New Trends in Compliance Training

Compliance, by its very nature, is restrictive. There isn’t much freedom or flexibility in compliance. It’s serious business, with often serious consequences for coloring outside the lines. But you just have to get it done. So, with leaders always looking for ways to offer compliance training that isn’t boring, is it possible to make the experience more engaging?

First, the content itself needs to be more dynamic. Outline all the compliance content and see what can be turned into a video or other interactive activities, such as webinars or polls? Can you provide your staff with something new or ideas that they haven’t thought of before?

Trial different methods of capturing attention with smart questions, fun visuals, or competition among the group.

Gamification n.:  the process of adding games or game-like elements, like point-scoring or competition with others, to something (such as a task) to encourage participation

People tend to be naturally competitive and are often eager to play games (and win!). Gameplay has always been a method to keep teams engaged. Simple systems of implementing points, a leaderboard, and fun rewards from the company can make even basic compliance training less of a chore. Who doesn’t love being part of the group that won a free pizza lunch provided by the training department?

With office attendance on the uptick and employers putting out the call to return to pre-COVID travel, the airline industry continues to require deep compliance training. Training in heavily regulated environments like this takes a lot of hours to get people ramped up and meet compliance standards.

In the blink of an eye within the last year, policies and regulations have changed. With COVID becoming part of the everyday illness landscape, there will continue to be changes that require compliance. New and changing compliance needs abound. Masks are still a confusing mandate to keep up with. When are they mandatory? When are they discretionary? What do you do with customers who don’t want to wear them in a mandate? Compliance issues like these change how businesses…do business.

Not all industries have to deal with stringent or changing compliance adherence, of course. But if you do, how do you deliver that training? It used to be that an instructor-led compliance training could be knocked out in two weeks, but not so in 2021. Do you need more and/or longer workshops? Try out virtual reality? Where do you start making decisions? Be prepared for legislation and have a plan for how to roll that into training.

• • Done is better than perfect. It will be out of date by the time you finish if you spend six months rolling it out.
  • Don’t try to do everything at once.
  • Keep ramp-up time.

Pro Tip: How do you re-certify people to keep up with the demand of such extensive needs? One word: Chunking. Shorten compliance training into more “digestible” sessions that allow for retaining the material and plenty of breaks.

Over time, instructor-led training is projected to decrease. What does this mean for your compliance training? It’s still possible to build a plan with this in mind, just focus on a mix of digital content with live instruction and activities.

Want to learn more about compliance training trends and how to provide engaging content? Check out our Custom Content Services >