Compliance is a tricky discipline that you need to make sure you are getting right. There is no way around it – either you are compliant with laws and regulations, or you aren’t. However, it can sometimes be difficult for you to handle your compliance in-house. It might be best to outsource your organisation’s compliance to a professional agency instead. Here are some of the reasons why you should do so.
Cost-Effective
It is often far more cost-effective for you to outsource your compliance needs rather than try to handle it in-house. When you choose to outsource anything, whether it is compliance or some other business need, you will frequently agree a retainer with the other party. This will give them a set workload each month, and you will pay them for this time.
It is simple and an easy cost to manage as part of a business expense. Many companies are used to working with retainer contracts and outsourced workloads. Even if this is your first time outsourcing work within your business, it probably won’t be the first time for your chosen partners.
This retainer fee will often be much lower than what you might expect to pay if you were to hire an in-house compliance officer. Yes, if you were to hire this employee it means that you would have someone who could take care of your compliance for you whenever something arises. However, the cost of a salary is usually significantly higher than what you might be paying for a retainer. On top of this, do you actually have the workload to justify hiring a full-time compliance officer? If not, it might be worth turning to an outsourced solution instead.
Expertise
When you have a single compliance officer working for your organisation, they are going to have just their own base of knowledge. There is more of a chance that they could make a mistake. Even when they are able to do research, there is always the potential that their own base of knowledge could not be sufficient to correctly deal with an issue.
If you choose to outsource and work with an agency that specialises in compliance consulting, you will be getting the expertise of not just one person but a whole team. Should they encounter an issue that they can’t solve on their own, they should be able to work it out together.
You will often find that team members in organisations such as this all have their own expertise. Though you might be referred to one when you inquire about outsourcing, and work with them the most, if you do need help they will be able to pass you on to the relevant colleague. They will also be able to assist in this handover, quickly explaining your needs to their colleague, to minimise the transition and help them begin to work on your case much faster.
Existing Protocols
If you choose to develop compliance management in-house then you are going to have to spend time and resources developing metrics and protocols to help protect your operations. These can take some time to set up, especially if this is the first time that your company has had to actively deal with compliance. On top of this, you also have to ensure that these metrics are actually going to be of value. There is no point in developing something if it is actually not in line with regulatory advice and standards.
This will all take time to perfect – time that not a lot of companies have. After all, compliance is an ongoing issue for many. Governing bodies accept few excuses. If a business is not able to meet the standards required due to a poor reference system, they are still going to be penalised.
This is where outsourcing your organisation’s compliance needs can be beneficial. An agency that specialises in compliance will have existing tests that they can use when taking on your needs. When you start working with them, they will be able to perform an audit to see where you currently stand. They will then be able to make recommendations and improvements. These tests will have been developed and tested to meet the latest in standards, and are likely to be of a higher quality than what you could achieve in-house.
Outsource Your Needs Today
Though giving up control of part of your company can seem intimidating, it can be the best move for your business overall. You can’t deny the expertise that can be found from outsourcing, and you can be certain that any recommendations that they will make will be to the latest and highest of standards. If you are searching for help with some aspect of your business, whether it is in compliance or not, outsourcing could be the right move for you.