Compliance training: what is it and how do you make it fun?

Dutch society is held together by rules. “Every citizen is expected to know the law” is a nearly impossible standard. In our private lives, we usually take it with a grain of salt. But when it comes to running a business, that’s a different story. An employer carries considerable responsibility for the knowledge and skills of their employees. If those don’t meet the requirements of the law, the trade association, or the safety manual, you’re in hot water. That’s where compliance training comes in.

‍

What is compliance, anyway?

Let’s start by answering the question “What is compliance?” Literally, compliance means “to conform” or “to abide by.” You can probably already feel the storm coming: here we’re mostly talking about laws and regulations. It may not be your favorite topic, but complying with them has become more and more important today.

Since the financial crisis of 2008, compliance has become a very hot topic, especially in the financial and banking sector. By drawing up more rules and a wide range of procedures, people hoped to prevent a repeat in the future. Rules were drawn up against fraud, money laundering, insider trading, you name it. And with the unrest in the world, more and more rules were added, leaving you to sometimes wonder how an organization can possibly comply. Can you really be sure that by doing business with an external client you aren’t indirectly financing terrorism? How could you have suspected that the money of that sweet little grandmother was earned through criminal practices in the past?

Maybe the banking and insurance world feels far removed from you. Yet almost everyone deals with compliance, often without realizing it. In the healthcare sector, for example, supervision of compliance with the rules is becoming ever stricter, to safeguard public health as well as possible.

You dare to tell your lawyer everything because you know he or she won’t pass your information on. After all, your lawyer has to abide by the Code of Conduct, which consists of rules that every lawyer must meet. Hey, isn’t that… exactly! Compliance!

Another example. Customers often choose an ISO-certified supplier or service provider because they want to count on good quality. And how do you get such an official ISO certification? Exactly, by meeting all kinds of rules and conditions. Compliance, in other words!

‍You’ll find compliance everywhere

In short: practically every industry and every profession deals with compliance. A single organization can be teeming with compliance in different areas. After all, it can cover all sorts of topics, for example:

• occupational health and safety (Arbo)
• privacy protection (GDPR)
• cybersecurity
• anti-fraud and anti-corruption
• HACCP and food safety
• integrity
• preventing discrimination and bullying

How to handle those topics naturally differs per professional sector. A construction worker simply works differently than a doctor, and a hairdresser is not a childcare worker or an accountant.

Why is compliance so important?

‍First of all, there is of course an ethical goal: think of protecting against risks, preventing disability, creating clarity, and safeguarding quality. Very important for your employees, and as a good employer you naturally stand 100% behind that. But there are also more business-related reasons to work on compliance.

If a supervisory authority finds that the rules in an organization are being violated, you’re in hot water. At best the employer gets a warning, but often a hefty fine is imposed. And that’s before we even get to the negative publicity that follows. Disastrous for your image with customers, let alone your employer branding. Straight into the trash it goes!

“Isn’t a warning or fine imposed on the employee who breaks the rules?” you might think. But it’s not that simple. An employer’s responsibility and duty to inform and duty of care toward their employees carry a lot of weight.

As an employer, you must be able to demonstrate that everything has been done to inform people  of the rules, and to test their knowledge and skills in this regard.

Enter compliance training

Employers therefore have a great interest in making sure compliance within the organization is arranged perfectly. Nobody wants fines, accidents, or a bad image. That’s why every self-respecting organization makes sure that every employee can and will complete enough compliance training.

Compliance training comes in all kinds of forms. Courses, e-learnings, and knowledge platforms are an important aid  in making sure employees can comply with all laws and regulations, collective labor agreements, procedures, and internal policy.

Please note: employees must not only be theoretically aware of the rules, but also have the necessary skills to comply with them.

That’s quite a lot, which is why compliance training itself is often outsourced to an industry organization or an external training institute. But that doesn’t change the fact that the employer must make sure the necessary information is also always up to date and accessible internally to everyone who has to work with it.

So make compliance training part of the onboarding of every new employee, and make sure it stays top of mind for your staff. Use the power of repetition. Regularly put a topic, procedure, or new law on the agenda of team meetings, provide easy-to-click links on the intranet, and give permanent employees a refresher moment too.

A positive view of compliance

We can hear you sighing. Indeed, compliance is no small matter. Still, it’s important not to get stuck in the idea that you only set up compliance for the government or a regulator. Put on a different, positive pair of glasses: by shaping compliance well and smartly, you can make real progress in all kinds of areas within your organization.

We promise you: there is always a good reason why a certain action or procedure has been made mandatory. The rules don’t just fall out of thin air. They are often drawn up in response to a crisis, an accident, or a serious mistake.

In other words, because of situations you’d rather not see repeated in the future. Make use of that knowledge!

The benefits of compliance

Admittedly, laws and procedures are sometimes written down in a rather dusty, old-fashioned way, but they really do have benefits for an organization and its employees. What do you think of, for example:

• a safe workplace
• a pleasant, ethical work atmosphere
• limiting risks
• safeguarding quality
• clarity for everyone
• satisfied customers
• equal treatment
• strong employer branding, and, last but not least:
• no fines or legal disputes

… and we could come up with plenty more reasons why it makes perfect sense to integrate compliance training into every knowledge platform and LMS.

Think of laws and regulations as frameworks; while important, they are also something you can interpret in your own way as an organization. By focusing on everyday situations that occur in the workplace, and by choosing a pace or tone that suits your target group of employees.

The ‘Why’ of compliance

Okay, perhaps reading the above has given you a more positive perspective on all the rules and procedures you need to comply with as an employer. Now it’s time for the next step. How do you get your employees to sit down for mandatory training with a fresh perspective? How do you ensure they retain the knowledge gained and apply it correctly at critical moments?

