What is compliance training?
Compliance training is one type of work-related training.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Around 4.4 million Australians (23%) had undertaken work-related training in the past 12 months - that is, training or courses which did not form part of a qualification, and were undertaken for work purposes.”
Compliance training is compulsory employee training based on adherence to laws, regulations or policies that are relevant to a person’s role in an organisation.
Compliance training is necessary to ensure the safety and ethical behaviours of all workers. There are forms of compliance training that are applicable to all industries. There is also compliance training that is specific to the industry you work in which will dictate which types of compliance training programs are required.
Examples of wide-ranging industry compliance training are:
Examples of industry specific training:
- Food handling training for hospitality workers
- Responsible service of alcohol (also known as RSA Training) for those in catering or hospitality
- White card training for construction employees
Benefits of compliance training
Clear expectations
An organisation’s compliance training program promotes transparency and sets out expectations for both the employer and employee’s conduct. This transparency helps to manage business expectations and promote a culture of ethical behaviour.
Creates standardisation
Consistency and conformity in your compliance training program ensure all employees, including managers and executives, are aware of their responsibilities to ensure they comply with the rules and regulations.
Everyone will be on the same page in terms of their obligations across the entire company.
Stephen Hammond, Manager Plumbing and Safety Services at Chisholm says, “training consistently results in employees conducting themselves in a safe manner which in turn results in customers being confident they are getting served safely, appropriately and always with the same positive outcome.”
Proactive risk mitigation
With compliance training there must be a record of training to provide as an evidence base if requested by governing authorities.
But more importantly, the benefit is the knowledge learnt and applied in the workplace. Being proactive with compliance training means risks are being mitigated to the organisation and its people.
This empowers employees and gives them confidence to do the right thing should they witness or become involved in something that requires resolution or reporting.
Value in compliance training
While there are many benefits to compliance training, research by Thomson Reuters notes that 32% of respondents say the biggest barrier in ensuring workforce compliance is that employees see the training as too time consuming.
To find value in compliance training you need to make the training engaging. Learning that is engaging will improve recall and effectiveness.
One way to do that is to break up the compliance training program into bite sized chunks to reduce information overload. Another advantage of bite sized learning is that it gives the perception of the training not taking long to complete.
While standardisation is important, this should not be interpreted as a one-size-fits-all training approach. Depending on the industry, an employee’s role, their level in the organisation and how the training is delivered can all impact on the training experience.
Bespoke training that is fit-for-purpose will provide relevance and also make the compliance training more memorable. This will result in more value for employees.
Plus, employers are getting a better ROI that translates into compliant behaviour and avoids any costly breaches.
If the option exists for online, face-to-face or blended learning, let your staff member choose what works best for them. Everyone learns differently and what works for some will not work for all.
Lastly, to get value out of compliance training ensure that you are continually reviewing and improving.
Receiving feedback from staff and training partners will give you insights that can inform future compliance training program strategies. Keep the dialogue open with employees and ask them what they want to get out of their compliance training to help them with their professional development – this goes a long way in creating cultures of learning and compliance.
Stephen says, "Undertaking compliance refresher courses for those employees that already have a qualification is equally valuable. Being in a learning environment exposes workers to legislation changes, improvements and new innovations which enhances and improves skillsets. Plus, refresher courses identify any bad habits or practices a worker may have which can be corrected and helps them to continuously improve.
Staying on top of compliance training and keeping staff training up to date gives your organisation a competitive advantage.
To learn more about how compliance training courses can benefit your workplace contact Chisholm’s Industry Specialist.
