Ronnie was a guest on SCCE’s Compliance Perspectives Podcast, hosted by Adam Turteltaub.
How do you get people to come forward and report issues? Ronnie Feldman (LinkedIn), President and Founder of Learnings & Entertainment, has an unconventional suggestion: Learn from improv comedy groups.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN: SCCE COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVES PODCAST: IMPROV, ENTERTAINMENT & SPEAK UP CULTURE
Improv performances only work because the members of the cast know that they have unconditional support from their castmates. That gives them the ability to take risks. This creates a psychologically safe environment where people can bring ideas forward without fear. Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson, argues that the best organizations do the same thing. How does an organization get to that place of psychological safety where people can feel come forward and say what’s on their mind safely? By constantly reminding people that it is okay to point out what is wrong. And a good compliance program is one that creates this environment.
How can a program get there? For one, stop doing that bloated, boring, preachy training, which signals to the employee that you don’t care and are just pushing liability to them. There is no actual learning involved and they resent you for wasting their time. Employees won’t seek out advice and support from people and organizations that annoy them.
Helpful tip….Think more like an advertising agency to get the Speak UP message in front of people as many times as possible and as creatively as possible. And, as you do so, be entertaining and interesting so they’ll pay attention, engage and remember. Plus, you can play those messages more frequently which increases the visibility.