Andrea Falcione and Tricia Cornell of Rethink Compliance, one of the most innovative companies in the compliance space, join Tom Fox in this week’s show. They discuss their compliance journeys, and how content is reshaping the world of compliance.

Their Compliance Journeys
Andrea is a lawyer by profession. In 2004 she transitioned into compliance; she joined Rethink Compliance about a year ago. Tricia comes from the marketing and advertising world. The founder of Rethink, Kirsten Liston, asked her to join the company two years ago to bring her expertise in creating pieces of content to persuade people to think differently about commercial products, into the compliance space.
Content is King
Tom asks the guests to explain what ‘Content is king’ means, and why it’s so important and innovative in compliance. Tricia explains that it means that people are curious: they want to read, listen, and view videos, so compliance experts have to make their content consumable and desirable, and through that get their brand message out there. Andrea says that legal and compliance professionals find this idea difficult because they are essentially risk averse. When they send a message, it’s more about mitigating risk than engaging their audience. However, many organizations are getting negative feedback from their content consumers, so there is a need to create content that is relevant and engaging. This is becoming more and more critical, as regulators are looking at the effectiveness of companies’ efforts. 
Building Trust with Content
Andrea and Tricia share a piece of content created by ReThink Compliance in response to the Me Too Movement, is helping to change perceptions. Compliance officers should think about using content in different ways to get people to trust the process and the people involved in it, Andrea says. 
A Holistic Approach to Content
Tricia advises that a holistic approach to content starts with reaching your audience where they are. What are their attitudes? What are they looking for from their work? If you start with where they are and understand what they need from you, you’ll reach them more effectively with your message. Always think about how you can make your message relevant to your people. This can help build trust too, Andrea adds. If you think about what your audience needs to hear from you, they will begin to trust you more. 
Revamping the Code of Conduct
Tom asks, how or why can a code of conduct revamp be a powerful tool for a compliance practitioner. Andrea responds that the code of conduct is the cornerstone of every compliance program. As such, it needs to be a document that employees actually use, one that is meaningful and resonates with them. It all comes back to thinking about what your audience needs, Tricia emphasizes. If you want the code of conduct to be a resource, then you must think about where and when your people will need it. What questions might they have? How can you answer those questions in a way that’s easy for them to find the information they’re looking for? She points out that you need to make sure that information is easy to find, and written in language that’s easy to understand, so that they can make the right decision in the moment.
Resources
RethinkComplianceCo.com
LinkedIn: Andrea Falcione | Tricia Cornell | Kirsten Liston