[INFOGRAPHIC] 10 Tips for Running a Successful Compliance Training Program

Compliance training is often seen as a chore that organizations need to just get through. That said, compliance cannot simply be ignored. A recent report from software firm GlobalScape found that organizations lose an average of $4 million in revenue due to just one non-compliance event. Yikes! 

In our 2022 State of Employee Compliance Training report, we compiled the top challenges faced by compliance training managers. Nearly half of survey respondents ranked completion percentage and employee engagement as their #1 challenge. Following closely behind was the need to stay current with local and/or industry regulations. Other roadblocks to a successful program include limited resources, unengaging content, cost, getting executive support, and reporting.

KnowBe4’s Chief Learning Officer, John Just, spearheads the training content strategy and development for KnowBe4. Based on his years of experience in the learning and training industry, we asked for his top 10 tips to run a successful compliance training program in your organization. Check out this infographic, which contains his top 10 suggestions:

10 Tips for Running a Successful Compliance Training Program - Download PDF Here

Here is a summary of what a successful compliance training program looks like:

1. Engage a Steering Committee - Leverage the people in your organization who have an interest in compliance. Brainstorm with them on how to make the process more effective rather than simply copy-and-pasting what was done the prior year. Help ensure return on investment (ROI) by investing the time into making your training plan more engaging.
2. Get Leadership to Buy-In With Your Plan - Bring data, ROI and risk avoidance to your presentation. Have real-world examples of the damaging effects non-compliance can have in an organization. Highlight your program benefits and how it will be approached in an engaging and effective way.
3. Recruit a Team of Employees - Gather an unbiased focus group for feedback. This would be a team separate from your steering committee. Recruit people that complain about the current program (as well as those that are into compliance) to get the feedback you need to make the program better.
4. Balance Buying Versus Building - Create the right mix of in-house and existing/branded content. The trick
   is having enough in-house content to make it relevant as well as content created by a provider to get high production value for the right amount of resources.
5. Compliance Content for On-The-Go Users - Give your users a great experience on mobile. Consider mobile usability when deciding on content for your program. Giving your users this option will go a long way toward making compliance training less painful for them.
6. Use Data to Measure - Turn on end user surveys and comments, and actively use this data to improve your program over time. Make them short (3 questions and a comment box) so you get as many responses as possible. Then analyze the data and apply it to make your program even better.
7. Offer High Quality Content - "Death by PowerPoint" applies to e-learning as well. Enhance your e-learning with high quality videos, graphics and interactive content.
8. Use a Variety of Content & Formats - Use a variety of training content types to avoid content fatigue. Using different formats like video, interactive training modules, job aides and case study examples can keep different types of learners engaged with your compliance training. 
9. Use Gamification - Make reporting and completions a competition between teams and executives. Getting executives to head teams across the organization can drive this, but make sure to have clear reporting and frequent updates to keep all users interested.
10. Train More Frequently - Break training into smaller pieces and conduct it more often, 5-15 minutes per month is a lot less daunting than 2 hours every February. Actively work with other areas’ training, such as security awareness. Coordinated training will make it less painful for everyone.