Nothing gets the perfectly scripted eye-roll like the words “regulatory compliance” in a business environment. These regulated and government-mandated programmes are often seen as a burden—a tick-the-box exercise required to avoid hefty fines or, worse, the loss of operating licences. However, regulatory compliance is more than just following rules; it offers significant value not only to the impacted company but also to the broader economy.

Unfortunately, this is not the view of most South African organisations, which still fail to treat compliance as a strategic initiative that can drive efficiency, improve customer trust, and enhance long-term performance. 

The Challenge: Compliance vs. Adoption

For many companies, regulatory compliance is little more than an obligatory process. Programmes are implemented to meet the bare minimum requirements, and once they go live, they’re often forgotten. This approach misses the point entirely.

Keenan Crouch, a Senior Change Management Consultant at Change Logic, highlights his experience with regulatory projects. He says, “Historically, compliance initiatives often faced a post-go-live ownership vacuum, leading to missed opportunities for maximising benefits. While organisations met basic requirements such as staff training, client communication, and KPI integration, the full potential of these initiatives was frequently unrealised.”

“This 'tick-the-box' approach often resulted in superficial compliance, excessive reliance on consultants in a business-as-usual setting, and a failure to fully realise the intended benefits. Despite technical adherence to regulations, a lack of internal ownership and adoption hindered the effective implementation and ongoing management of compliance initiatives,” adds Crouch. 

 The Hidden Value of Regulatory Programmes

The truth is that regulatory programmes can offer significant value if adopted properly. Compliance is not just about avoiding fines—it can drive operational efficiencies, reduce technical debt, and even improve customer satisfaction. In some cases, regulatory requirements can force companies to implement long-overdue client-beneficial changes.

"Let’s use the example of one of the major banks we work with which approached a regulatory requirement extremely positively. For the first time in their history, they achieved a single view of the customer thanks to a government-driven regulatory requirement. This means they can now see a complete picture of a client — as an individual, a trustee, and a business owner. It’s something the bank wanted to do for years, but it only happened as the regulation forced them to address issues associated with integration across multiple platforms," states Crouch.

These programmes can bring immense benefits across multiple business units, reducing manual processes and bottlenecks. "Yes, there may be some disruption upfront. But in the long term, if you manage the change properly, you’re getting rid of inefficiencies," Crouch adds.

The Problem with the Tick-the-Box Mentality

The root of the problem often lies in how large firms approach change management. Anton Hingeston, a director at Change Logic, explains, "There’s this statistic that 97% of projects fail because they don’t use change management. So now, all projects have change management, but it’s just another box to tick. It becomes a checklist of newsletters, stakeholder templates, and other materials, it doesn’t drive real adoption and adds no value."

The real problem is this templated "tick-the-box" approach. As Hingeston puts it, "We’re tired of fixing the mistakes of big firms who don’t add real value. Regulatory programmes should be treated like strategic projects that drive positive and measurable change, not just a drop down on a spreadsheet."

Culture and Leadership: The Keys to Ownership

One of the biggest barriers to the proper adoption of compliance initiatives is corporate culture. Different organisations have different leadership styles, which impact how regulations are implemented. Hingeston explains, "Some companies have a fear-driven culture, where no one makes a move without the CEO’s approval. Others are more relaxed, allowing managers to make decisions. Both types of culture present challenges."

The key to overcoming these challenges is ownership. "If you’re driving ownership as the core focus, you can deliver change," Hingeston says. "But if you rely on templates, you’ll keep running into problems. Ownership creates the right tools to drive change, while templates just set you up for failure."

The Role of Change Management

According to both, the ideal approach to regulatory compliance centres around fostering participation, ownership, and confidence within organisations. "The trick is to remove the pain associated with these projects, which translates to focusing on reducing disruption and getting the company back to peak performance with the regulation in place," Hingeston explains.

A key part of this process is executive alignment. "In our own experience, we spend a lot of time addressing ‘false consensus’ where people nod along without really buying in. Getting true commitment from the executive team is critical," says Hingeston.

In addition to alignment, mapping out user journeys well in advance to ensure that regulatory programmes are not implemented at the last minute is essential. "We’re trying to eliminate ‘just-in-time compliance’,” Crouch explains. "We map out how to get the client ready far ahead of time to avoid a rush just before the regulation goes live. This also helps minimise the frustration so many companies feel when tackling these projects."

Moving Beyond Templates to True Adoption

Ultimately, regulatory programmes can only deliver value if they’re adopted, not just implemented. "Get rid of the templates and focus on adoption," Crouch says.

Hingeston echoes this sentiment, "We’ve moved beyond ticking boxes. It’s about ensuring organisations adopt compliance and embrace change, whether it’s regulatory compliance, an SAP implementation, or a merger. It comes back to applying change management that works and that centres on creating a more efficient, high-performing organisation by the time you go live."

Regulatory programmes play a vital role in maintaining the health and stability of the economy. They ensure that companies operate with transparency, ethical standards, and adequate controls, which in turn protects consumers, prevents financial malpractices, and promotes long-term economic growth.

Finally, regulatory programmes are much more than compliance. They’re an opportunity to drive lasting, meaningful change that benefits both the business and its customers. By treating these programmes as strategic initiatives, organisations can unlock their true potential and create a culture of ownership and adoption.