What is Compliance Training? From Benefits to Best Practices

The scope and impact of compliance training

When I was growing up, I knew that following the household rules was important, and the rewards for doing so—allowance money, a trip for ice cream, and a generally positive environment—were worth it. But the penalty for non-compliance? That was just as much a motivator. After all, I’d do anything to avoid being “grounded” as a teenager, missing out on those formative summer night gatherings.

By comparison, the penalty for not following rules and regulations in the workplace is monumental, with the average cost of non-compliance ranging from $14 million to $40 million. For that reason, workplace compliance training programs are incredibly important for organizations worldwide.

Even so, the scope and impact of compliance training is often lost on most employees, with only 10 percent reporting that it has an effect on their daily workplace practices.

In this post, we’ll define what compliance training is and why it matters, and we’ll explore effective tools and best practices—along with real-world examples—to keep your organization protected, positive, and safe.

What is compliance training?

Compliance training is a type of workplace learning that helps employees understand both industry-specific and general workplace regulations, laws, and standards. Topics covered in compliance training help to mitigate legal risk, promote a respectful workplace, improve workplace safety, and protect company reputation.

Why compliance training matters

The importance of workplace compliance training programs cannot be overstated. Relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies are put in place for the following reasons:

• Mitigating legal and regulatory risk. Keeping track of complex rules and regulations isn’t easy. With an educated employee base, the likelihood of legal violations radically decreases.

• Enhancing workplace safety. Educating employees on the dangers of physical accidents in the workplace creates a safer, more reliable workforce.

• Avoiding fines and reputational damage. In the aftermath of a non-compliance event, a company’s reputation can suffer irreparable damage, giving organizations good reason to avoid them.

• Building employee trust. Employees who know the organization they work for cares about their safety—both physically and emotionally—trust their employer to do the right thing.

• Fostering a culture of ethical behavior. Consistent compliance training demonstrates an organization’s commitment to ethical practices in the workplace, encouraging employees at all levels to follow the example.

Types of compliance training

The scope of compliance training topics is wide, ranging from industry-specific laws and regulations to internal policies that most organizations adhere to.

Industry-specific compliance training

Tailor-made to help organizations follow regulations unique to their industry, compliance training covers the following topics:

• Healthcare compliance training. HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protects patient data and helps organizations remain compliant with billing regulations, clinical ethics, and federal healthcare laws.

• Financial services compliance training. AML (Anti-money laundering) and FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) laws ensure ethical handling of client data and reduce the risk of financial fraud.

• Manufacturing compliance training. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulations promote physical workplace safety and minimize the environmental impact of manufacturing processes.

• Information technology compliance training. Focusing on cybersecurity, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) laws protect personally identifiable information, helping organizations avoid costly data breaches and lawsuits.

General workplace compliance topics

Most organizations have internal policies to promote a safe, inclusive, and accountable workplace, including the following:

• Workplace harassment and discrimination training. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the American Disabilities Act (ADA) focus on identifying and preventing harassment and discrimination based on race, religion, age, sex, and disability.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training. DEI training helps identify unconscious bias, promoting cultural awareness, inclusive language, and equitable practices to create a culture of belonging and welcome diverse perspectives in the workplace.

• Code of Conduct and Ethics training. Ethics training reinforces organizational values concerning expected behaviors surrounding integrity and accountability.

• Cybersecurity and Data Protection training. Beyond industry-specific compliance regulations like GDPR, general cybersecurity training topics like phishing awareness, secure handling of customer data, and even password best practices help organizations keep valuable data protected.

Benefits of effective compliance training

The topics that effective compliance training programs cover range as widely as their benefits do, including the following for both organizations and employees:

• Reduced legal and financial risk. Laws and policies surrounding specific industries can be dense and complex. Compliance training helps employees understand them, lowering the chance of legal and financial costs as a consequence of non-compliance.

• Increased employee confidence. Employees that are well educated in both industry-specific and general workplace compliance policies feel more confident in their decision-making skills, boosting daily workflow productivity.

• Improved workplace culture. A safer workplace environment—both physically and emotionally—produces more satisfied employees and a positive workplace environment for all employees to enjoy, no matter their skills and abilities.

• Enhanced company reputation. Consistent ethical and legal compliance on the part of an organization helps build public trust, boosting customer loyalty and enhancing global reputation.

• Improved operational efficiency. Effective compliance programs with clear standards streamline workflow processes, reduce confusion, and eliminate costly mistakes, thereby boosting overall operational efficiency.

