Compliance training spans all industries, from general cybersecurity needs to specific regulations, laws, and ethical standards. Its significance extends beyond education; non-compliance can lead to penalties and tarnish an organization's credibility.
In the past, just demonstrating completion of training was enough to limit legal liabilities. But, the landscape has evolved. Authorities, like the U.S. Department of Justice, now evaluate compliance programs for their effectiveness and sincerity in upholding ethics and standards. In fact, according to Drata, 87% of organizations report negative outcomes resulting from low compliance maturity or reactive compliance.
When training occurs only once a year, it can be a struggle to get employees to take compliance seriously. Once they’ve ticked the completion box, they probably won’t pay much thought to it until they need to complete it again. Integrating microlearning into your annual program can enhance engagement, boost results, and let your learners know that as an organization you’re committed to achieving full compliance.
Microlearning reinforces a learning culture
Adding a continuous microlearning retention strategy does more than just reinforce compliance content—it fosters daily learning.
Microlearning's short, focused content makes it a digestible and engaging format, which is reinforced by its mobile-friendly format. When learners can reach into their pockets and pull out exactly the information they need when they need it, they can quickly upskill and return to their workflow. Without getting lost navigating a lengthy course for answers. This makes self-guided learning a more approachable process and puts your learning culture into your employees' hands.
The advantages of microlearning in compliance training
- Enhanced retention:Microlearning's strength lies in its ability to break down complex compliance-related information into easily digestible segments. By presenting content in concise, focused modules, learners can absorb information more effectively. This approach mitigates cognitive overload, allowing for better retention of critical compliance details.
- Heightened engagement: The varied and interactive nature of microlearning modules captivates learner attention. Using formats such as short videos, interactive quizzes, and bite-sized scenarios foster an engaging learning environment. When learners stay engaged throughout the training, it increases their receptiveness to and understanding of compliance principles.
- Application of knowledge: Microlearning isn’t just about information dissemination; it focuses on practical application. Its bite-sized format encourages learners to apply newly acquired knowledge immediately. Through scenario-based learning or case studies embedded within microlearning modules, employees can grasp how compliance principles relate to real-world situations they might encounter on the job, enhancing their ability to apply this knowledge effectively.
- Flexibility and accessibility: Microlearning offers flexibility in learning schedules. Employees can access short modules at their convenience, making learning a seamless part of their workflow. Additionally, its mobile-friendly nature ensures accessibility across various devices, allowing learners to engage with the content anytime, anywhere.
- Continuous reinforcement: The bite-sized nature of microlearning allows for frequent exposure to key compliance concepts. Continuous reinforcement over time ensures that information is not just learned but retained over the long term. Learners receive repeated exposure to essential compliance information, strengthening their understanding.
- Customization and personalization: Microlearning modules can be tailored to cater to specific compliance needs and learner preferences. Organizations can create targeted content addressing different compliance requirements, roles within the organization, or even individual learning styles. This customization enhances the relevance and effectiveness of the training.
- Time and cost efficiency: Compared to traditional lengthy training sessions, microlearning modules are more time efficient. They enable organizations to deliver training in shorter, focused bursts, reducing the time employees spend away from their regular tasks. Additionally, the creation and maintenance of microlearning content is often more cost-effective compared to extensive training programs.
- Immediate feedback and assessment: Microlearning often incorporates immediate assessments, quizzes, or knowledge checks within modules. This allows for instant feedback on learner understanding. Employees can gauge their understanding immediately and revisit areas where they need further reinforcement.
Leave them wanting more and boost learner engagement
By leveraging these advantages, organizations can ensure they meet regulatory compliance as well as foster a culture of continuous learning. With employees empowered with the knowledge and equipped with the necessary skills to navigate any complex compliance landscapes effectively.
Elevating learner engagement
Engagement within compliance training modules can be heightened through various interactive strategies, ensuring active participation and knowledge retention.
- Gamification elements: Incorporating gamification elements like leaderboards, badges, or progress tracking within compliance training modules serves as a powerful motivator, driving participation and fostering a sense of achievement. These elements tap into intrinsic motivations, encouraging learners to actively engage and progress through the material.
- Interactive quizzes and assessments: Interactive quizzes and assessments play a pivotal role in microlearning by embedding moments of active participation. They serve as checkpoints to gauge understanding, prompting critical thinking and reinforcing key compliance concepts. Scenario-based assessments, specifically, immerse learners in practical applications, allowing them to navigate real-world situations, thereby reinforcing the relevance of compliance knowledge in their daily roles.
- Scenario-based learning: The use of scenario-based learning further enhances engagement. By introducing case studies mirroring real-life situations, learners are not only acquiring knowledge but also practicing its application in context. Branching scenarios, in particular, offer a compelling way to highlight decision-making processes, showcasing the consequences of various actions. This interactive format compels learners to think critically about compliance actions and their implications
- Branching scenarios: Branching scenarios in microlearning offer decision-based challenges. Learners experience the consequences of their choices, reinforcing the significance of compliance actions. This interactive method emphasizes the impact of informed decisions, cultivating a deeper understanding of compliance implications in their roles.
- Interactive videos and simulations: Interactive videos and simulations are valuable tools in microlearning, especially within compliance training. These mediums effectively illustrate complex concepts by immersing learners in visually engaging scenarios, enhancing comprehension and information retention.
- Discussion forums: Discussion forums serve as collaborative spaces where learners can share insights, discuss challenges, and exchange ideas related to compliance topics. This fosters a sense of community and encourages peer learning, as individuals learn from each other's experiences and perspectives.
- Storytelling and narrative-driven content: Crafting content through storytelling and narrative-driven approaches proves highly effective in creating emotional connections with learners. Engaging narratives not only capture attention but also make the content more memorable, allowing learners to relate compliance principles to real-life situations, thereby enhancing understanding and retention.
- Adaptive learning and personalization: Adaptive learning is a transformative approach within compliance training, tailoring content to individual learner needs. This dynamic method utilizes AI and analytics to assess learner proficiency, pace, and preferences. By understanding each learner's strengths and weaknesses, adaptive learning customizes the training journey, ensuring relevance and maximizing engagement. This personalized approach enhances comprehension and retention, making compliance training more effective.
Easily measure your compliance progress
Your learning management system (LMS) should house your microlearning courses, making it easy to track learners' progress from the start of compliance training and throughout the microlearning retention campaign.
It can help you further improve compliance training tracking by collecting data such as course completions. This is especially practical when it comes time to provide records or proof of compliance during audits or other regulatory checks.
Maintain compliance training with the LMS built to drive results
An LMS should also enable you to create charts or data visualizations that display performance or behavioral metrics alongside training results—providing deeper insights and empowering you to continuously improve your compliance training program.
A springboard to improved performance
Rather than an annual obligation, engaging, continuous microlearning can turn required compliance training into a springboard for ongoing employee education and skills development. It can also improve your organization's efficiency, ensuring compliance and reducing legal risk. Best of all, once learners are in the habit of ongoing learning, skills development becomes second nature, freeing employees to focus their attention on what really matters: furthering your mission.
If you're looking for a way to up your compliance training game, and learn how it integrates with Absorb LMS, reach out to our experts or request a demo today.
