Compliance = Listening

Having just returned from the ATA Washington Summit, I took away one major lesson: Compliance is all about listening.  

The American Teleservices Association put on a great show.  Their hard work at developing relationships with governmental organizations and legislators produced meetings with the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC and six Congressmen.  Pretty impressive access for an organization that was getting beat up in the national media about five years ago, right?

Do you know how they did it?  Put simply, they listened.

After the Do Not Call laws were enacted, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the ATA listened to consumers and legislators.  Then, they acted.  They are continuing to listen with the ongoing development of a Self Regulatory Organization that will help to ensure the compliance of its members.

They are still listening, not only to the legislators, but also to the consumers. 

They understand that what led to the adoption of a Do Not Call bill was forgetting about the fact that consumers ultimately have the power with their voices.  And if businesses are not listening to them, their legislators will.

I give a ton of credit to Tim Searcy and the rest of the team at the ATA for their continued growth and dedication to staying ahead of compliance.  The biggest question, however, is this: Are WE learning anything from them within our own organizations?  Are we truly listening to the consumers?  Are we listening to what people want and don’t want, in terms of the conversations we are having with them?

I sure hope so, because the Do Not Call legislation is a great example of what happens when we don’t.