8 Reasons To Have A Compliance Department

February 6, 2018 By admin Leave a Comment

By Donna Marie Serritella, Direct Selling Solutions

Would you rather go to the dentist, or set up your direct selling company’s Compliance Department? Whether you would prefer to go to the dentist or not, this article is for you!

Compliance Department

There are many reasons why your network marketing, party plan, or social selling company needs to have a Compliance Department. In this article, I will share eight of them with you.

To Protect Everyone

Having an active Compliance Department for your direct selling company provides protection for the customer, the independent distributors, the company, the brand, the products, and the general public.

To Uphold Policies

A network marketing, party plan, or social selling company must uphold its Policies & Procedures consistently and professionally.

The recorded history of enforcement is very reassuring and professionally necessary for any direct selling company.

To Reduce Time And Stress

Owners and corporate staff, even independent representatives, can spend an inordinate amount of time addressing issues.

It is NOT the role of the owner or independent representative to operate your Compliance Department, because each may be tempted to make exceptions and thus not follow your company’s rules.

An objective party needs to run your Compliance Department properly and efficiently, updating the staff and field leaders regularly.

To Monitor Field for Compliance

Your company must provide ongoing monitoring processes of the field and events. You must inspect what is expected. Monitoring efforts include providing an avenue for submission of potential violations.

To Establish and Enforce Sanctions

A comprehensive set of protocols are established to hold representatives accountable. The process should include a courtesy call, then a written warning, then a suspension, and at last resort, a termination. Each company can establish its sanctions based on its culture and its attorney’s advice.

To Provide A Process For Escalation

Your Compliance Department must be the one and only escalation process with enforceable consequences. Owners cannot perform these duties efficiently and without creating personality issues in the field.

To Educate

Virtual compliance training is becoming increasingly popular among regulators. Bite-sized bits of compliance education are key. Some companies elect to provide a customized Compliance Training Course for their sales force. Many require the successful completion of the course to be activated as a representative.

To Prepare And Maintain Compliance Documentation

In the case of a Compliance Audit by a regulator, preparation is key. Your Compliance Department must keep accurate documentation so that it can be easily retrieved and provide evidence of an active working Compliance Department.

Conclusion

You know that going to the dentist, while perhaps a little painful, is good for your health. Similarly, setting up a working Compliance Department is essential to the health of your direct selling company.

To learn more about compliance, I invite you to meet me at the next Direct Selling Edge Conference, where I present a class on how to set up and operate a Compliance Department.

Jay Leisner, the President of Sylvina Consulting, is a top compensation plan and direct selling expert, a trusted adviser to new and established network marketing and party plan companies. For more than 30 years, Jay has enjoyed assessing and improving network marketing, party plan and referral marketing companies across the globe.

Jay Leisner and Victoria Dohr authored the top-rated book for new and young network marketing, referral marketing, and party plan companies, "Start Here: The Guide to Building and Growing Your Direct Selling Company".

Available in English and Spanish. This startup guide contains 250 pages of wisdom that will guide you through the right steps to start and continue on your journey to build a successful direct selling company.

You will save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of your time using the information you will read in our book.

In 1986, Jay began his career in direct selling by working for a major direct selling software provider. First as a software developer and later as a project leader and a business analyst, Jay worked closely with new and established network marketing and party direct selling companies to provide them with software solutions to meet their unique requirements.

Jay contributed in many ways to the success of large implementation projects for many companies. Jay also worked with dozens of smaller companies to assist each of them in various capacities to provide them with the systems they needed to help their businesses to grow faster.

Along the way while working with them, he learned the secrets of successful direct selling companies and the challenges faced by them. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Jay’s decision in 1999 to start Sylvina Consulting as a direct selling consulting company was driven by what he saw was a need for answers, advice, and solutions.

In 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2018, Jay gave presentations on compensation plans, recognition, and field leadership development at conferences held by the US Direct Selling Association.

He traveled to South Africa in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to conduct workshops on compensation plan design and recognition programs for member companies of the South African Direct Selling Association.

In 2017, Jay spoke at the Canadian Direct Sellers Association Meeting on the importance of recognition.

More than just a compensation plan expert, Jay is exceptionally skilled at advising new and established companies on business strategies. Before offering advice or solutions, he asks important questions to understand each client’s specific concerns and goals.

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