What is compliance training? Meaning and strategies for beginners

Table of contents

1. What is the definition of compliance training?
2. What are the objectives of compliance training?
3. How to make your compliance training fun with Easy LMS

What is the definition of compliance training?

Compliance, in general, means to conform to rules, specifications, and regulations. Compliance training tends to be mandatory in many organizations.

Compliance training tends to be mandatory in many organizations

It refers to the process of training employees about the laws, regulations, and company policies that apply to their job responsibilities and the organization they work for [1]. 

There are two main types of compliance training: corporate compliance and regulatory compliance. Corporate compliance covers industry policies and procedures, and any applicable local and federal laws. Regulatory compliance has to do with the efforts made by an organization to abide by these rules and regulations. Those laws and policies may vary by industry, and often by location. 

What are the objectives of compliance training?

Compliance training seeks to reduce risks and make sure a company and its stakeholders follow a set of rules that apply to them. The objectives of compliance training include: 

• Ensuring that all employees follow the company's rules. If all the rules are followed, there are fewer mistakes, fewer accidents, and the quality of the company's products and services is guaranteed.
• Ensuring all employees and the company itself follow government rules. Following local and federal laws that apply to an organization prevents the fines and penalties that can be imposed by disobeying the law.
• Maintaining a good work environment for employees and stakeholders. Compliance training helps educate employees and can prevent ethical and harassment issues, and accidents. That results in a better work environment for employees overall, and a lower turnover rate.
• Maintaining a company's reputation and preventing monetary loss. Compliance training makes employees and stakeholders liable in case of wrongdoing or malpractice based on compliance training records. The company can prevent mistakes and penalties, as well as being able to distance itself from problematic stakeholders.

Examples of compliance training

Compliance training can cover many topics. Here are some examples:

• Harassment. This type of training shows how to identify harassment, and what to do if you are a victim or witness of this type of behavior in the company. It can make sure the work environment is safe for everyone, and functions as a warning for possible perpetrators.
• Safety. Focused on the company's guidelines on using safety equipment and how to complete certain tasks correctly, preventing accidents. 
• Cybersecurity. It explains what it is and how each employee can prevent cyberattacks on the company's computers and servers.
• Ethics. This type of training explains the company's values ​​and how each employee is expected to abide by them. It covers what is considered ethical behavior and what is not.
• Corruption and money laundering. It explains how the company handles its finances, what is appropriate behavior with the company money, and what is not. It teaches an employee to recognize corruption schemes in the company and to report them safely, and the penalties for participating in such schemes (including jail time).
• Government rules. This type of training relates to any industry laws and regulations that a company should follow, and how each employee is liable for following the rules related to his/her work.

How is compliance training different from other types of training?

Compliance training may sound like just another type of mandatory training. But it's not. Compliance training is focused on ensuring that any rules applicable to the company are followed and reducing risks.

Compliance training is focused on ensuring that any rules applicable to the company are followed, and reducing risks

Other types of training are more geared towards employee development, for example:

• Onboarding training is focused on training new employees and making them feel welcome in the company. It's about teaching them the company's culture and values ​​and what is expected of them in their first weeks on the job.
• Regular skills training trains employees continuously, to improve their skills and knowledge to perform better in their jobs.
• Coaching is a type of training focused on helping an employee reach their potential in the company, or as a leader, or to help the company achieve its goals. 

How to make your compliance training fun with Easy LMS

Now that you know what compliance training is, you may be wondering if it's possible to make such a type of training more engaging for employees. The answer is yes! 

Compliance training doesn't have to be boring

Compliance training doesn't have to be boring. It all depends on how you organize your training and create training material [2]! With Easy LMS, you have access to the following tools to take your compliance training to the next level:

• Courses that combine text, video, images, and audio that make your training engaging and fun, with real examples and varied content.
• Exams with different types of questions to choose from (including video and audio) so you can illustrate your points more clearly and cater to different types of learners.
• Certification with custom certificates that include a unique code that can be verified directly in Easy LMS, and also with third-party tools. For example, Merits or Credly, both of which are currently used by our clients with integrations for compliance training records.
• Easy to access from different devices (including mobile) so your employees can take their training when it's most convenient for them.
• Reports can be stored offline, so you can download them and store them in the company records for an audit, for example.
• Academy with a learning path that allows employees to access multiple courses in one place, check their progress, and download certificates. 
• Custom branding so you don't have to tell anyone you are using Easy LMS for your compliance training, and keep the credit for yourself!

Do you want to know how our clients use Easy LMS for compliance training? Read how Southland District Council in New Zealand created a series of fun courses for their employees with Easy LMS, which resulted in a much higher completion rate.

Useful resources

1. Wikipedia 
2. eLearning Industry

Frequently Asked Questions