Engaging in business comes with many responsibilities, not just to your customers, but other stakeholders such as the community and the government. This makes organizations responsible for complying to rules and regulations that are being imposed by these stakeholders.
Non-compliance can cause real problems to both the organization and its customers. Damage in reputation , properties, health hazards and sometimes, even loss of life can befall companies who choose to ignore important legislation. Compliance management ensures that companies make necessary steps to provide safe, secure and ethically produced products and services to their customers, and a healthy workplace to their employees.
What is Compliance Management?
In most countries, not complying to existing laws can result in huge fines and other penalties. Compliance management is a major issue for companies and is defined as “the process by which managers, plan, organize, control, and lead activities that ensure compliance with laws and standards.”
Here are some examples for compliance management activities:
● Conducting internal audits ● Getting third-party audits ● Security procedures and control ● Generating reports and providing supporting documentation ● Developing and implementing policies and procedures to drive 100% compliance
In order to ensure that all of the compliance requirements are adhered to, employees must know all of the rules and regulations being enforced and have the discipline to stick to the rules.
The best way to cascade compliance-related knowledge is through eLearning.
Why use eLearning for Compliance Training?
In the past, employee training is done in the classroom and is conducted by a facilitator. If there are one thousand employees in a company and everyone needs to attend a compliance training, this facilitator will have to run the training at least fifty times ( if the class size is fifty employees).
Due to the sheer number of sessions, the facilitator could miss providing key information, a part of the process or details regarding a specific procure, which can result to non-compliance. Traditional face-to-face training can also be expensive if you factor in the salary of the facilitator, the cost of keeping training rooms and equipment, the cost of travel for participants from remote locations, as well as the time employees spend away from their jobs.
eLearning makes compliance training accurate, simple and less costly for organizations. Because the same content will be shared to all participants, online compliance training is complete and accurate every single time a learner accesses the course. eLearning is still an investment, but online courses lower the cost of training by about fifty percent by my removing overhead expenses. It helps the company save time, by making the learning available to employees anytime and anywhere and on multiple devices.
A Personalized Approach to Compliance eLearning
The beauty of eLearning lies in its ability to personalize the training content according to the roles and responsibility of the learner. This helps organizations avoid the mistake of doing blanket training, when only a few people in the company actually needs to complete a compliance course. Some certifications are valid only up to a certain point. eLearning deployed in an LMS can send automatic alerts to key individuals who needs to stay up-to-date with new legislation in their field.
Top Compliance eLearning Courses
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
GDPR eLearning courses typically include practical information on what they need to record and when to carryout a Data Protection Impact Assessment. The module also teaches learners the protocol for handling a data breach, the details surrounding the new data handling regulations and the organization’s role in implementing GDPR within the business.
Cyber Security
Cyber security courses highlight the role of network administrators in securing systems within the organization. These courses also include step-by-step guides on how to implement secure passwords and enforce safe and secure practices in all employees across the workplace. Some even include simulations that show what happens when secure policies and practices are ignored.
Health And Safety
eLearning modules present the legal framework and regulations that surrounds Health and Safety in the workplace and what the organization needs to implement such as processes, policies, and physical environment to adhere to Health and Safety regulations. Most courses offer tips on creating a safety habit where employees become proactive in promoting good behavior. They outline the individual responsibilities for managers, HR personnel, assigned Health and Safety officers , and other individual contributors to keep the workplace healthy and safe. Some modules also touch on employee Mental Health as part of Health and Safety compliance.
Diversity
Organizations are now becoming more aware of the benefits of diversity training that goes beyond adhering to a legal mandate. One, it improves the well-being of all employees as they are treated fairly by all colleagues. Two, it improves collaboration between employees, even those from different departments, background or nationality. Lastly, diversity training raises engagement, which ultimately lead to better productivity , performance and organization’s bottom line.
Diversity training helps learners recognize the issues with diversity and arrive at attainable solutions. The modules also highlight an employee’s legal responsibility, as well as the benefits of maintaining a fair and friendly work atmosphere. Training activities may include resolving diversity-related conflicts and dealing with sensitive work situations.
Environmental Issues
eLearning compliance modules on environmental issues show employees how to make sustainability and environmental awareness embedded into their daily work routine. The modules also discuss environment protection laws and the penalties that individuals or the organization may face if these laws are broken. Some of the topics include saving energy, recycling, carbon footprint reduction, and making sustainable ethical choices.
In summary, compliance management is best accompanied by a robust compliance eLearning program that will ensure that policies and procedures implemented by stakeholders are not just remembered, but are adhered to by everyone in the organization. It is an investment that is necessary to avoid monetary and reputational damage that can be caused by incidents of non-compliance. It’s important to note that for compliance training programs to succeed, the goal of training should not only be to improve employees’ understanding of the rules but also to instill and perpetuate appropriate behavior.