10 Strategies for Compliance Risk Management

Understand Your Compliance Risk

As businesses move into the project economy, proper use of independent contractors is critical. If you suspect that your business may be using independent contractor engagement practices that heighten your risk profile, you need to arm yourself with an understanding of what today’s most forward-looking companies are doing to reduce their independent contractor compliance risk.

10 Compliance Strategies to Reduce Risk

1. Onboarding
   Establish a centralized process for on-boarding
2. Policy Creation
   Create policies that ensure compliant engagement, including insurance coverages and billing instructions
3. Review procurement practices
   Create practices for engaging small business vendors that include standards such as minimum levels of business insurance coverage
4. Assess your contractor template
   Use a contractor template that creates understanding in terms of expectations and limitations of your contractor-client relationship
5. Evaluate insurance and/or benefit plans
   Review benefit plan documents and participants and set processes in place to exclude independent contractors
6. Audit your contractor population
   Conduct an audit to assess your risk and evaluate your current program.
7. Determine if you need an IC compliance program
   Evaluate your program to determine if it is consistent and effective
8. Understand your risk profile
   Sample a group of independent contractors and determine where issues exist
9. Obtain executive sponsorship
   Create a plan for obtaining support at the highest level
10. Plan for change management
    Over-communicate to staff so that policies can be adopted into the workflow

Learn more about the 10 best practices for mitigating or even eliminating risks associated with engaging independent talent.