• Supported employee development and retention. Consistent workplace training supports the professional development of all employees, and an organization’s commitment to continuous learning is proven to keep employees around longer.
• Sustained organizational growth. The more up to date organizations are on regulations and laws, the easier it is for them to stay afloat and grow into new markets amid constant changes.

Now that we’ve explored the many benefits of a comprehensive compliance training program, let’s take a look at the 7 compliance training best practices to make it happen.

Compliance training best practices

Here are seven best practices when building and maintaining a comprehensive compliance training program:

• Keep content relevant. When it comes to compliance training, it’s best to keep it role-specific. For example, warehouse workers need a different kind of workplace safety training than office workers, but both benefit from discrimination training. Base training scenarios in real-world situations to keep it relevant.

• Make it engaging. To keep training engaging, lean on gamification to incentivize learning, and use interactive multimedia like videos, drag and drop quizzes, and checklist interaction.

• Align with business goals. Align learning content to overall business objectives & company values so employees clearly understand where training applies to their daily workflow.

• Update content regularly. In many cases, compliance is legally mandated. Stay up to date on rules and regulations by keeping tabs on the governing bodies related to your industry. Check government websites to identify legally required topics.

• Encourage two-way communication. Encourage employee, manager, and stakeholder feedback to ensure training is straightforward, relevant, and engaging. Make adjustments accordingly.

• Embed it early and often. It’s best to provide compliance information exactly when it’s needed. This type of just-in-time learning can happen during preboarding and onboarding, be embedded into daily workflow processes, and revisited on a quarterly schedule to cultivate continuous learning.
• Keep it simple. Leverage microlearning techniques to present information in bite-sized pieces. Overloading employees with information is a sure way to reduce knowledge retention.

To maintain a robust compliance training program, you’ll need the best tools on your side. Read on for software solutions to your compliance training needs.

Compliance training tools and software

To maintain a robust compliance training program, you’ll need the best tools on your side. Read on for software solutions to your compliance training needs.

Learning management systems

A comprehensive learning platform is crucial to getting the most out of your organization’s compliance training program. The Articulate 360 platform provides it all— accelerated course creation with the help of a powerful AI assistant, simplified collaboration with in-app feedback loops for all stakeholders, and seamless distribution to any platform or device.

Complete with an integrated learning management system (LMS), the Articulate 360 platform offers everything your organization needs to keep learners engaged.

Compliance tracking tools

Tracking completion rates and assessment scores is just the beginning. Advanced tracking tools enable corporations to monitor and manage adherence to laws, regulations, and policies in real-time. Here are a few compliance tracking tools that organizations trust:

• Reach, part of Articulate 360, is an LMS that enables individual and grouped learner tracking, customized learning paths, and zero implementation—meaning there’s no software to download.
• Hyperproof allows for streamlined compliance operations and automated tracking.
• Focal by Mozn is an ai-powered platform that monitors over 1,300 global watchlists a day to provide the most up-to-date compliance information.

Real-world examples of compliance training programs

JindalX

Serving a variety of partners in telecommunications, healthcare, finance, retail, and data analytics, JindalX is a success story in compliance training implementation. In their search for an e-learning platform that could accommodate their diverse needs across the globe, they chose the Articulate 360 platform.

With Articulate’s course creation tools, Storyline and Rise, JindalX was able to increase user engagement and completion rates using both pre-built, customizable training templates and built-from-scratch courses. Their top 10 course modules—all tailored to their specific organizational needs—have logged over 11,000 completions from their base of 1,500 learners.

BJC Healthcare

On a much larger scale, the seamless learner and group tracking that the Articulate platform provides ensures compliance across the board for BJC Healthcare’s over 35,000 employees. These scalable learning experiences cover compliance, workplace safety, and specialized medical procedures, highlighting the flexibility needed for busy healthcare professionals.

Meeting accessibility standards was a major challenge for BJC, but with Articulate 360’s powerful platform, they were able to make 100 percent of employee training courses accessible with built-in support of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Final takeaways

With a wide range of regulations, laws, and internal policies to follow, ensuring compliance across your organization isn’t easy. Remember to keep it simple, make training role-specific, and lean on engaging learning methods like gamification and microlearning. Encourage feedback from learners, keep content updated regularly, and embed compliance training early and often.

Ready to leave non-compliance events in the past? Start your free trial of the Articulate 360 platform today, and get access to everything you need: speedy course creation, seamless distribution, easy collaboration between stakeholders, and advanced learner tracking.