This article is part of the “Guardians of Good” series, which celebrates the people who ensure True Corporation’s commitment to sustainability. As of December 8, 2023, True Corporation achieved the highest CSA score out of 166 companies assessed in the telecommunications Industry in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment and was listed in the DJSI indices for the sixth year in a row. Find out more here.
Ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day (December 9), True Blog met with the team at the forefront of fighting unethical conduct within True Corporation.
The focus on ethics and tech has never been sharper. In a recent survey by Telenor Asia, 93% of Thai respondents said they use their mobile for banking or financial management weekly, and 55% are making investments online to create new revenue streams.
This underscores how sensitive mobile technology has become. True Corporation, the leading telecom-tech company in Thailand, is on a mission to advance digital opportunities sustainably. The fight against corruption is therefore a critical element of the company’s strategy to ensure its services are inclusive, safe and at fair prices.
The company has a dedicated compliance function that ensures its employees follow the highest standards of lawful and ethical conduct. In an interview with True Blog, the company’s compliance function shared what drives them and the new challenges they face.
Oranuj Sookananchai became the head of the compliance and monitoring division last March. She said, “This job fits my personality. I used to manage a big team auditing sales and call center operations. To me, fighting corruption is about building trust. We want to be an enabler and a trusted advisor for the company, rather than an enforcer or a back-room function.”
Since 2018, True Corporation has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, and now tops the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment for telecoms companies globally. This translates to a perfect score of 100 in Risk & Crisis Management. The team shared they enable this by providing timely insights on compliance matters, as well as the best practices and benchmarks to improve its compliance performance.
Phakhanatsiri Anantasawek, a specialist in the team, said, “As a global telecom-tech company, True Corporation has to retain the trust of many stakeholders, from customers to investors and employees. Fighting corruption is a requirement for any listed company, but it’s particularly important to us as a leader in technology and communications.”
The compliance team aspire to be the champions of values and ethical culture within the organization, by setting the tone from the top, leading by example, and inspiring and empowering employees to do the right thing. They said that they use various methods to engage and educate employees, such as online and offline training, newsletters, and recognition programs. They also encourage employees to speak up and report any concerns or violations.
The head of the Ethics and Compliance Department, Ei Thandar Win, said, “I’m from Myanmar, where the corruption index is very high. As a result, the country’s development is lagging at every level. That’s why I’m committed to fighting corruption. Once corruption begins, it can spread. And it can destroy a whole organization’s reputation.”
Due to the nature of technology, the compliance function must deal with a complex and evolving regulatory environment, as well as a diverse and dynamic business landscape. In doing so, they must balance the need for compliance with the need for innovation and agility.
“As a tech company, we need to be careful and protect our consumers in many dimensions, such as fraud prevention and data privacy. We are constantly preparing ourselves for these new risks and alerting our colleagues to them. Thus, compliance has an important role to play in the transition to Thailand 4.0,” Ms. Oranuj said.
The compliance function said that a strong compliance culture can foster a more ethical and integrity-driven workplace, which can benefit the company in the long run. They said that they aspire to be the champion of values and ethical culture within the organization, by setting the tone from the top, leading by example, and inspiring and empowering employees to do the right thing.
Ms. Thandar Win also noted that corruption can impact customers directly, “If a contractor pays a bribe to charge a company an inflated price, that cost would get passed on to consumers. Another risk is for someone to attempt to buy access to our customers’ personal data. That’s why fighting corruption is so important to protect our customers.”
The team monitors employees’ performance and adherence to compliance requirements and expectations through a compliance dashboard, compliance audits and reviews, as well as surveys. They then report these figures to the board as well as outside the organization, to identify areas for improvement.
Ms. Oranuj said, “We aim for a ‘speak up culture,’ where everyone can voice their feedback and there is an effective process to protect them. This is how we know where to improve and what to fix. However, it’s not enough to have a reporting channel. Our top management also communicates that they are committed to this and encourages our people to use the hotline.”
We aim for a ‘speak up culture,’ where everyone can voice their feedback and there is an effective process to protect them. This is how we know where to improve and what to fix. However, it’s not enough to have a reporting channel. Our top management also communicates that they are committed to this and encourages our people to use the hotline.
The compliance function strives to be an enabler and a trusted advisor for the company, as well as a champion of values and ethical culture within the organization. As a stakeholder of True Corporation, be it a customer, employee or vendor, you too can support their efforts by reporting any unethical behavior you are witness to via True Corporation’s integrity hotline, here.
