Everyone understands that workplaces are governed by rules and regulations. Each workplace’s compliance trainings are unique to the business they are in. Compliance training is a must-have, and generally speaking, it’s required. Organizations must prove that employees have taken this training. Because compliance training is often seen as a “check-the-box” endeavor, companies often do not spend a lot of time designing engaging courses. This is a mistake.
Given today’s L&D tools and processes, we have an opportunity to create policy and compliance training that’s not just “press play and click through,” or worse, "press play and go for coffee," but contextual and meaningful, using a variety of techniques and formats. Why does it matter? Because by educating your employees on regulations, policies, and actions that apply to their responsibilities and industry, you equip them with the right skills and training to do their jobs safely and efficiently. You are also more likely to avoid legal problems that may result from non-compliance.
Compliance training content is usually dictated by the governing body of that topic. Topics include: federal and state laws, company policies and procedures, workplace safety, information security & fraud protection, HIPAA compliance, risk management, sexual harassment, diversity & inclusion and anti-discrimination, and workplace codes of conduct.
Much compliance training occurs during new hire orientation. In this case, instructor-led training is still the most common method of delivery. The new employees end up being bombarded with tons of vital information at once in a lecture-style format, with an assessment tacked on at the end. Some compliance training must be completed on a regular basis in accordance with government regulations. In these cases, eLearning is still the most popular delivery mode. These tend to be long page-turners followed by a short quiz.
When training is delivered via these methods, learning retention plummets, and companies run the risk of having the very issues compliance training is intended to prevent.
So what can you do to be sure your organization remains compliant while still delivering an engaging and memorable learning experience? Here are a few best practices: