Five Fun Ideas to Spice Up Your Ethics and Compliance Week
/Take a look at 2021’s ideas for Compliance and Ethics Week here.
Last week, many companies celebrated Ethics and Compliance Week with games and interactive presentations. Every year, compliance officers come up with more and more creative ideas to engage their employees.
As part of this year’s conference season, I heard a lot of exciting ideas. For your next event, why not try one or more of the following?
1. Movie Day
Who didn’t cheer when it was movie day at school?
One creative compliance team took this idea and decided to find a film to share with their high-risk teams, followed by a discussion about the ethics challenges the movie raised. This year they showed the documentary “From Russia with Cash,” a movie about money laundering and the London housing market.
Bringing in a movie feels like fun.
But since the topic of the movie related to a compliance issue, the movie also facilitated interesting discussions about the ethical challenges in business and real-life examples of non-compliant behavior. Which movies might work well at your company? Think about it and bring them in. If you can get approval to buy popcorn, all the better!
2. Pub Quiz
Pub quizzes are an English institution.
Teams of 3 to 6 people gather in groups and answer trivia questions, with the hope of winning prizes. One compliance officer took this format and made it into a game for her sales employees. She asked questions relating to local and national compliance scandals but also asked questions relating to the compliance program and rules.
Everyone’s favorite question was, “Which of the following was an actual gift given to an employee in violation of the gifts and hospitality policy?”
Answer: a Lamborghini.
Really. Winning team takes the candy!
3. Presents
Compliance teams have long handed out interesting presents to highlight their speak-up lines. This year one compliance team give out headphones with the phrase, “We’re always here to listen,” emblazoned on the packaging.
I’ve also seen reusable carrier totes with the phrase, “Ethics is my Bag,” and pop sockets for cell phones with the whistleblower website address on them. I’ve also seen stress balls with the phrase, “If ethics or compliance concerns are stressing you out, call us.”
Any present relating to listening, concerns, stress, ethics, or a compliance-related process can be used to raise awareness.
4. Gameshows
Many compliance officers have taken famous gameshow formats and turned them into compliance-related games. From “Family Feud” in the US, to Jeopardy!, these games mimicking television programs can be great fun.
Try coming up with compliance-program-related questions as well as questions about scandals that have rocked the outside world. People who don’t know about the various scandals can find out about them, and you can create a feeling of excitement by introducing competition to keep people engaged.
5. Acting it Out
At Spark Compliance Consulting, we often create scenarios for managers and a facilitator to act out. Here’s how it works:
We take a corporate scandal – say the Uber sexual harassment scandal – and adapt it into a 2 to 4 page script for a manager to act out with the facilitator. The details in the script are the same as in real life.
Wherever possible, we use quotes from news stories. People usually think that the scenarios are farcical. They’re then surprised to find out they are based on real-life examples. Once the scene is finished, the facilitator leads a discussion on how the scenario relates to the company’s values and how people should behave.
It’s always a crowd-pleaser, especially when the senior managers are cast to act the part of the villain. You can do this on your own if you act as the facilitator.
Creativity abounds in the compliance profession, making compliance more accessible and engaging for employees. If you have a creative idea, don’t be afraid to share it. The entire profession, and the employees they serve, will thank you!
Take a look at 2021’s ideas for Compliance and Ethics Week here.
