Culture – The Board’s Secret Weapon

Course Overview

Developing a strong corporate culture without putting the brakes on business growth

Your organisation’s culture and approach to managing conduct risk make a massive contribution to the revenue generated by your business – not to mention your brand reputation. In the last 15 years or so, large-scale conduct-related scandals have eroded trust in the Financial Services industry. As a result, regulatory priorities are now shaped around the need for healthy organisational culture, underpinned by individual accountability and collective responsibility.

“We define culture as the habitual behaviours and mindsets that characterise an organisation. We do not attempt to assess mindsets and behaviours directly; instead, we recognise that there are many drivers of behaviour which firms can identify and manage.” – FCA.

The FCA will draw conclusions about a firm’s culture as part of its risk assessment. In the most serious of cases, the regulator has the power to withdraw a firm’s authorisation to operate and / or to fine or exclude from the industry those individuals whose conduct falls short of the required standards. Today, there are few more pressing concerns for Boards and Senior Management teams than to promote and maintain healthy organisational culture.

This fast-paced briefing will provide the knowledge you need to get the job done:

• Better understand your firm’s culture and how it’s influencing conduct risk
• Gain a firmer grasp of the regulator’s position
• Recognise the driving forces behind different business cultures
• Identify the positive and negative indicators that the regulator is looking for
• Identify the elements that stabilise (and destabilise) cultures
• Understand the role that the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) should play in promoting, achieving and maintaining healthy organisational cultures
• Consider the real and potential impacts of Covid 19 on organisational culture

Learning Objectives

Put integrity at the heart of your business

Creating a healthy culture can only happen when senior management drives the process and this is further reinforced by SMCR

• Get a fresh perspective – It’s hard to get a true picture of your corporate culture from within. Understanding different models of business culture will help you take a more objective look at your firm. By taking a step back, you’ll be better able to build a winning culture.
• Encourage best behaviour – Your firm’s ethical agenda needs to be embedded in your employees’ day-to-day activities. By focusing on culture and supporting the right behaviours (through performance management, employee development and rewards) your staff will be happier and more productive for it.
• Protect your senior management – The FCA has made it clear that senior management teams will be held to account for failings in company culture. A strong framework will help to protect senior managers by satisfying the regulator’s holistic assessment of corporate culture and conduct risk.
• Align ethics with economic success – Embedding healthy culture into your commercial strategy will help you achieve better outcomes for your customers, improving their loyalty to your firm. And putting the right protocols in place will also help you incentivise and retain your best people.