• Customer Login
1-888-273-3274
GovDocs
  • Platform
    • Employment Law Compliance Platform
    • Labor Law Posters >
      • Standard Update Program
      • Digital Labor Law Posters
      • Spanish Update Program
      • Federal Contractor Update Program
      • Right to Work/E-Verify Update Program
      • Canada Update Program
      • Labor Law Poster Auditing
      • PosterCheck
    • Minimum Wage Solution
    • Paid Leave Solution
    • LocationCheck
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Labor Law Poster Compliance
    • Minimum Wage Compliance
    • Paid Leave Compliance
    • General Employment Law Compliance
    • Video Center
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Why GovDocs?
    • Client Services Team
    • Employment Law and Compliance Team
    • Who We Help
      • Retail / Wholesale
      • Manufacturing
      • Professional Services
      • Financial / Insurance
      • Health / Medical
      • Utilities / Energy
      • Construction / Engineering
      • Hospitality / Restaurant
    • Careers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Go Green With GovDocs
    • Press Releases
  • Events
    • Webinars
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
    • Federal Posters
    • State Posters
    • County Posters
    • City Posters
    • Update Service
  • Request Demo
  • Search
  • Menu
  • Platform
    • Employment Law Compliance Platform
    • Labor Law Posters >
      • Standard Update Program
      • Digital Labor Law Posters
      • Spanish Update Program
      • Federal Contractor Update Program
      • Right to Work/E-Verify Update Program
      • Canada Update Program
      • Labor Law Poster Auditing
      • PosterCheck
    • Minimum Wage Solution
    • Paid Leave Solution
    • LocationCheck
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Labor Law Poster Compliance
    • Minimum Wage Compliance
    • Paid Leave Compliance
    • General Employment Law Compliance
    • Video Center
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Why GovDocs?
    • Client Services Team
    • Employment Law and Compliance Team
    • Who We Help
      • Retail / Wholesale
      • Manufacturing
      • Professional Services
      • Financial / Insurance
      • Health / Medical
      • Utilities / Energy
      • Construction / Engineering
      • Hospitality / Restaurant
    • Careers
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Go Green With GovDocs
    • Press Releases
  • Events
    • Webinars
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
    • Federal Posters
    • State Posters
    • County Posters
    • City Posters
    • Update Service
  • Request Demo

LABOR LAW NEWS

Return on Investment in Labor Law Compliance Programs – Part 2: Your ROI Defined

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share by Mail

By Mark Richards – GovDocs – VP, Operations and Finance

Published on May 3, 2018

The Returns Beyond Risk Management

Every company adopts management practices and priorities to achieve its business goals to which processes, policies, budgets, etc., all follow suit.  When it comes to regulations, whether industry, financial or other legal requirements, the practice and priority is to invest just enough time and resources to achieve compliance. To that point, there are no companies claiming to be No. 1 in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance (other than consultancies trying to help companies to comply).

However, when it comes to items related to your people, the compliance program can generate returns beyond risk management when the practices and priorities move from reactive to proactive, and then predictive.  The more elements that reach proactive and predictive, the more the program will create a business asset that helps enable your culture, employees, and reputation.

Here, in the final part of our two-part ROI in compliance series, we will introduce an expanded definition of where the ROI of a compliance program may be experienced.

Using Figure 1 below,  Part 1 of this blog series outlined the investments of a labor law compliance program to create a shield of different, but equally important, parts that collectively create an effective program and the elements it can protect and enhance.

Figure 1.  Building a Labor Law Compliance Program

Providing a definition: Reactive.  Proactive.  Predictive.

To establish the context for each stage of labor law compliance– reactive, proactive and predictive – see Figure 2 below.  As a labor law compliance provider, we engage with a broad set of companies and their approach, or urgency, is a good indicator of their current stage of compliance.  Given this view of compliance, most firms tend to be in a reactive or proactive stage.

Figure 2.  The Stages of Labor Law Compliance Program

Our observations of the different stages:

  • If the labor law compliance program is viewed primarily as risk management, the approach aligns with the presumed level of risk – the higher the risk, the higher the urgency (and vice versa). As mentioned in Part 1, the investment level tends to closely align to risk tolerance.
  • The move toward predictive requires more dedicated ownership and allocation of resources to be sustainable, thus why the investment (or budget) for staffing, systems and support is an indicator if the strategy and tactics are aligned.
  • The awareness of the program or its outcomes becomes greater – whether through communication or presence in day-to-day business – as a company moves toward predictive.
  • Companies will invest heavily in certain areas of labor law compliance over others based on their business model. For example, businesses with a significant number of employees earning minimum wage may invest to be predictive – due to the high impact on their business.

Returns of Creating a Business Asset

In Figure 1, we identify what is being both protected and engaged – the “risk” element is well known (e.g., protection against costs of defense and response to legal actions either by regulator or employee), so we will focus on how a strong compliance program is a business asset for culture, people and image.

Culture

The position of the culture icon in Figure 1 is purposeful as the culture of a business will dictate its direction. In the Harvard Business Review’s “The Culture Factor,” it both defines a culture’s importance and enablement.  The article calls out how culture is pervasive across an organization, supported by specific actions and environments, and that people implicitly react to the culture – of which “caring” and “safety” are elements.

