Cross-functional alignment is one of the most effective tools a CIO has for maintaining compliance in a fragmented regulatory environment. However, while many understand that disparate teams working together is “what it’s all about,” many CIOs may not yet realize that it’s their responsibility to take point for the process.
Or, that a successful compliance outlook doesn’t mean perfection – it means everyone being aligned in progress.
Here’s how I’ve seen that play out.
The Compliance Challenge: It’s Not Just About Rules, It’s About Teams
When compliance matters arise, there tends to be too much focus on assigning fault. Instead, attention needs to be paid to addressing the situation and preventing its recurrence.
Compliance breakdowns are often caused by poor communication and lack of interdepartmental alignment among different strategic functions. Because compliance is company-wide, no single department or owner is in charge; as the adage goes, when something is everyone’s business, it is nobody’s business.
And yet these teams still make up the whole. Rules are to be adhered to, but without proper feedback from the powers in charge, those rules will come up short and lead to another compliance debacle in the future.
Because of their unique position, CIOs can drive collaboration with legal, compliance, product, and other internal stakeholders to address regulatory challenges.
Why Cross-Functional Compliance Matters More Than Ever
As compliance gets more complex, companies with a lot of moving parts have a greater chance of “messing it up” than “getting it right” without effective cross-functional compliance in place.
That is because there is a competing patchwork of local, state, national, and international regulations to which today’s organizations must adhere. The responsibility to demonstrate compliance can fall across multiple teams in an organization.
This leads to confusion, incorrect prioritization (or lack thereof), and lack of proper risk and task management. Often, what results is an “everyone for themselves” atmosphere as disparate departments struggle to keep their own heads off the chopping block. Interdepartmental alignment can help alleviate these competing aims.
Additionally, evolving requirements keep entities on their toes, making stability elusive for large companies that want to hammer out initiatives and be done with it. This further dampens the collaborative spirit as large “one off” task forces can find their work obsolete upon the next framework update.
And yet, compliance never worked in a vacuum.
Teams cannot co-exist in their own private siloes, working in their own way to adhere to standards but failing to see how their piece affects the rest. Fortunately, CIO leadership can bridge this gap.
CIOs as Strategic Problem Solvers, Not Isolated Owners
What’s the best way for a CIO to untangle a regulatory compliance mess?
- First, refrain from negativity. Compliance is compliance, and you simply need to navigate it.
- Second, lead through problem solving rather than declaring “not responsible” for certain items being requested. The worst thing a CIO (or anyone) can do when the compliance ball drops is to shout, “not it.” Looking for blame results in further divisiveness.
- Third, ensure all internal stakeholders have representation when discussing decisions, responses, and general coordination among the cross-functional team tasked with addressing the compliance matter. This approach ensures that whatever responses result are efficient, productive, coordinated, and stakeholder aware.
CIOs are an active stakeholder in many compliance initiatives, though they are not solely responsible for most. CIO leadership should therefore engage peer leaders to understand how regulatory collaboration might work within their organizations to address whatever compliance issues may arise.
Turning Compliance into a Continuous Process of Improvement
There will never be a true “clean” report card when it comes to compliance. However, much value internally - and externally - can be derived from demonstrating continuous improvement and awareness.
That’s why the biggest compliance mistake a CIO can make is refusing to work the problem. Another is seeing it as a “point in time” problem, rather than a process.
Rather than treating compliance as a siloed or reactive task, it should be a collaborative process that benefits from CIOs acting as strategic facilitators. And cross-functional compliance should prioritize clarity, coordination, and resilience; not perfection.
- Clarity: What are our compliance goals and where did the breakdowns occur?
- Coordination: Who is responsible for what? Iron out overlaps here.
- Resilience: How can we make incremental improvements that will help us be better prepared for our next audit? The key word is better, not “100%.”
Avoiding compliance breakdowns entirely may not be possible. But as security leaders stay responsive and agile, they can be recoverable. They may even serve as invaluable turning points to re-route company culture towards shared security ownership.
The bottom line is clear: Consistent, CIO-led engagement - and shared ownership across departments - can ensure agility, reduce blame-focused responses, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Explore how Fortra helps cross-functional teams simplify compliance with instant expertise.
