5 common compliance standards enterprises should know about

Workplace compliance can be complex—especially for enterprise organizations operating across multiple jurisdictions. Regulations evolve quickly, acronyms pile up, and the cost of noncompliance keeps rising. According to recent data, noncompliance costs organizations an average of $14.82 million annually, up from $9.4 million just a few years ago.

Whether you're managing visitor access, securing sensitive areas, or tracking who enters your facilities, physical workplace compliance is a critical part of meeting broader regulatory requirements. From identity verification to access control policies, these measures help protect both people and data onsite. Below, we break down five of the most important compliance standards enterprises should understand, and how to strengthen your workplace policies to meet them. Let’s dive in.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The GDPR is a personal data privacy regulation from the European Union (EU), created to protect the privacy of EU residents. The EU passed it in response to corporate abuses in sales and disclosure of user information for marketing and research. If your company offers goods or services to EU citizens, then GDPR applies to you: any entities that process the personal data of EU citizens must comply.

Key requirements:

• Explicit consent. Visitors must actively agree to data collection.
• Transparency. Organizations must explain how personal data is used.
• Right to be forgotten. Individuals can request deletion of their data.

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Service Organization Controls (SOC 1 & SOC 2)

SOC is a suite of reports established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) relating to the cybersecurity of an organization. SOC certified organizations undergo regular audits involving the controls over information technology and related processes, policies, and operational procedures.

‍SOC 1 and SOC 2 are the most common.

• SOC 1. SOC 1 compliance is relevant to business services that process private individual data related to financial statements, such as payroll management (for a company’s employees and customers).
• SOC 2. SOC 2 specifically focuses on data security compliance around five trust service principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Obtaining SOC 2 certification means that you need oversight into who, what, when, where, and how people had access to your facilities and technology. That’s where access control and visitor management come into play.

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International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)

ITAR is mainly relevant to the manufacturing industry and is designed to help ensure that defense-related technology does not get into the wrong hands. If your company deals with defense-related services, products, or technical data, you are most likely familiar with ITAR compliance. Record-keeping, visitor scanning, and tracking are key elements in ITAR compliance. This is where your secure visitor management system can help you maintain an ITAR-compliant visitor logbook. Your visitor management system should keep detailed reports to assist with audits, security protocols, and on-premises visitor controls.

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Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

HIPAA is US legislation that requires that  individuals’ protected health information (PHI) be kept private and secure by any “covered health entity.” This includes health providers, health plans, hospitals, insurers, and health clearinghouses that process health information, as well as any business associates that assist these organizations with their work. Two of the main components of HIPAA are the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule.

• The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires that protected health information be kept private and only disclosed when necessary to deliver care or to facilitate payment for services.
• The HIPAA Security Rule requires that health information be stored and transmitted securely. This is especially important with the shift to electronic health records, digital platforms, and the expansion of telehealth.

For a healthcare organization to be HIPAA compliant, administrative, physical, and technical safeguards need to be in place to protect electronic protected health information. This, of course, includes keeping track of who visits the workplace, including employees, facility operations staff, outside vendors, pharmaceutical salespeople, and healthcare contractors.

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International Organization for Standardization 27001 (ISO 27001)

ISO 27001 is the leading international standard focused on information security. These standards are concerned with information management and security systems. They cover information relating to employees, finances, and intellectual property, among others. ISO 27001 provides a framework to help organizations, of any size or any industry, to protect their information in a systematic and cost-effective way, with specific requirements related to the organization. One of the specific requirements relates to workplace access control and physical security. In order to maintain ISO 27001 compliance, organizations need to create an access control policy.

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Regulatory pressure isn’t going away—if anything, it’s increasing. For example, new laws like the EU Digital Services Act and evolving state-level privacy laws in the U.S. are adding more layers of compliance. Enterprise organizations need strong internal governance and the right digital tools to stay ahead.

By aligning your workplace systems with leading standards like GDPR, SOC 2, HIPAA, ITAR, and ISO 27001, you’ll not only meet legal obligations—you’ll also strengthen security, build trust, and reduce long-term risk.

Want to dive deeper? Check out our ebook: The enterprise guide to workplace compliance.