Unemployment is mounting, the stock market is on a roller coaster ride, and the banks aren’t lending.

It’s important to remember that many of the financial instruments that got us into this mess were perfectly legal. Subprime mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps—none of these things broke the law. But the policies behind them—e.g. loaning money to people with neither the income nor the assets to repay it—were unwise, to say the least.economic recovery plan - restoring trust through ethics and compliance

While we, as individuals, can do little to restore trust in The Market, as compliance professionals, we have the ability, indeed, we have the duty, to uphold the highest possible professional standards and do what we can to restore the public’s trust in our corner of the marketplace. Quite simply, restoring trust equals economic recovery.

Trust is earned one relationship at a time. So, what can we, as compliance professionals, do to instill trust, both in ourselves and in our companies?

Integrity

The price of entry to building trust is acting with integrity. That means you must act as though your children, grandchildren, and mother-in-law are watching you all day. If you say or do anything that would shame these people, you’ve probably acted unethically.

That means being scrupulously honest, even if being honest doesn’t work to your advantage.

Rather than look for reasons and ways to keep information secret, we should work with a presumption of openness and, if needed, only keep confidential information that is truly confidential. Obviously, employee privacy and, as mentioned earlier, trade secrets must be honored. But company finances, policies, and other similar information should be, for the most part, transparent to those with a stake in them.

Expertise
Are you good at your job, all parts of it? Is your team well-trained? Is continuing education a part of your corporate culture? If you didn’t answer “yes” to all of these questions, you probably have some work to do.

Only by being the best we can be can we assure that our clients and customers are getting the services and products they deserve. And only when we deliver that level of service will we inspire their trust in us.

By restoring trust in our companies, we are creating the building blocks to economic recovery.

Produce results
Ultimately, we are judged by the results we produce. When we meet or preferably exceed our clients’ and customers’ expectations, we develop trust. When we do that consistently, we develop a reputation for honesty and good character that will ultimately pay greater dividends than even the best stock tip.

One of the best ways to build loyalty is to fix problems immediately and sincerely, should we make a mistake. This is good news, obviously, since none of us are likely to go our entire careers (or even an entire quarter) without making the occasional mistake.

Consistency
Consistency is what pulls all of the other qualities together. After all, what good does it do to act with integrity, be transparent, know your stuff, and deliver results—if you only do it some of the time?

As compliance officers, it’s worth remembering that our company’s greatest asset doesn’t appear on any balance sheet. It’s the trust of our customers and employees.

And unless we behave in a way that confirms and encourages their continued trust in us, we risk losing it.

This article is available in full at Corporate Compliance Insights.