Meet the Teckheads: Claire Beasley, Head of Compliance

Meet the Teckheads introduces you to the people who run the show at our London Bridge HQ. Up this month is our Head of Compliance Claire Beasley, who debunks common compliance myths, shares what she thinks makes a great leader, and much more!

What is your role at Tecknuovo, and how would you describe it in two or three sentences?

As Head of Compliance, my role is to make sure that we have effective processes and policies in place to ensure we comply with legislation, our contractual commitments with our customers, associates, and suppliers, and that we apply best practice across our business operations.

Compliance means different things in different businesses, but at Tecknuovo my team also looks after systems security, manages the onboarding and vetting of our associates, and carries out audits. So we are an integral part of ensuring our business runs smoothly and that we are safe for our customers to do business with.

What’s the most interesting development you’ve seen in your field in the last few years?

I think historically, compliance has been something that some people fear and have tried to work around, hiding things from us so they can ‘get on with their job.’ I don’t believe it is a function that has always been given the recognition it deserves.

However, compliance (and the people that work within it) are so much more than a “compliance police”. We bring with us a capability to bridge the gap between legal and operations, explain legislation in laymen’s terms, support our customers through regulatory changes, give visibility to risks and issues and, understand the business and seek out practical solutions.

It has been great to see compliance increasingly being recognised as an essential function, critical to the foundation of successful business operations. There is a growing community of compliance professionals that are recognised and sought after, and it’s great to be part of that.

What are you most excited about in your field in the coming years?

I’m really excited about how enhancements in technology are supporting compliance activities by reducing the administration and repetitiveness of quite basic tasks. There are some excellent tools that support with activities such as auditing, vetting, risk management, and compliance training, freeing up compliance teams so they can contribute to the business in more effective ways.

My experience of colleagues working in compliance are that they are typically conscientious, diligent, detail-focused problem solvers who are great at collaborating and communicating. These are great skills that shouldn't be wasted by spending time logging items on Excel spreadsheets. I think there is so much potential for people to add greater value to businesses operations with the right investment and the right tools in place, and I’m excited about how continuous developments in technology — particularly AI — will support that.

What made you gravitate towards a career in tech?

Prior to joining Tecknuovo, I spent 22 years in the recruitment industry and quite simply, I was ready for a different challenge and to learn something new. I knew very little about the tech industry and how a tech consultancy works, so I thought joining Tecknuovo would be a great opportunity to find out! Moving from a global role to support a tech scale-up in a growing and evolving industry has been a complete change, but I'm so glad I made the leap!

How do you make a difference to customers in your role?

Naturally, our customers want to partner with businesses they can trust and who aren’t putting them at any risk. As a result, they expect us to be compliant with legislation and all obligations outlined in our contracts, including being cyber secure and ensuring that anyone delivering our services is appropriately vetted.

We pre-empt risks to ensure they are mitigated before they become issues, and keep an eye on legislation so we can prepare to adapt to any changes.

So whilst compliance is not necessarily at the forefront of our customers’ minds when we deliver our services, our compliance hub is very much behind the scenes making sure that we have policies and processes in place to that mean we continue to fulfil our obligations as a trusted partner.

What is most important to you as a leader?

I’ve been lucky to lead some really exceptional people in previous roles, and my team at Tecknuovo are no exception to that! They are talented, great fun to work with, and demonstrate all the qualities I value within a compliance team, so they make it very easy for me.

I’m not sure I have a specific leadership style, but I like to be supportive and collaborative. It's important for me to understand what they do in their roles so I can champion them within the business, whilst also ensuring they get what they need from me to do a great job and achieve their career goals.

What's your favourite inspirational (or non-inspirational) quote?

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching, by C.S. Lewis

Early in my career, the MD of the business I was at placed a lot of importance on being completely honest with our customers, no matter how uncomfortable that can be when things go wrong, and I align with that approach completely. In my role, I will always try to do the right thing and if mistakes are made. I’ll always hold my hand up, accept responsibility and find a solution to resolve the issue. Doing the right thing matters to me a lot whether that’s visible to others or not.

What’s a surprising fact very few people know about you?

I’m 5 foot. People know I’m short, but few people realise I’m that short.

Favourite film?

I rarely find time to sit down and watch films, but I love music and festivals and finding new bands to watch. Music, as well as sport, are more my passions!

Guilty pleasure?

I don’t really feel guilty about it, but I do sometimes spend too much time figuring out my fantasy football team — I'm doing really badly at the moment, so clearly that’s not working very well this year.