User research - Legal UX - Clear Language - Prototype - User testing
Redesigned EMEA Code of Conduct to guide operational staff through the Anti-Bribery rules
2020
A classic headache in the legal sector is the lack of adoption of compliance programs. As former DOJ compliance expert Hui Chen put it, "Most compliance programs are mindless, box-checking, window-dressing documents".
To avoid precisely this pitfall, our customer had to rework its code of conduct for the EMEA region, to ensure that sales teams were interested in content and able to apply the rules in their day-to-day activities.
We investigated whether a human-centered approach could bridge the gap between compliance and users - and avoid the instinctive rejection of the compliance document. Following several user workshops, with all the business teams particularly exposed to these risks, we developed the concept of the "Trust Compass" to enable users to decode the rules, find the right answers and adopt the right behaviors. Based on criminologists' analysis that verbalizations are usually at the heart of white-collar crime, we used verbatims from real-life situations at the beginning of each chapter to trigger users' ethical control and really engage them from the start. Based on all the information gathered during the user workshops and testing, we completely redesigned the document, and added concrete examples, do's and don'ts, to take the user by the hand to navigate and correctly apply a complex set of rules.
A completely restructured and redesigned Code of Conduct, in which it's easy to navigate through the various legal concepts - clearly explained in plain language to ensure comprehensibility. We have created a "trusted compass translator" for complex legal concepts, to ensure that the code resonates with users in their day-to-day business operations.
We have also created a toolbox that users can draw on to effectively implement anti-corruption rules as an integral part of their business environment.
