Planning and implementing digital compliance training

Legal compliance and ethical conduct are absolutely vital for every company. Which makes it all the more important to train your employees in compliance issues right from the outset. With digital compliance training, you can train your employees quickly, cost-effectively, and sustainably. 
In this article, you’ll find out what makes compliance training effective, and how to plan and implement it. Lay the foundations for a future-oriented and responsible corporate culture. Ensure legal compliance for your company and foster an ethical working environment.

Compliance training enables you to educate your employees about legal requirements, guidelines and measures, and thereby prevent issues and violations of the law arising in the workplace. These courses impart essential knowledge in areas such as data protection, anti-corruption and occupational safety. They go beyond simply providing information—they promote an understanding of ethical and legally compliant behavior, and strengthen the corporate culture. What’s more, compliance training protects your company from the legal sanctions and reputational damage that can result from non-compliance with laws and internal guidelines.

Compliance training helps your employees understand how to act appropriately and in accordance with the law in their day-to-day work. Compliance breaches can lead to large fines, legal disputes and a damaged corporate image. You can significantly reduce this risk through training as it empowers your employees to recognize potential problems at an early stage and react appropriately.

Compliance training also fosters a positive corporate culture. It shows employees that your company values ethical behavior and acting in accordance with the law. This increases employees’ trust in the company, and has a positive impact on their motivation and loyalty.

By demonstrating the importance of compliance, your company automatically appears more reliable and aware of its responsibilities. Customers, business partners, and supervisory authorities are more likely to trust you. This improves your business relationships and strengthens your position in the market.

Whether compliance training is required by law depends on the country you operate in as well as the nature and industry of your company. In Germany, the most common compulsory training courses are: 

• Occupational safety training
• Data protection training
• Hygiene training
• IT security training
• First aid training
• Anti-corruption training

The best-known compliance training is probably the annual occupational health and safety training, which is mandatory for all employees. It is regulated under Section 12 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which describes the obligation on employers to “give workers sufficient and appropriate training”. 

Another legally required form of compliance training in Germany is data protection training. The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) states that data protection is mandatory for all employees who work with personal data. This starts with business email addresses. Managers are also accountable. They are responsible for compliance with data protection and must provide evidence of compliance. This is largely unfeasible without regular data protection training for employees.

Face-to-face training facilitates direct interaction and discussions between participants and trainers. It provides a space to practice certain procedures, e.g. the use of a fire extinguisher, or the correct donning of PPE (personal protective equipment). However, there is often a lack of flexibility in face-to-face events. Coordinating so many employees at the same time is almost impossible. There can be a lack of suitable training rooms, and sometimes high travel costs are incurred. 

Digital compliance training, on the other hand, is flexible and accessible. Your employees can complete the courses anytime, anywhere, which is particularly advantageous in modern working environments. Digital training is a time- and cost-effective way of raising awareness of compliance topics among your employees.

In many cases, a combination of both approaches—a ‘blended learning’ format—can utilize the advantages of both methods. Digital courses offer flexibility and basic information, while face-to-face events can be used for in-depth discussions and practical exercises.

Designing effective digital compliance training programs requires a well thought-out strategy that takes into account the needs and preferences of your employees, and complies with legal regulations. Here are some basic steps to help you develop engaging and effective training courses:

It is important to use both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure the success of your compliance training. The following methods will help you not only evaluate the immediate success of your compliance training, but also its long-term impact on your company. You will gain valuable insights that will enable you to continuously improve your training programs and adapt them to changing needs and requirements.

High completion rates for your compliance training courses ensure that your employees acquire the knowledge and skills they need to manage compliance risks effectively. However, a completion rate of 100% is unrealistic. Especially if you are rolling out the training to a large number of employees.

The best way to avoid large administrative efforts and support costs is to utilize automation. Ensure that participants are regularly reminded about the training. Set deadlines and involve their line managers if necessary. Check whether attendees may have missed the course due to technical issues or not having access to your system (e.g. vacation, illness or parental leave).

Communicate the importance of compliance to your employees right from the outset. Show what consequences violations could have for your company, but also for your employees on a personal level. 

Make the training content motivating and relevant. Use interactive elements such as videos and simulations that reflect real work situations. This helps to arouse employees’ interest and shows them the direct benefits the training will have for their daily work.

When deciding whether to create compliance courses yourself, commission them, or purchase standardized options, there are several factors to consider. Each has its own pros and cons, and the best choice depends on your company’s specific needs and resources.

Creating compliance courses in-house offers you maximum flexibility and adaptability. You can customize courses specifically to your company’s needs and your specific corporate culture. However, this requires significant internal resources, time, and expertise in compliance and training development. It is ideal for large companies that have the necessary resources and very specific requirements for their compliance training.

The option of commissioning courses from external providers is an efficient solution if you do not have the resources or specific expertise in-house. Professional providers offer expertise and create high-quality, effective training materials. However, you will need a certain budget for this.

Buying standardized courses is often the most cost-effective option. These courses can be launched immediately and cover a wide range of general compliance topics. However, they may not offer the specific customizations your business needs. This option is best suited to smaller companies or those that need to cover basic compliance issues without their own specific content.

In practice, many companies choose a combination of these approaches. For example, you could cover basic compliance principles through standardized courses and address more specific, company-relevant topics through customized versions.

Weigh up the costs, the quality of the training, and your company’s specific compliance requirements to make the best decision. Regardless of which method you choose, it is important that compliance training is effective and helps employees to understand and apply the relevant laws, regulations and internal company guidelines.

Creating and rolling out compliance training to all white collar employees. This was the challenge facing our client in the automotive industry. Globally, the group’s 150,000 employees had to be trained on compliance issues within 4 months in a legally compliant, verifiable manner, and in accordance with their previous knowledge and position in the company. The restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic at the time presented an additional hurdle.

The primary learning objective was to impart a common understanding and a company-wide definition of integrity and compliance. Several aspects contributed to solving the complex challenge. 

• Managed learning services
• Collaborative working
• Adaptivity
• Instructional and graphic design

This resulted in a coherent overall concept, which was designed, implemented, and rolled out within 4 months.

All the goals set were achieved. In addition to the successful completion of the project, the collaboration also offered several other advantages for the client: The standards set in the project mean that future eTraining courses can be implemented efficiently and effectively. Defined and securely tested processes and procedures with internal and external teams make it far easier to create further content—a real win for the company. 

This project was awarded the HCM Excellence Gold Award in 2021. All of the details about the

• Strategies and tools
• Project management
• Didactics and design
• KPIs and results

can be found in the exclusive case study “From 0 to 100 in just four months—How an international automotive group digitized its global compliance training in the shortest possible time.”