Corona & Compliance: Jurgen Haakmeester

Blog / News | 06-07-20

Jurgen HaakmeesterThe positive impact of the coronavirus crisis on compliance

Jurgen Haakmeester, Manager of the Compliance & Improvement Competence Center at ENGIE Energie Nederland, thinks that the coronavirus crisis may turn out to have two positive effects on the compliance trade.

More personal responsibility

“First of all, the coronavirus crisis is forcing people to work remotely, without the direct control and group pressure that you find in a traditional workplace,” says Haakmeester. “Consequently, the responsibility to do the tasks assigned lies much more with individual employees. They have to rely more on their personal values. While this generally turns out well (I believe in the good in people) because most people like being compliant, there are always individuals who do less desirable things below the radar, simply because they can get away with it. This is also what makes it exciting.”

Want to know what Eric Schuiling (The Netherlands Compliance Institute) thinks about Compliance & Corona? Read the interview here.

Positive boost

“Secondly, the lockdown gives people a positive boost because they have seen what happens when people stick to what’s been agreed on,” Haakmeester continues. “Because we all complied with the measures taken to fight the crisis, we ultimately saw a clear result as the number of cases and coronavirus patients in ICU beds fell sharply. This kind of experience is a positive boost for the compliance trade. Regardless of how strict and sometimes even bothersome the rules were, they delivered success for us all. That said, there are groups that flout the rules, and so enforcement will continue to be needed. ‘Self-regulation’ is an illusion in that sense, because it will never work for compliance-related affairs as long as there is a benefit to be had from bending the rules. At the same time, however, we are also seeing that people consider it normal for peers to monitor each other’s compliance with the rules and to challenge each other on non-conforming behavior.”

 


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