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Report from IMPACT 2023

Report from IMPACT 2023 – Ronnie Feldman – Engaging a Global Workforce: Creative Solutions

ECI’s IMPACT 2023 was one of the leading compliance events in 2023. At this conference, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, was able to visit with several of the speakers, exhibitors, participants and one group of ethically minded Girl Scout Troop. In this limited podcast series, Report from IMPACT 2023, Tom explores many of the most cutting edge topics in ethics and compliance through short podcast episodes. Check out the full series of interviews. You will be enlightened, informed and come away with a fuller and more thorough understanding of the most cutting-edge topics in ethics and compliance. In this episode, Tom visits with Ronnie Feldman, founder of Learning and Entertainments.

Tom and Ronnie discuss using creative solutions to engage remote employees, such as short commercials and social media style content. They chatted about corporate social responsibility and how to engage a global, multicultural workforce. Ronnie believes that e-Learning is mostly ineffective, long, and boring, and suggests using animation, music, and custom videos with real people in their language as creative solutions. Tom recommends pushing out a video of a certain style for a couple of weeks, then trying a different video of the same style for a couple of weeks, knowing that over time, more people will be engaged. They also discussed the importance of content being interesting, positive, and culture-based, but not preachy.

 Highlights include 

·      Global Engagement Strategies

·      Engaging Remote Employees

·      Creating Video Content 

Resources 

Connect with Ronnie Feldman on LinkedIn

Learnings and Entertainments

Connect with Tom Fox on Linkedin

Categories
Career Can D0

Embracing Change: Navigating the Future of Work with Lata Hamilton

In this episode of Career Can Do, host Mary Ann Faremouth sits down with Lata Hamilton, the founder, and CEO of Passion Pioneers and the creator of leading successful change programs. Lata has worked with some of Australia’s biggest companies and developed her own style of inspiring change leadership. This episode delves into the importance of managing change, the role of technology, and how to become a changemaker.

Lata discusses the increasing role of technology in automating tasks and the subsequent shift towards people-focused roles and work. She believes that as more menial tasks are handled by technology, we will be able to improve the experiences of people and spend more time focusing on that. She explains that change management is about moving people from doing things in one way in an organization to doing things in a new way. This is achieved through communications, training, and business readiness. “Change management is all about the people,” Lata explains. “…people need to be taken on the journey and that the people can actually be the ones that make or break the change.”

 

Change management used to be a very methodical, sequential process that could be planned out well in advance. However, the fast pace of change in recent years, especially due to COVID, has made it necessary for change management to be more flexible and adaptive. Lata emphasizes the need for change management to add value quickly and inspire teams and leaders from the inside out to accept, engage with, and move forward into the future.

Lata and Mary Ann discuss the value of building connections and relationships across teams and organizations. They believe that these cross-functional relationships and conversations are essential for understanding the impacts of change across the organization. Lata remarks that change managers are like matchmakers, connecting people from different projects or teams that might not be directly related to the change process but are crucial for the overall success of the organization. She encourages listeners to build their own confidence and sense of self-worth to future-proof their careers. She wants you to embrace change, lead it, and be at the forefront of it. Anyone can be a leader in their own right and people will follow those who are willing to accept and lead change.

 

Resources:

Lata Hamilton on Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Passion Pioneers

Faremouth.com

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31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to Better Reporting and Investigations – The Investigation Protocol

After the internal report comes in and you have properly triaged the matter, you need to scope out and investigate it, promptly, thoroughly, and with competent personnel. In the 2020 Update, provided these series of questions about your internal investigations:
 Properly Scoped Investigations by Qualified Personnel – How does the company determine which complaints or red flags merit further investigation? How does the company ensure that investigations are properly scoped? What steps does the company take to ensure investigations are independent, objective, appropriately conducted, and properly documented? How does the company determine who should conduct an investigation, and who makes that determination?
 Investigation Response – Does the company apply timing metrics to ensure responsiveness? Does the company have a process for monitoring the outcome of investigations and ensuring accountability for the response to any findings or recommendations?
 Resources and Tracking of Results – Are the reporting and investigating mechanisms sufficiently funded? How has the company collected, tracked, analyzed, and used information from its reporting mechanisms? Does the company periodically analyze the reports or investigation findings for patterns of misconduct or other red flags for compliance weaknesses? Does the company periodically test the effectiveness of the hotline, for example by tracking a report from start to finish?

