OCEG Policy Management Illustrated Series
Written policies are essential - but they are only effective if individuals are aware of them, committed to them,
and expectations understood. In today’s legal climate, having an audit trail of when policies were communicated,
when individuals were trained, and when individuals acknowledged their commitment and understanding of
them is critical to defending the organization when faced with legal and regulatory matters.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A
COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Why does it matter?
AUDIENCE
Write the communication and
training plan to meet the unique
needs of each target group.
VERSION (DATE, TIME)
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
COMMUNICATION GOALS
Define specific communication
goals and strategies for
distribution, certification and
training for each policy.
QUALITIES OF DEFENSIBLE AND EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION AND TRAINING
Are adequate
resources in place?
Does it adhere to the
code of conduct?
Is it timely?
How do we
measure success?
Is it relevant?
Will those with
disabilities and
differing language
needs understand?
What level of
training and
communication is
appropriate?
What records are
necessary to show
that training and
communication took
place?
Align communication and training
strategies with the corporate culture
and Code of Conduct. Gain support
of executives and management.
INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
Collaborate with and enlist the
support of internal stakeholders
across the business.
MONITOR & REVIEW
ALIGNMENT
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Effective compliance programs can
pinpoint, by individual, the version
of a policy that was communicated
and the communication activities
surrounding that version.
Communication plans should include
how to ask questions about policies
and request policy exceptions. Effective
programs include ways to document,
approve and periodically evaluate
questions and exceptions in order to update
policies and/or identify emerging risks.
TRACKING
ONE
DISTRIBUTE
TWO
DISTRIBUTE & CERTIFY
ACCESSIBILITY
Decide on the metrics that will
constitute 'success' for each phase
of the communication process.
3
!
Do people understand?
Assign the appropriate people,
budget and other resources to
ensure communication goals
are met.
MEASUREMENT
2
QUESTIONS & EXCEPTIONS
RESOURCES
Develop each policy and training
program to be accessible,
understandable and actionable by
all groups regardless of education
level, geography, culture, language,
ethnic group or disability status.
1
The policy communications team
is accountable for establishing
and ensuring the success of the
communication and training plans.
DISTRIBUTE,
CERTIFY & TRAIN
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Integration
Visibility
Global Reach
Availability
Technology integrates policy
training and communication with
other compliance program
components like compliance and
ethics training for holistic
recordkeeping and data analysis.
Technology permits permissionsbased and enterprise-wide
visibility on demand.
Technology delivers the
correct version and
language seamlessly.
Technology allows policies to be
accessed, consulted, updated and
managed without the confusion
of email clutter.
Contact Carole S. Switzer [email protected] for comments, reprints or licensing requests
©2012 OCEG visit www.oceg.org for other installments in the Policy Management Illustrated Series
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To defend itself and validate an
effective compliance/policy
program the organization should
be able to have a complete
historical record of policy
communication and training.
TESTING
To ensure understanding, the
organization should test comprehension on critical/high-risk policies
to ensure that they have been
properly communicated and
understood.
ACCESSING PAST RECORDS
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Defending the organization in legal
and regulatory actions requires that
a 360 degree view of the history of
the policy, interactions with the policy,
and policy communications be
accessible with defensible audit trails.
REPEATABLE CYCLE
Communication is never complete.
Repetition using different methods
and tones can increase understanding and compliance.