Virginia Picotte on Turning TACP into Training

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Left to right: Jeffery Bingham, Donna Power, Sue Anderson, Kevin Jackson
Seated: Virginia Picotte
By Karen Latchana Kenney
Karen.Kenney@corporatecompliance.org

All books take on a life of their own once they’re published—including compliance books. And that’s what we’re seeing now for The Accidental Compliance Professional (TACP), SCCE’s latest book written by Roy J. Snell, former CEO and current strategic adviser to HCCA and SCCE.

We’re hearing some good things about how people are using TACP to teach the soft skills of compliance—like emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, which most compliance books don’t cover. One member reached out to Roy to let him know how she’s using his book. Here’s what Virginia Picotte, Executive Vice President of Compliance for Spring Venture Group in Kansas City, Missouri, had to say about TACP and how she’s turned it into a training program for her whole department.

Thanks for reaching out to tell us your thoughts about TACP. Can you tell us what your favorite lesson was and why?

This is difficult to answer as I liked all of them. That said, “Lesson 1: How to Handle ‘The Big One’” focuses on the importance of a compliance professional knowing when it is imperative to take a stand on behalf of the organization, employing appropriate EQ, while possibly risking their job in the process.

The lesson stresses making best use of available resources to navigate the situation successfully and to only use the “Big Stick” if absolutely necessary. The goal, of course, is to uphold the duty invested by the organization and actually stop people from doing the wrong thing.

This lesson sets the stage for the rest of the book and provides helpful tips for people beginning their career to understand the most successful behaviors and approaches a compliance professional should employ as well as avoid. It also provides helpful reminders to those at mid-career and later stages.

You mentioned that after you read the book, you bought copies for your whole team. Why did you think it would be helpful for your team and how are you using the book?

I enjoyed the book because it describes real-life situations and offers practical approaches to address them. Additionally, I find the messages within the book match my personal compliance philosophies.

I like it so much that I developed a training plan for my team that groups the lessons over an 11-week timeframe culminating in each person developing, presenting, and possibly defending their individual “Compliance Professional’s Credo” to the team.

My intention is to help each of us learn from the book and establish guidelines for ourselves to be accountable in alignment with the company’s expectations and compliance values, as well as to measure our performance gains in areas where needed.

What does your team say about it so far?

My team found the book to be a fantastic resource.  In fact, they enjoyed it so much we’ve scheduled an agenda topic for each upcoming team meeting for everyone to share their thoughts about the insights and lessons they found most valuable.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Virginia! We’re thrilled to hear how you’re using TACP in your department—such an interesting idea to turn it into a training program!

Are you using TACP in your compliance department or organization? How? We’d love to hear about it! Email Karen.Kenney@corporatecompliance.org with your ideas.

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The Accidental Compliance Professional is filled with entertaining and practical lessons learned by Roy J. Snell during his 23 years running a compliance program and working with other compliance professionals. Find more practical lessons about working in compliance in the book.