Compliance program impact:

Cultures are built upon a set of shared, not dictated, values. Employees need to accept these values as much as the company wants to promote them.  A visibly evident and effective compliance program gives employees confidence in sharing the company’s values. Cultures are also very enduring, so the return on building culture is long-term.  Budgets are a powerful tool for communicating importance – once peoples’ time and financial resources are put behind your compliance program, it sends a strong message about the company’s commitment to the culture and employees.

People

We all want engaged employees who have a strong connection and motivation to support the company – in short, these are people who can speak highly of the company (See “Developing and Sustaining Employee Engagement,” by SHRM).  The greater their engagement, the greater the focus on aligning their work to achieving company goals.  To paraphrase a former colleague’s favorite saying, “Engaged employees are the ones actively rowing the boat, not the ones just sitting in the boat holding a paddle and going along for the ride … Or worse, the ones hanging off the back of the boat slowing you down.”

Compliance program impact:

Employee engagement is highly linked to an employee’s day-to-day experiences – the emotional connection is high due to these experiences’ frequency and impact on their well-being. The sense of trust and open communication is critical to well-being. The compliance program is a positive reinforcement of the employee’s importance by committing to a protective and respective workplace.

Quick Sidebar: Investing through “Correction” (Figure 1)  

This Bloomberg article on harassment complaints shows the importance of policies/practices that align with shared values and investing all the way through ”correction” to build trust with employees. It shows that where there is misalignment, employees feel anything but engagement.  

Image

There are two facts today about every company’s image. First, it is highly discoverable online (perhaps for longer than desired). Second, the control of the online image and message is well outside the company (e.g., Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc.) and these systems are not without their flaws.  Regardless of the market conditions, there is always competition for experienced talent, and the ability to evolve as a company is driven by bringing in necessary talent.  To that point, a 2017 survey by CareerBuilder showed that 71% of U.S. workers would not apply to a company experiencing negative publicity, and that publicity is both public press and review sites

Compliance program impact:

People who make comments either online or in person are motivated by their experiences – as noted above, a strong culture, trust, and communication will create an engaged employee who will speak highly of the company.  The impact of the compliance program is to create and sustain a positive image from employees.

An effective labor law compliance program is one of the items needed for corporate success, due primarily to its direct relationship with enhancing and supporting strong engagement with current and future employees – who will be developing, leading and executing your strategy to attract, retain and grow customer relationships.

Hopefully, through Parts 1 and 2 of this series we have introduced a broader set of concepts for you to consider and work with regarding your investment and return on a labor law compliance program.

Keep Informed
with GovDocs Labor Law News

May 13, 2025/by Jana Bjorklund

Keeping Up with Non-Compete Bans and Restrictions and the Latest Change in Virginia

May 8, 2025/by Jana Bjorklund

Pay Transparency Update Cleveland’s New Law and New Jersey’s 2025 Launch

May 6, 2025/by Dana Holle

Where Do Employers Need to Display Labor Law Posters?

May 1, 2025/by Jana Bjorklund

Recent Changes to Paid Leave Laws in Maryland and Missouri

April 28, 2025/by Jana Bjorklund

Ohio Allows Electronic Display of Labor Law Posters

This Labor Law New Blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not be used for legal advice or counsel.

GovDocs Update Program

Who is GovDocs?

GovDocs simplifies the complexity of employment law management (ELM) for large, multilocation employers across all industries. We offer a suite of innovative compliance products, including labor law postings, data software applications and other program management tools, to ease the day-to-day responsibilities of human resources, compensation, legal and finance teams.

Have less than 30 locations? 

The GovDocs Poster Store simplifies the complexity of posting compliance for employers with less than 30 locations across all industries. We offer a variety of posting products to meet your labor law compliance needs, including federal and state posters; county and city poster packages; and other HR posters. Plus, when you purchase posters with GovDocs Update Service, you ensure your locations automatically receive updated posters whenever changes occur.

More Stories From Labor Law News

CONTACT US

GovDocs, Inc.
1305 Corporate Center Drive
Suite 400
Eagan, MN 55121
1-888-273-3274

about govdocs

  • Who We Are
  • Who We Help
  • Events
  • Careers
  • Frequently Asked Questions

Products

  • Employment Law Compliance Platform
  • Labor Law Postings >
    • Spanish Update Program
    • Federal Contractor Update Program
    • Right to Work/E-Verify Update Program
    • Canada Update Program
    • PosterCheck
    • Intranet Poster Program
  • GovDocs Minimum Wage Solution
  • GovDocs Paid Leave
  • Terms and Policies
  • Privacy Policy

resources

  • Employment Law News
  • Infographics
  • Webinars
  • Guides and Whitepapers
  • SlideShares
  • Tip Sheets
  • Product Sheets
  • Press Releases
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Login
  • Video Center

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our blog for the latest employment law news.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin
Copyright © 2025 GovDocs, Inc. GovDocs is a registered trademark of GovDocs, Inc.
New Jersey Passes Paid Sick Leave Bill in State Legislature Washington State Passes Equal Pay Law
Scroll to top