The best tip we can give you: first, clearly explain why you consider compliance so important. Don’t focus too much on fines and warnings (however important they may be), but instead answer the question: ‘What’s in it for me?’.

That doesn’t have to be difficult. Personal safety, clear work processes, a pleasant work environment, user-friendly equipment, and great onboarding are all topics that resonate with almost every employee. These reasons are understandable, almost tangible, and they touch people personally. It becomes part of their lived experience. If you approach it correctly, compliance even becomes an important milestone in their employee journey. Then, colleagues will feel comfortable holding each other accountable if they see someone not following the rules.

Combine business with pleasure

Another golden tip: avoid boredom. Make compliance training enjoyable and surprising for your employees.

With a sparkling experience, you have the best chance that the important course material truly remains top of mind.

How do you do that? We’d love to share some tips.

1. E-learning: flexible and convenient

Learning in your favorite spot, at a time that suits you, and at a pace that fits your needs. E-learning, or asynchronous learning, has become popular in a short time for good reason. It also has advantages for the organization. Lessons don’t always have to be organized during working hours, new participants can join at any time, and there’s no need to rent classrooms.

However, it doesn’t work by simply digitizing old textbooks and putting them online.

Asynchronous learning does require some preparation and maintenance to attract and retain participants. Read our tips for creating e-learning.

2. Knowledge snacks

No one is waiting for thick books, long blocks of text, or lengthy monologues that take up a significant chunk of their schedule. Break knowledge down into small, attractive bites, also known as microlearning or knowledge snacks. Serve these snacks in various formats: a podcast, video, GIF, or short quiz.

Whichever format you choose, keep the lessons short and punchy. They’re called micro for a reason. You should be able to complete them in about 3 minutes. Collect them in a central place, such as your knowledge platform. That makes them easy to find.

Think of the power of repetition. Hide microlearnings in various places, such as an online newsletter, magazine, or email. Add a link in the text to the relevant lesson, where employees pick up new knowledge or refresh old knowledge almost without noticing.

3. Multimedia

Hold learners’ attention by using different formats. Add clear images, work with videos and supporting audio. By mixing written text with other media, you don’t just make it more attractive.

Use a variety of media and you’ll reach a larger audience, which is of course especially important for compliance training. Everyone has their own learning style and will want and be able to absorb knowledge in a different way. One person is visually oriented, another reads easily, and a third prefers to listen. So appeal to as many senses as possible.

4. Practice-oriented

Include as many real-life situations as possible in your compliance training. That makes compliance a lot more concrete and understandable. By showing which choices can be made every day on the shop floor, the point of a certain rule or law becomes immediately clear to the learner. No theory can compete with that.

Scenario-based learning becomes even more fun and surprising if you shoot photos and videos at your own company on the shop floor, using colleagues instead of hiring actors. That gives you ultimate recognizability. Do you have many employees who don’t speak Dutch? Then make videos in different languages, or provide multilingual subtitles.

5. Gamification

Create two-way traffic by using an interactive program in your compliance training. Game elements make a course richer and more interesting. By using gamification, a learner is immediately jolted awake and put into action mode. The knowledge they’ve learned can be used to earn points or compete with other colleagues. Play unlocks something in people. They want to score and take on the challenge in a positive way.

A few examples of gamification you could use:

• a knowledge quiz at different levels
• virtually simulating various scenarios
• interactive images

If you also attach a reward to the best performances (it can be anything, from a certificate or honorable mention to a nice little prize), you create extra motivation.

The building blocks for your compliance training

Have we inspired you to get started with compliance? Then, finally, we’d like to walk you through a smart structure.

• Don’t go it alone: procedures, laws, and regulations are quite complex. It’s a good idea to get started together with a multidisciplinary group of people. Everyone brings their own expertise and can look at a topic from a different angle. Start with internal stakeholders, but allow yourself the luxury of bringing in an external expert in time.
• Make a “shopping list”: as we said earlier, every industry, even every organization, has different requirements and wishes when it comes to compliance. Make an inventory of the relevant legislation and procedures that fit your organization. Is it a lot, and too complex to introduce all at once? Distinguish between need to have and nice to have, and phase the implementation.
• Put together a flexible training: by building the training from different modules, you create optimal flexibility. That lets you respond better to different knowledge levels, study paces, and even languages. Does a law change, or are there new procedures? Then you can update the training quickly.
• Use different learning methods: make sure there is an option for every learning preference. Vary between e-learning, flipped classrooms, webinars, and old school on-site lessons.
• Monitor the results: When it comes to compliance, it is especially important that your employees' knowledge and skills are and remain up-to-date. Use your LMS to check learner progress and certificate validity. Is someone approaching their 'expiration date'? Send them an invitation for a refresher course in time!

Creating compliance training with Pluvo

Pluvo is a powerful tool for compliance because it combines extensive reporting capabilities with user-friendly training management features. The platform allows you to generate detailed overviews of employee progress and performance, including certifications and their expiration dates. You can quickly filter by date and validity, allowing you to see at a glance which certificates are expiring soon or have already expired.

In addition, Pluvo makes it easy to create e-learning modules and organize classroom sessions, while keeping track of who attended which session. This combined functionality offers an all-in-one solution for managing compliance training, allowing you to monitor the status per department or team and act proactively to ensure all employees meet the required training and certification standards. This not only minimizes the risk of compliance errors but also keeps your organization efficient and well-organized in its compliance efforts.

Schedule a call and discover how easy it is to manage compliance training with Pluvo.

Need more ideas for smart compliance training?

We at Pluvo have plenty! A knowledge platform that people actually use to embed compliance? Fun games and bite-sized knowledge about legislation? From smart online solutions to creative tips: we have it all. Feel free to contact us. We would love to brainstorm with you!