Thought Leadership: Compliance Program—Establishing Regulatory Expertise
Strategic Context
Regulatory compliance represents both a significant challenge and a strategic opportunity in the global workforce solutions industry. As part of our broader executive thought leadership program, I identified compliance as a critical pillar for establishing our organization's authority and expertise.
This focus addressed several business imperatives:
Demonstrating deep domain expertise in complex regulatory environments
Positioning our organization as a trusted advisor in workforce compliance
Supporting sales conversations with evidence of our technical capabilities
Building credibility with legal and HR decision-makers
Differentiating from competitors focused primarily on technology
This compliance-focused thought leadership initiative was particularly significant given People2.0's rapid global expansion through strategic acquisitions. Between 2016-2022, the company had integrated 12+ different entities across vastly different regulatory environments—from the United States (TFI Resources, 2016) and Canada (The Staffing Edge, 2018) to the United Kingdom (TCP, 2020; Brookson, 2022), continental Europe (Capital Global Solutions, 2019; WePayPeople, 2020), India (Husys, 2021), Australia (Entity Solutions, 2020; Ayers Group, 2022), and the Middle East (Back of the House, 2022). This expansion created both a challenge and an opportunity for regulatory thought leadership, as we needed to demonstrate deep expertise across diverse compliance landscapes. The specialized processes implemented for compliance-focused content—including technical accuracy reviews, region-specific messaging guidelines, and regulatory radar monitoring—were specifically designed to leverage our global footprint while maintaining precision in each market. By successfully publishing high-impact compliance articles across multiple regions, we established our position as a knowledgeable voice in complex regulatory matters across our global operations.
The regulatory landscape for workforce management varies dramatically across regions, creating an opportunity to showcase our global expertise through targeted thought leadership.
My Leadership Role
For this content pillar, I:
Worked directly with our legal and compliance subject matter experts across regions
Identified key regulatory trends and developments worth addressing
Developed frameworks for translating complex legal concepts into accessible content
Guided our PR agency on targeting appropriate publications
Managed the content development process from concept to publication
Ensured technical accuracy while maintaining strategic messaging
Measured engagement and refined our approach based on results
This aspect of the thought leadership program required exceptional attention to detail, as regulatory content demands absolute accuracy while remaining accessible to non-legal audiences.
Strategic Approach
I implemented a methodical approach to developing compliance-focused thought leadership:
Regional Expertise Mapping: Identified our strongest subject matter experts across key regions (Americas, EMEA, APAC)
Regulatory Trend Analysis: Monitored emerging regulatory developments impacting our target markets
Topic Prioritization: Selected topics with both strategic relevance and audience interest
Content Development: Created structured frameworks for transforming technical expertise into compelling narratives
Risk Management: Established review protocols to ensure accuracy without diluting message clarity
This approach allowed us to address complex regulatory topics in a way that demonstrated expertise while providing practical value to our audience.
Featured Publications
The compliance thought leadership initiative resulted in several high-impact publications:
Australia's Evolving Compliance Landscape
Published in HR Director
This piece showcased our APAC legal expertise, addressing Australia's evolving labor hire licensing requirements. The content positioned our organization as a knowledgeable guide through increasingly complex regulatory environments.
Strategic Significance: Demonstrated our regulatory expertise in the APAC region, supporting business development in a growing market.
Development Process: Collaborated with our Australia CLO to transform her technical document into a publication-ready article, enhancing readability while maintaining accuracy.
Workforce Classification: A Silent Risk with Loud Consequences
Published in HR Director
This article highlighted the significant financial and legal risks of worker misclassification, demonstrating our deep understanding of a critical compliance challenge facing multinational organizations.
Strategic Significance: Addressed a primary pain point for our target audience while showcasing our solution capabilities.
Development Process: Facilitated an interview between our Americas CLO and PR team, then substantially refined the draft to align with our strategic messaging and voice.
Canada's Gig Worker Legislation: What HR Needs to Know
Published in HR Director
This piece provided an expert analysis of Bill C-69, explaining the implications of new worker classification presumptions for Canadian businesses.
Strategic Significance: Positioned our organization as being at the forefront of emerging regulatory developments.
Development Process: Collaborated with our Associate General Counsel to transform her technical insights into accessible guidance for HR professionals.
The Financial Risk of Misclassification for UK Enterprises
Published in HR Director
This article detailed the financial penalties and compliance challenges facing UK businesses dealing with worker classification issues, including IR35 regulations.
Strategic Significance: Addressed a high-priority compliance concern for UK businesses while highlighting our solutions.
Development Process: Worked with our VP of Client Services to develop content that balanced technical accuracy with practical business guidance.
Content Development Strategy
For compliance-focused thought leadership, I implemented specialized processes to manage the unique challenges of this content type:
SME Engagement: Developed streamlined methods for extracting expertise from legal professionals with limited time availability
Technical Accuracy: Created multi-stage review processes ensuring factual accuracy without compromising readability
Regional Nuance: Established frameworks for addressing regional variations in regulatory approaches
Practical Application: Focused on translating legal concepts into practical business implications
Risk Management: Implemented safeguards against potential issues when discussing regulatory matters
Measurement & Impact
The compliance content pillar delivered significant value:
Authority Building: Established our organization as a knowledgeable voice in complex regulatory matters
Lead Generation: Generated inbound inquiries specifically referencing our published expertise
Sales Enablement: Provided sales teams with credible third-party validation of our capabilities
Global Positioning: Demonstrated expertise across multiple regulatory environments
Audience Engagement: Achieved higher-than-average read times for complex technical content
Evolution & Refinement
As the program progressed, I implemented several enhancements to our compliance content strategy:
Developed more structured briefing templates for legal SMEs
Created region-specific messaging guidelines
Established a content calendar aligned with regulatory developments
Implemented a "regulatory radar" process to identify emerging topics
Refined our measurement approach to better track business impact
Key Insights
This initiative revealed several important insights about effective compliance thought leadership:
Technical depth must be balanced with accessibility: The most effective content respected the complexity of the topic while making it understandable
Regional specificity drives engagement: Audiences responded best to content addressing their specific regulatory environment
Visual elements enhance comprehension: Complex regulatory concepts benefit from visual representation
Practical guidance outperforms pure analysis: Content offering actionable takeaways generated stronger engagement
Cross-functional collaboration is essential: The best pieces emerged from true partnership between legal and marketing
