By Clark Phinney
Just My E-pinion
“Just meeting the regulatory requirements is like asking your kids to only get a ‘D’ in school,” says compliance expert Clark Phinney. It’s a simple observation he heard a few years ago that seems to say it all about attitudes toward compliance.
“…like asking your kids to get a D.” I am struck by the simple but profound truth of the words, particularly in today’s floundering economy where safety and HR compliance are at risk of taking a backseat to cost savings and short-term financial pressures.
The sentiment should cause all of us, as HR or safety professionals, to pause and reflect on our own practices and beliefs, both personally and for the organizations we work for and represent. What are our attitudes about safety and regulatory compliance?
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Getting a “D” in school is technically passing; but I doubt any of us who are parents would enjoy, let alone encourage, a report card coming home that was filled with Ds. I suspect that most of us would not have gotten very far with our own parents if we had tried the argument, “But Dad, I’m technically passing so what’s the big deal with a ‘D’?.”
What message are we sending to organizations and companies if we simply seek to meet only the basic regulatory HR, safety, and environmental requirements? Far too often I am afraid that we settle for “alright” and “acceptable” and fail to set the bar higher in our own program and performance expectations.
In demanding that we achieve excellence in not only our own personal practice but also in that of the organizations we represent, we emerge as true leaders in our industry. Sure, meeting regulatory requirements provides a level of comfort, but is technically passing good enough? I would challenge you that it is not.
I once heard that being in the middle was “the top of the bottom, the bottom of the top, the cream of the crap.” A bit blunt, perhaps, but you get the point. Being in the middle is nothing special. Technically passing at our compliance programs is nothing special either. We should be constantly reaching for that best practice standard. How can we expect to inspire others to practice excellent habits if we are not out there leading them by example and striving to constantly raise the bar?
I’ve had far too many conversations with HR and safety practitioners, who have a singular purpose for their safety programs—avoiding an OSHA or DOL fine. While none of us is looking for an enforcement penalty from OSHA, DOL, EPA, or any other regulatory body, if the only reason for your program is to meet and document compliance, you are missing the larger point of being a professional.
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As compliance professionals we have an awesome responsibility. To be dramatic, we do, at times, hold people’s lives in our hands, both literally and figuratively. Ask yourself, are you doing everything you can to promote the highest possible compliance standards, or are you simply settling for passing?
That’s Clark Phinney’s e-pinion. We’d love to hear yours. Use the Share Your Comments link below.
Clark Phinney, STS, WSO-CST, is the Safety director for Maine Oxy, and president and CEO of the ALZASA Consulting Group.