Developing a compliance training program is necessary. But creating an effective and meaningful learning experience can be challenging. That’s why we prepared this short guide to equip you with five important steps to take.
First, let’s start with the definition of compliance training. In every industry and role, there are a set of laws and regulations that organizations need to abide by. These rules help ensure that workplaces remain safe and ethical for employees. As a result, the purpose of compliance training is to make employees aware of these rules and what they need to do to follow them. But it takes time and attention to come up with a well-researched compliance training program.
That brings us to our main question: how to develop a good compliance training program? We’ll cover that next.
Learn what compliance training is.
There are several steps you can take to create an effective compliance training program for employees. We’ve compiled five steps to help get you started:
If employees don’t have a clear sense of purpose when taking your compliance training, they’ll be less likely to find the experience meaningful. That’s why you should always identify your learning objectives first — before creating your content. Learning objectives state the specific new skills or knowledge you’d like your employees to walk away with upon completing the training. Once you’ve identified these objectives, be sure to include them at the start of the training program for your learners to see.
At the same time, identifying your learning objectives will help you in your planning. Knowing exactly what skills you’re trying to equip your learners with makes it easier to determine what sections to include, and how you’ll measure their progress.
It can be tempting to start writing your training content first and only plan for the test questions later. The problem with this is that you wind up with a content-heavy training program. In other words, it’s more likely to feel like a static PowerPoint presentation than an interactive learning experience.
Instead, lean on the learning objectives you’ve identified. Start by asking what questions you would like your learners to be able to answer first, and then determine the educational content you would need to include as a result. This order is more likely to ensure a meaningful experience for your learners.
Discover the 9 cornerstones of creating engaging and effective e-learning courses.
Did you know that we humans forget up to 90% of what we’ve learned in a matter of hours? It’s called the forgetting curve, and it’s just how our brains work. And because compliance training is mandatory, it’s especially important to structure your content in a way that helps your learners internalize the knowledge.
One way to beat the forgetting curve is through repetition. Consider spreading your content out over multiple sections that reiterate concepts over time. This approach invites your learners revisit their newly acquire knowledge soon after they’ve learned it. At the same time, deliver information in short and simple sentences. This gives learners the time to process the training content in bite-sized chunks.
When it comes to writing the content itself, there are best practices you should apply that will help enhance your learners’ experience. For example, we recommend writing in short, simple sentences of a maximum of 20 words each. Attention spans online are only getting shorter. Writing in simple terms will help ensure your learners spend less time deciphering the content and more time internalizing the knowledge.
Moreover, including images and videos – where relevant – will help prevent your content from appearing text-heavy. The diversity of content elements makes for a more visually stimulating and, therefore, engaging experience.
Finally, build a culture of feedback. Sharing educational content with your learners and testing them on it is one way to learn. But offering specific and personalized feedback will help strengthen their takeaways. For example, instead of just telling a learner they got a question wrong, let them know what the correct answer is and why. If it’s an open-ended question, state what their response was missing.
And feedback is a two-way street. Enabling your learners to share their thoughts on your content will help you improve your compliance training plan. For example, a Net Promoter Score (NPS) allows your learners to rate how likely they’d be to recommend your course to their peers. You could include the opportunity for your learners at the end of your course.
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