Design thinking is another innovation which can help the CCO move forward in a cutting-edge manner to make a compliance program not only more robust but also operationalize it into the fabric of the company. Such a mechanism would help to drive compliance into the operational nature of a company.
This design thinking protocol can help to create a more effective ethics and compliance training model by using employees to provide the initial input to improve its effectiveness and relevance to the front-line employees. The compliance team then implements several proposed solutions until the most operative one or ones becomes apparent. These are then rolled out companywide for better and more effective compliance training. As the entire process is documented, when the regulators, such as the DOJ or SEC, come knocking, you will have the ability to not only explain your training but also demonstrate its effectiveness.
Three key takeaways:

1. Design thinking concepts are not simply for product innovation but for culture innovation.
2. Design thinking works around the users’ needs rather internal operating efficiencies. For a compliance program, this means employees, third-parties and customers.
3. Design thinking works to improve your compliance regime by building from the ground up rather than a legalistic top-down approach.