Catherine Boerner (cboerner@boernerconsultingllc.com) is President of Boerner Consulting LLC in New Berlin, WI.
After more than 20 years working with compliance programs, I see a pattern of the importance of critical thinking skills among the compliance staff. It seems to be a reoccurring theme that reflects on the effectiveness of the compliance program. It is important for members of the compliance team to develop their skills in collecting, organizing, and analyzing facts and information to define and understand a problem or topic thoroughly. This process includes asking thoughtful questions, being objective and impartial, and analyzing possible solutions.
The Indeed Career Guide provides a graphic summarizing some of the critical thinking skills, which includes observation, analysis, inference, communication, and problem-solving.[1] The article on career development and critical thinking skills is excellent in explaining these five examples of common and impactful critical thinking skills that compliance team members should strengthen.
There are so many skills that are involved in identifying and analyzing a potential compliance issue that go beyond just the ability to do regulatory research and understand rules and regulations. The ability to observe and actively listen can help with prevention of compliance problems before they occur. Of course, the more experience compliance professionals have, the more easily they will be able to apply that experience to other situations.
When interviewing for compliance staff positions, the exploration of the candidate’s critical thinking skills should be a priority.