How to do more with less in your compliance program
Workplace compliance requirements continue to expand, yet staffing to support that compliance often has not, according to recent NAVEX survey data. From internal whistleblowing to training and much more, compliance teams today are asked to achieve more with less, driving a search for greater efficiencies amid a struggle to simply keep the lights on.
If this challenge feels familiar, you are not alone. Indeed, 38% of respondents to the NAVEX 2026 State of Risk & Compliance Report survey said “expanded responsibilities without additional resources” was an internal compliance challenge over the past 12 months – the single most-cited internal challenge among more than 1,100 compliance leaders across the globe.
Fortunately, a path forward in this challenging landscape does exist.
What compliance in the workplace actually includes
Workplace compliance is the day-to-day system of policies, training, reporting, investigations, documentation and oversight that turns legal obligations into employee behavior and business practices.
These broad obligations become more nuanced around specific workplace strategies and challenges – and translating those forces into an effective and holistic compliance program. As one recent example, with artificial intelligence increasingly infusing many aspects of business operations, 38% of NAVEX survey respondents said the compliance team was “very involved” in decision-making regarding the use of AI across the organization. What does that mean in practice? Think new policies, training, oversight – it seems every aspect of workplace compliance needs to adapt.
This holds true for countless business decisions and encountered risks. Just because a new business process or risk is added to Compliance’s plate does not mean a previous concern simply falls off the priority list.
Why headcount pressure exposes process weaknesses
Bigger teams appear to support a perception of program quality. In our recent survey, respondents from organizations with larger teams also tended to rate their compliance programs at a higher level of maturity than those with smaller headcounts.
However, when it comes to expected program budget changes, less mature programs, which are generally smaller, project more optimism. A significantly larger respective share of respondents who described their programs at the lower end of the maturity scale said they expected their annual ethics and compliance budget to increase by 10% or more.
Survey findings suggest those smaller, less mature programs might be identifying process weaknesses more readily and having success in making the case for greater investment in solutions. It is possible that shortcomings are simply more obvious and easier to communicate in a smaller or less mature program. In other words, headcount pressure may expose process weaknesses.
Overall, over one-third (34%) of respondents said their program faced challenges from coordinating across functions. Thirty-two percent listed manual processes or technology limitations. These paint a picture of fragmented workflows, unclear ownership, duplicated work, weak metrics and too much manual follow-up – not just for smaller programs, but across the board.
Faced with these forces, what can a compliance leader do? Here are five practices to implement to make your compliance program do more for you.
Prioritize risk so every hour works harder
Start with a practical compliance framework that includes a risk-based approach. This may align with regulatory guidance relevant to the specific organization, but regardless, a risk-based approach will allocate limited resources to where they are most needed. Compliance can focus on the high-risk functions, geographies, third parties and policy areas that are most critical for the organization.
This is a space where many see room for improvement. Only 24% of respondents said their risk assessment process was effective – this helps make the argument for sharper prioritization, not bigger teams by default.
Reduce friction in policy and training workflows
Not every employee needs the same intervention at the same moment. A strategic policy and training plan will automate where possible while achieving compliance goals like training completion and policy attestation as needed across different classes of employees.
Most respondents – 76% - said their organization has an ethics and compliance training plan, yet 32% said they do not use metrics to measure policy management effectiveness. Measuring these program elements may inform better timing and targeting for administering them, leading to greater adoption and less likelihood of a need for intervention down the road.
Standardize intake, escalation and investigation steps
Rather than dealing with each compliance inquiry or allegation of misconduct as a one-off case, greater efficiency can be achieved by standardizing responses. This can impact the way reports are received, how they are categorized, when they are referred to another business unit and generally what comes next in the investigatory process. While a benefit to efficiency, this also stands to improve trust in the system by improving case closure time and consistency in report outcomes.
Use technology to remove admin, not accountability
Automation and connected systems can improve the performance of lean teams. Think of training and policy programs that automatically remind subjects about an approaching deadline; automated attestations; streamlined routing for certain categories of reported misconduct; dashboards showing holistic program performance; and role-based policy access. The focus here is to free a limited compliance team to focus on judgement, escalation and remediation – not day-to-day administrative tasks.
Measure places where capacity quietly breaks down
A focused scorecard can help teams quickly measure – and communicate – how well the program is working based on clear metrics. Examples include overdue attestations, investigations backlog, case closure time and substantiation rate – all these measures may point to specific weak points where limited resources for the compliance program may make greater impact in improvements.
What improvements look like before changes to headcount
While headcount is strongly associated with program maturity, it is far from the only measure of effectiveness for a compliance program. For smaller teams, measures like fewer manual handoffs, clearer ownership, stronger participation, better escalation consistency and more useful management reporting can help to optimize outcomes. A careful consideration of an existing program may reveal many such opportunities to achieve better efficiencies, helping to indeed do more with less.
Benchmark where your program stands
Join our State of Risk & Compliance webinar to obtain our latest report and learn from experts who explain where your program stands compared to over 1,100 of your global peers.
