There’s a better approach to compliance training — make it more engaging

The dynamic environment of today’s business world is one in which every organisation has to adapt or risk facing important liabilities. Whether it be a new regulatory change or an ethical dilemma, the future is uncertain and we all need to be prepared for the unexpected.

Compliance training is an effective solution to better identify these risks before they arise. A well-designed and engaging compliance training program can help create a more ethical workforce, with employees who understand their responsibilities and behave confidently.

However, one of the main roadblocks is the lack of perceived values employees, and sometimes organisations, place in the building of a compliance culture. On the one hand compliance training can be seen as producing little return on investment, on the other hand employees tend to see compliance content as boring, which generally provides a lack of motivation. As a result, compliance training is often quickly and carelessly designed and delivered. This has implications not only on the effectiveness of any initiative but also for the very future of the organisation in question.

To avoid this, compliance training must be designed in a way that is both engaging and enriching for employees. Compliance content needs to resonate with the workday concerns of employees, meaning they have to see the reasoning behind it. It should also provide opportunities for personal growth through increased knowledge or skills. This may seem obvious but often the very act of planning, designing and delivering compliance training fails to consider anything other than the legal minimum.

Compliance training is not only about communicating compliance rules and regulations, but also about driving an effective culture of compliance within organisations.

What are the Benefits of Compliance Training ?

Compliance training is now recognised as a key part of any risk management strategy. There is a multitude of benefits that come with having an effective and engaging compliance training initiative in place within an organisation.

These benefits include :

• Decreased risk — compliance training can reduce risks and liabilities for companies, helping to ensure that organisations stay on track with legislation.
• Creating a culture where employees understand their responsibilities and behave confidently.
• Greater efficiency through employees understanding new processes and requirements.
• It’s important for investors, as it provides insight into the quality of the organisation’s management and culture.
• It saves time and money by ensuring teams are always on the same page.

How can Compliance Training be made more Engaging ?

However one of the biggest problems with compliance training is that employees often perceive it as patronising, unnecessary or boring. As a result they often feel disempowered and uninspired by what they are being asked to learn and do.

Engaging your workforce during compliance training is key to ensuring they are more likely to retain what they learn. If learners find the content enjoyable, then it becomes much easier for them try and apply new skills in their work environment.

There are many different ways you can make compliance training engaging for your workforce:

Making sure the message is clear and concise, so learners don’t lose interest quickly. People will also pay attention if they know what to expect and when they’ll finish.

Training should be targeted to deliver the right training to the right people. Reaching out with irrelevant content is quickly brushed aside because it’s not helpful or valuable enough.

• By utilising thought provoking case studies.
• By using Gamification techniques. ”Gamification is the process of adding games, game-like elements, or game design techniques to something (typically a task) in order to encourage participation” (Merriam Webster). In other words, it turns tedious tasks into engaging games by using points-based systems and virtual rewards.
• By incorporating storytelling in your compliance training. This method has been shown to increase memory retention for information in learning situations because people will remember stories they hear better than information read in a paragraph or seen on a slide.
• To deliver effective compliance programs, e-Learning combines technology and innovation and is capable of finding the right balance between entertaining your workforce, while still ensuring that they get the information they need. Training material can be accessed at any time and anywhere, it is cost-effective, quick, and provides the best platform for engaging content.