In a presentation, Jay Martin, and Jacki Trevino discussed the specifics of an investigation protocol. It consisted of 1) opening and categorizing the case; 2) planning the investigation; 3) executing the investigation plan; 4) determining appropriate follow-up, and 5) closing the case. If you follow this basic protocol, you should be able to work through most investigations, in a clear, concise, and cost-effective manner. Furthermore, you should have a report at the end of the day which should stand up to later scrutiny if a regulator comes looking. Finally, you will be able to “Document, Document, and Document”, not only the steps you took but why and the outcome obtained.
Three key takeaways:

  1. A written protocol, created before an investigation, is a key starting point.
  2. Create specific steps to follow so there will be full transparency and documentation going forward.
  3. Consistency in approach is critical.
Categories
Compliance and AI

Mastering ChatGPT: Part 4 – Unraveling the Differences Between AI and Human Creativity in Writing

Welcome to a special five-part podcast series on mastering ChatGPT. My special guest throughout this journey is Larry Roberts, an accomplished professional with over 25 years of multifaceted experience. Having initiated his career in the corporate training sphere, he exhibited a remarkable shift to IT, contributing greatly as a Business Intelligence Analyst. His proficiency in harnessing predictive analytics for inventory and sales projections led him to tap into the realm of AI. In 2021, Larry chose to cozy up with podcasting and content creation. His tryst with ChatGPT began in November of the same year, and he has been fully engrossed with it since then. His insights into data models, large language models, and his overall passion for AI are certain to illuminate any forum. Episode 4 considers the differences between AI and human creativity in writing.

 

Educators, teachers, and communicators must be included as we confront the digital age. The rise of AI in education, epitomized by tools like ChatGPT, opens new frontiers in delivering accessible, affordable, and advanced learning experiences. However, this has complexities. There are pertinent steps to be taken – setting clear expectations, aligning AI with institutional policies, maximizing the collaborative capabilities of AI, and ensuring human oversight in AI implementation. By so doing, we can create an enriching learning environment that contributes positively to personal and professional development. This episode explores these issues and how they will impact compliance training and communications.

In this episode, you will be able to:

  • Unlock key strategies to optimize your use of ChatGPT.
  • Acknowledge the importance of crafting a suitable persona and forming the right stage for elevated outcomes.
  • Unravel the issues corporate compliance functions may encounter while using ChatGPT, shedding ample light on effective solutions.
  • Learn how one can effectively utilize ChatGPT in making speeches and presentations.
  • Prognosticate the prospective impacts of ChatGPT and AI on the future compliance training landscape.

Key Highlights:          

  • Setting Expectations
  • Limitations for Corporations
  • Leveraging Chat GPT for training
  • The Human Element and AI

Resources:

Larry Roberts

Larry Roberts on LinkedIn

Red Hat Media

Tom Fox

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

LinkedIn

Categories
It's art

It’s Art, Let’s Talk About It – Jack Sorenson on the Way of the Cowboy Artist

The Museum of Western Art is dedicated to excellence in the collection, preservation, and promotion of Western Heritage and the education and cultural enrichment of our diverse audiences. The Museum serves as a bridge between the past and the present, ensuring that the legacy of the American West will be preserved for the future. Western Art is as engaging and important as ever. In this podcast series, Museum Executive Direct Darrell Beauchamp visits with the artists who work in this Western heritage to talk about their work, the legacy of Western Art, and why talking about it is so important today.

In this episode, Darrell Beauchamp, the Executive Director of the Museum, visits with the talented artist, Jack Sorenson. As one of the newest members of the exclusive Cowboy Artists of America, Sorenson shares his experience as a Western art creator, from his natural talent for drawing to his love for the Old West that inspired his work. Follow along as Sorenson recounts his journey to joining the elite group and how his career has blossomed since becoming a member. Discover the behind-the-scenes aspects of the art world, including what it means to be a member of a well-established group, and how that has impacted the artist’s workload and prices for his work. Through heartwarming anecdotes, Sorenson expresses his profound admiration for his mentors and fellow artists in the Western art world. He also discusses the importance of traditions such as the art show at the museum and the handprints and CA brand ceremony. Listen in as the host and guest delve into what makes Western art so special, and its impact on the world of art.

With engaging conversations, fascinating insights, and a charming guest, this episode is not to be missed.

If you’re someone who’s passionate about Western art, then this episode is one you won’t want to miss. Here are three takeaways from Jack Sorenson:

1. Follow Your Passion: Jack’s obsession with the West led him to pursue a career in Western art. His love for horses and the old west comes from watching classic Western shows and growing up in an old Western-themed town. Find what inspires you and run with it.

2. Create Your Own Path: Jack’s journey to becoming a Cowboy Artist of America was unique. It was filled with different stops, working other jobs, and perfecting his craft along the way. Regardless of where you come from, what’s important is to keep working hard to reach your goal.

3. Pay Homage to the Old and New: Jack’s art is a mix of old Western art and modern-day cowboys. He wants to pay homage to the cowboys who paved the way while also showcasing the modern-day cowboy. Being able to look back and learn from the past while also appreciating the present is important in any genre.

If you’re interested in learning about Jack’s path to becoming a Cowboy Artist of America, this episode of It’s Art, let’s talk about it is the perfect place to start.

 Resources

Museum of Western Art

Darrell Beauchamp on LinkedIn

Jack Sorenson

Categories
Daily Compliance News

Daily Compliance News: July 13, 2023 – The Fake Accounts Scandal (Not WF) Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance brings to you compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee, and listen in 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.

  • BOA has its own fake accounts scandal. (Radical Compliance)
  • Singapore announces ABC investigation into Minister of Transportation. (Reuters)
  • Serbian spy chief sanctioned by US for corruption. (Bloomberg)
  • Merrill Lynch to pay $12MM fine for failure to report. (WSJ)
Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to Better Reporting and Investigations – Triage of Internally Reported Allegations

One of the things that I learned from the television series M*A*S*H was the need for triage. In the hospital setting, triage is the process of determining the priority of patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition. In the 2012 FCPA Guidance, there is a short but succinct statement, “once an allegation is made, companies should have in place an efficient, reliable, and properly funded process for investigating the allegation and documenting the company’s response, including any disciplinary or remediation measures taken.” This is considered in more expansive language in the 2020 Update to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.  Under Part 1, Section D. Confidential Reporting Structure and Investigation Process, it stated in part, Properly Scoped Investigation by Qualified Personnel – How does the company determine which complaints or red flags merit further investigation?
Appropriate triage of allegations has several different impacts for any matter which comes to the attention of compliance. Obviously, it will help you to initially determine the seriousness of the matter. From there you can allocate an appropriate level of resources. It will also aid in your discussion with the DOJ if you must go that route. Finally, in the situation where facts come in, it provides the required documented evidence that a process was followed that you can show the government that a claim was properly scoped, as required under the Evaluation. But the key is to be prepared, not only in terms of having your investigation and notification protocols in place before an allegation comes in but also doing the proper triage so that you have an initial understanding of what you may be facing.

Three key takeaways:

  1. Compliance can learn from M*A*S*H about the need for triage.
  2. Initial triage allows you to separate the wheat of serious allegations from the chaff of more inconsequential allegations.
  3. A robust triage process allows for greater credibility with government regulators.
Categories
Blog

Mastering ChatGPT: Creativity and ChatGPT

In Part 4 of this five-part blog post series, you will gain valuable insights into the differences between human creativity and AI and how they impact creative writing. Our guest for this exploration, Larry Roberts, has extensive experience exploring AI’s capabilities and limitations in writing. Through his story, we can relate to his journey of using AI tools like ChatGPT to analyze blog posts and generate entire children’s books.

Roberts is a specialist in AI and its impact on creative processes. His deep understanding of Chat GPT and other AI tools has been instrumental in driving the application of AI in content creation. Armed with abundant experience, Larry has been involved in projects where AI tools like Chat GPT are used to write entire books, showcasing the artistic capabilities of AI. He brings a unique perspective, drawn from his intriguing interactions with AI tools and experience in helping to bring individuality to AI-generated content. Mostly known for his thoughtful insights on creativity and AI, Larry continues to explore the intersection of human and artificial creativity.

 Using Chat GPT as a Writing Assistant

A fascinating use of AI applications in the modern world is as writing assistants. Tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT are not only helping writers with content creation, but they are also helping simplify complex topics and augment the writing process. This AI tool incorporates advanced learning models that can generate creative text by prompt engineering or brief user instructions. Using AI to assist in writing, authors and content creators can boost their productivity, simplify complex ideas, and take their creativity to new levels. Roberts shares his first-hand experience with ChatGPT as a writing assistant. He mentions a project where they used this text generator to analyze over 200 blog posts and consolidate the data to write a book. The result was not only time-saving but also a valuable learning experience that illuminated the potential of AI in content creation.

 Implications for Creatives

As AI tools, such as ChatGPT, advance their creative abilities, it raises questions and implications for the creative industry. Content creators and artists must keep up with these innovations to maintain relevance and adaptability. The Turing Test, a measure of an AI’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human, is often used in these discussions. This test can reflect the advancements of AI and its implications, such as the increasing difficulty of differentiating between AI-generated and human-generated content. Roberts brings up the Turing test and its relevance to the discussion about ChatGPT and creativity. He proposes an experiment to gauge if people can differentiate between AI-generated and human-generated content, pointing out that some AI tools can already create awe-inspiring images. This underscores the evolving landscape for creatives and the resulting implications as AI advances.

