Common Compliance Training Challenges That Can Be Solved With Blended Learning
It’s always tricky to guarantee compliance effectively. Just because your staff can recite the rules doesn’t mean they’ll follow those rules. Or even that they understand them or know how to apply them in a practical setting. In theory, blended learning solves this, because they can learn the rules online and execute them offline. But how can you move this principle from the theoretical to the actual? Here are the top compliance training challenges that can be overcome with blended learning solutions.
5 Compliance Training Challenges That Blended Learning Solutions Can Defeat
1. Application Challenges
You’ve probably heard high schoolers (or adults who hated math) complain about algebra and calculus. They demand to know—indignantly—why they’ve never had the opportunity to use those tortuous lessons in their jobs. Well, if you talk to engineers and physicists, they could probably open pocketbooks with sine and cosine sketches. Similarly, trainees may see certain portions of their compliance training as remote knowledge they’ll never use. This makes them lose interest and stop paying attention. Use face-to-face training segments to give practical demos of these compliance principles. Use a live classroom demo to hack into a trainee’s email after they ignore the “change your password every week” rule. And be sure to go past exposing embarrassing photos and show them potential corporate consequences.
2. Closed-Off Corporate Training Cultures
Take the example above a step further. Say it’s the IT department receiving this training. They change their own passwords religiously to stay one step ahead of the hackers. But in the process of changing theirs, they accidentally change someone else’s, locking the person out of their own account. Because your workplace is oppressive, they’re too scared to admit their error, so they try to fix it themselves. They break into the said locked account and end up accused of corporate espionage. All because they had no room to ask. Ensure your workspace is open and welcoming, and include lots of troubleshooting in your training. “How to unlock accounts” seems like a crucial IT lesson. But if they can’t learn it in a safe space, they could cause millions in data damage by mistake. Blended learning software fosters a more supportive and communicative training culture to eliminate these mishaps.
3. Inadequate Peer Support
Another challenge that appears in workspaces is unhealthy competition. It frequently leads to corporate sabotage, which hurts everyone in the long run. As you train your employees on mission, vision, and culture, entrench their team spirit. Show them ways they can get ahead without necessarily treading on each other’s efforts. Use gamification tactics, both online and offline, to channel their competitive spirit positively. Just as an example, competitive fundraising for a good cause, as opposed to backstabbing your way to a promotion. Carefully designed group assignments are helpful. The kind where everyone is assigned a role they’re good at, rather than letting the overachiever do everything. Online, each team member can do their portion individually, then they can present their assignment in their offline classroom session.
4. Insufficient Line Management
Your colleagues have mixed skill sets but your boss usually knows more than you—assuming they’re a good boss, selected on merit. In these cases, you may need help from your supervisor that your peers can’t give. They simply don’t have the right “security clearance” to help you. That said, your work environment must be conducive. The staff has to feel comfortable asking superiors for help. They must know who they can ask, and not be made to feel like they’re a bother. Assign a management team member (or technical superior) as a lifeline. This person would be welcoming, open, and a good communicator. Give reasonable access to this training leader, both online and off. They can designate “office hours” where they can be sought out. This ensures they’re not fielding questions every five minutes. That could interfere with their ability to do their own job, which isn’t good for the company or for their individual sanity.
5. No Safety Nets
Employees often make mistakes on the job due to a lack of awareness, not rebellion. They simply didn’t know that they were breaching policy because they have no past experience to base it on. No point of reference; just theoretical knowledge they learned during the last ILT session. Blended learning solutions give them the power to apply their knowledge and identify gaps in a safe environment. They can log in to the blended learning LMS and participate in simulations or scenarios. This allows them to learn from their errors so they don’t repeat them in the workplace. They can also follow up with supervisors and peers during live events or face-to-face sessions to clarify any confusion. Then there’s no excuse for breaking the rules because they have real-world (online) and peer-based support tools to broaden their experience.
Conclusion
Blending your approach to training isn’t a corporate learning panacea. If you don’t implement it constructively, it’s not going to do your organization any good. So how do you overcome compliance training challenges through blended learning software? Use demonstrations to show trainees how to translate theoretical compliance regulations into real-world situations. Provide simulations so they can take the risk in safe environments. You can use immersive sound and tactile feedback to make it feel more real. Create a warm, cooperative environment where trainees feel confident seeking help from both peers and superiors. Even from subordinates that may have advanced skills in relevant sectors. And keep communication lines open so all your staff knows who to ask for help in a given situation.
Give your employees the chance to make mistakes and collaborate with peers with an effective blended learning strategy. It starts with a blended learning LMS that offers a hybrid approach. Use our online directory to find the best blended learning solutions for your organization and reduce compliance risks.
Homebase
Make work easier. Running a small business has never been harder. Homebase helps with free tools to track time and manage your team.
