – The Parents in Trouble Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance brings you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All, from the Compliance Podcast Network. Each day, we consider four stories from the business world: compliance, ethics, risk management, leadership, or general interest for the compliance professional.

Stories we are following in today’s edition:

  • SBF parents face legal peril.  (WaPo)
  • Does Apple owe you money? (NYT)
  • Navy contractor sentenced for bribery. (WaPo)
  • JPMorgan’s $290 Epstein settlement approved by court. (Reuters)