Chat GPT’s Creative Writing Abilities

AI tools, including ChatGPT, are increasingly proving their worth in creative writing. These applications offer users an exceptional means to generate novel content instantly, which provides endless possibilities for numerous creative outputs. The fact that ChatGPT can provide different perspectives from a simple user prompt underpins its potential in creative writing. This versatility can lead to unexpected and fresh narrative directions, opening many creative possibilities for authors and content creators. Roberts offers an engaging example of ChatGPT’s creative writing abilities. Larry gave ChatGPT a simple prompt about his wife interacting with squirrels in their backyard. Instantaneously, ChatGPT generated an entire children’s book where the narrative centered on divorced squirrels co-parenting their babies – a clear testament to the tool’s potential in content creation.

In summary, by gaining insights into the differences between human creativity and AI, writers and content creators can enhance their writing skills and produce content that truly resonates with their audience. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of AI in creative writing allows us to leverage its efficiency and accuracy while preserving our ability to infuse emotions, intuition, and intellect into our work. This balance is crucial in creating meaningful and impactful content that connects with readers more deeply. Join us tomorrow, where we conclude our series by looking at the current business uses of ChatGPT.

For more information on Larry Roberts, check out Red Hat Media.

Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

One Month to More Effective Reporting and Investigations – Internal Reporting and Whistleblowers During Layoffs

In Houston, we have experienced energy companies laying off upwards of 30% of their workforce in the US and abroad. Employment separations can be one of the trickiest maneuvers to manage in the spectrum of the employment relationship. Even when an employee is aware layoffs are coming, it can still be quite a shock when Human Resources (HR) shows up at their door and says, “Come with me.” However, layoffs, massive or otherwise, can present some unique challenges for the FCPA compliance practitioner. Employees can use layoffs to claim that they were retaliated against for various complaints, including those for concerns that impact the compliance practitioner. Yet there are several actions you can take to protect your company as much as possible.

These actions allow you to demonstrate that any laid-off employee was not separated because of a hotline or whistleblower allegation but due to your overall layoff scheme. However, it could be that you may need this person to provide your compliance department additional information, to be a resource to you going forward, or even a witness that you can reasonably anticipate the government may want to interview. If any of these situations exist, if you do not plan for their eventuality before you lay off the employee, said (now) ex-employee may not be inclined to cooperate with you going forward. Also, demonstrating that you are sincerely interested in a meritorious hotline complaint may keep this person from becoming an SEC whistleblower.

Three Key Takeaways:

  1. An employment separation is critical if an internal report has been made.
  2. Have appropriate language in your separation agreement.
  3. Treat terminated employees with dignity and respect.
Categories
Compliance and AI

Mastering ChatGPT: Part 3 – Revolutionizing Education and Compliance Training

Welcome to a special five part podcast series on mastering ChatGPT. My special guest throughout this journey is Larry Roberts, an accomplished professional with over 25 years of multifaceted experience. Having initiated his career in the corporate training sphere, he exhibited a remarkable shift to IT, contributing greatly as a Business Intelligence Analyst. His proficiency lies in harnessing predictive analytics for inventory and sales projections, which led him to tap into the realm of AI. In 2021, Larry chose to cozy up with podcasting and content creation. His tryst with ChatGPT began in November the same year and he has been fully engrossed with it since then. His insights into data models, large language models, and his overall passion for AI are certain to illuminate any forum. In this Episode 3, we look how ChatGPT can transform education and what this will mean for compliance training.

As we confront the digital age, educators, teachers and even communicators can no longer afford to be left behind. The rise of AI in education, epitomized by tools like ChatGPT, opens new frontiers in delivering accessible, affordable, and advanced learning experiences. However, this isn’t without complexities. There are pertinent steps to be taken – setting clear expectations, aligning AI with institutional policies, maximizing the collaborative capabilities of AI, and ensuring human oversight in AI implementation. By so doing, we can create an enriching learning environment that contributes positively to personal and professional development. In this episode, we explore these issues and others in considering how this will impact compliance training and communications.

In this episode, you will be able to:

·      Unlock key strategies to optimize your use of ChatGPT.

·      Acknowledge the importance of crafting a suitable persona and forming the right stage for elevated outcomes.

·      Unravel the issues corporate compliance functions may encounter while using ChatGPT, shedding ample light on effective solutions.

·      Learn how one can effectively utilize ChatGPT in making speeches and presentations.

·      Prognosticate the prospective impacts of ChatGPT and AI on the future compliance training landscape.

Key Highlights        

·      Setting Expectations

·      Limitations for Corporations

·      Leveraging Chat GPT for training

·      The Human Element and AI

Resources

Larry Roberts

Larry Roberts on LinkedIn

Red Hat Media        

Tom Fox

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

LinkedIn