Compliance has expanded greatly, and encompasses so many important facets of ethical business practices that it should not become a dreaded, “check the box” training that is pushed until the very last day of the year.
But, seeing the same content or reading the same documents over and over again, it is likely that the audience will start to gloss over the true, underlying and important message.
How can you be sure that you retain your audience’s attention?
First, let’s turn to the UK Bribery Act guidance that speaks directly to training and communication, as well as that of the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. The DOJ’s guidance notes that “some companies…give employees practical advice or case studies to address real-life scenarios, and/or guidance on how to obtain ethics advice on a case-by-case basis as needs arise.”
The biggest takeaway is that you must communicate to your organization about compliance as it affects them. Give them scenarios that relate to their day-to-day practices and help them take practical steps to avoid unethical business and corrupt dealings that will land the whole organization in trouble.
You can create simple slogans that help your audience to remember where to go to raise concerns, such as a simple acrostic that you can post on your company intranet, or around your office space. Such as:
C - Caring
O - Open
M - Mindful
P - Pleasant
L - Listen
I - Interested
A - Available
N - Nearby! Room 200!
C - Call our helpline! +123 456 7890
E - Email us! compliance@abc.com
Take the time to be a little creative and think outside of the typical training sphere. Look at other ways to communicate. Virtual “face-to-face” training that you conduct via your conference calling system is a great way to “see” and “meet” more people.
An evite to a conference call discussing compliance with a theme like “Cookies and Compliance” could be a way to show that compliance is important, and can allow people to bring a treat to the event, making it feel special.
Short but interesting and exciting elements keep your audience engaged. Send colleagues short videos from your phone with “compliance quick tips” getting your message across quickly and easily!
There are many ways to upgrade your compliance communication, and so many technologies at your fingertips to do so. Use your other departments, like marketing and sales, they might know of creative ways to develop a short and effective message, too.
The same can be said of other regions. Tap into colleagues at local offices who can take your message and share it with their teams, to ensure that your compliance theme is being seen and heard. Use them as “ambassadors” of your compliance efforts.
A small team can still do a lot to ensure that compliance reaches everyone. Communicate through any means you have available: email, newsletters, conference calls, webinars, your team does not have to travel to make sure compliance has a far reach!
Associate Director, Compliance Training, TRACE
This post is part of our “Ask an Expert” series where we take questions submitted by readers and ask an expert in the compliance field to provide insight. If you have a question you would like answered, please submit here. |
Every trend within the online learning space seems to mention AI, but how do you even know where to begin to use it?
New L&D technology that can make your content development team more efficient is always welcome, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) has presented an exception to this rule in a number of ways. While it can be beneficial, the main theme when determining whether to invest in any AI content development features is proceed with caution.
While many eLearning authoring tools now offer an AI option, you should consider the following before jumping in with both feet:
Does your company have an AI policy in place? What does it state about the use of such technology?
How will the AI store the information you share? Will your information remain secure and private?
What is this tool learning from to provide you answers? Are those sources accurate and factual? Are they copyrighted from another source?
Once you receive approval from your data protection officer and your IT team to use an AI tool, you will also want to be sure that you understand how to properly prompt the AI. You should have your team invest in online courses about the tool so that your team can better prepare to use the tool to its fullest potential.
You should also know the risks involved in working with AI. Depending on how the tool is learning and how you are using the tool, it may develop biases/discriminatory practices, including against specific groups.
The Department of Justice recently released guidance on best practices when working with AI in a business setting, and how AI could effect human rights in both positive and negative ways.
While the shiny, new developments in AI may seem like the easiest way to get ahead in eLearning, it is best to take the necessary steps BEFORE even considering a tool. You will better prepare yourself and your training team for all possible eventualities.
Always be prepared to pivot if what you thought would work in AI may not yet be possible. Remember that with every new software, platform, and tool there is always a vetting process and learning curve. Good luck!
Associate Director, Compliance Training, TRACE
This post is part of our “Ask an Expert” series where we take questions submitted by readers and ask an expert in the compliance field to provide insight. If you have a question you would like answered, please submit here. |
Gamification can take on many forms within online training, and can often be a great way to incentivize your audience to complete a course. While “gaming” can evoke images of a complex video game that would detract from the training subject matter, gamification has actually proven to create more engagement for learners.
Gamification uses strategic elements of a game to draw a learner to want to interact with training content, but does not necessarily require that a full revamp of all training courses to include gaming features. Simple steps like creating a rewards system for completing tasks or courses is enough to draw interest to training.
Consider these “easy” steps to start your journey into gamification, which you can offer within the TRACE LMS platform, and likely most training platforms currently available:
Design custom social media badges that learners earn when completing a course, and can share their accomplishments online
Create friendly contests among learners to see who can complete the most courses
Develop a Leaderboard in which your top scorers for training are listed within the training homepage whenever logging into the site
A few other things to consider, if access to online gamification functionality is limited, could be creating competitions between departments to see who can complete all of their training in the least amount of time. Winners can receive small prizes, like free coffee, or a company t-shirt or water bottle.
Simple elements like these can draw attention to learning, and keep learners interested in completing their required training. Creating competitions around scoring will keep your learning audience focused on the information they are consuming to be sure that they answer questions around the content correctly and appropriately.
It is also proven that social interaction while learning increases retention of that learning by 50%. Allowing your learners to engage in a friendly competition, or even a simple discussion and communication about the training that they all must complete helps them to learn together and reinforce your message.
Ready to get started? Please reach out to training@TRACEinternational.org and we can help you develop gamification through badges, and even content development! Happy gaming!
Associate Director, Compliance Training, TRACE
This post is part of our “Ask an Expert” series where we take questions submitted by readers and ask an expert in the compliance field to provide insight. If you have a question you would like answered, please submit here. |