Nobody really pays attention to compliance online training after they get their certification. Is there any way to help your team retain knowledge once they pass the test? In this article, I’ll discuss 6 creative ways to refresh their memory and improve knowledge retention

How To Refresh Compliance Knowledge In Online Training

The purpose of compliance online training is to improve industry standards. It often covers things like safety, quality control, and relevant work skills. Sometimes, it covers more thorny matters, like gender and sexual harassment. Unfortunately, most employees see it as a pointless exercise in bureaucracy. They pay just enough attention to pass the online training course and get their documentation. But they leave their knowledge in the testing room and never apply it in their day-to-day work. Some of this information is crucial for smooth business flow and higher profit margins. How do you get your team on board and fully invested? Here are 6 ingenious ways to refresh compliance knowledge in online training.

1. 5-Minute Memory Refresher Modules

Compliance documents are often developed by legal teams, so they are full of clauses, sub-clauses, ifs, ands, or buts. This means compliance online training can often contain voluminous documents and a million different scenarios. It’s important for your team to spot and deal with loopholes. But they don’t have to do it all at once unless they’re lawyers. For the rest of your team, summarize the general compliance principles, breaking them down into consumable chunks. Rather than an endless droning lesson, use separate 5-minute sessions. Let them finish one at a time rather than squeezing everything into one seating. A quick video, interactive game, or spaced eLearning works well. Include an independent index for more complex matters. They can refer to the appendix whenever they need to.

2. Real-World Examples, Minus The Fear Factor

Contextual training is the most effective kind. While the typical approach is to follow the FUD (Fear, Doubt, Uncertainty), it’s not always best. You might shock your employees into compliance, but worst-case scenarios rarely play out. Besides, they may be so focused on avoiding a million-dollar fine that they overlook a typical five-dollar-fine scenario. For instance, you could terrify employees with the prospect of a jail term for accepting a thousand-dollar bribe. So, they’ll never accept cash, they know better. But they might agree to reservations in that fancy French restaurant, which is just as bad. Use realistic branching scenarios to show your team typical iterations and consequences of non-compliance. Apply context and keep it real.

3. Multiplatform-Friendly Video Demos

When you’re developing a compliance online training course, you’ll probably start with a desktop platform, but you shouldn’t stop there. You should include a cloud-based platform and mobile apps for multiple devices including Windows, iOs, and Android. People are more comfortable using their native mobile apps. By letting workers study on their tablets, mobile phones, or home computers, they’re likely to revisit the online training material more often. They might glance at it during their commute, or while waiting in line for coffee. The more they engage with the online training material, the better they retain it. One of the best ways to get them engaged and refresh compliance knowledge is to turn your compliance online training into an immersive video demo. For example, use animated characters to act out a common compliance challenge and show employees the best way to resolve the problem.

4. Incorporate Advertising Techniques

We all have that one annoying jingle we can’t get out of our heads. It’s probably from some TV show or radio ad in our childhood. We may not even remember what the product was for, but we can hum the tune and yell the tagline. Use this principle to refresh compliance knowledge and enhance knowledge retention. Include a catchy jingle as a memory trigger. Give the compliance online training course a catchy slogan. In fact, you can turn all key information points into memorable taglines. Things like “When in doubt, check it out” to remind sales teams to confirm inventory before pushing a product, or clever little catchphrases like “what would your mother say?” make training fun and easy to apply.

5. Turn The Tables

One of the most effective ways to remember something is by teaching it. Encourage your employees to create compliance online training materials on their own and upload them to the online training library. This gives them the opportunity to refresh compliance knowledge and put it into their own words, as well as share their insights with peers. They can create anything from interactive presentations and videos to downloadable guides. Just make sure to assign topics so that you don’t have redundancies in your online training repository.

6. Add The Element Of Mystery

Invite employees to participate in a group collaboration project or online training simulation that offers the element of mystery. They must use all their skills to solve the problem or figure out who committed the “grievous compliance crime”. For example, the online training simulation exposes them to three different persons who handle the same compliance issue differently. Then they must determine who followed the protocol and who violated regulations. These interactive online training activities also give employees the ability to mimic favorable behaviors they see in the simulation and reflect on their own performance. Compliance online training doesn’t have to be dull and boring. It’s possible to push your employees past the motions and into a daily application of their compliance online training. Make it memorable and fun, rather than a grueling task they can’t wait to get over with. Shorten the online training, sectioning it into bite-sized chunks. Contextualize it with realistic examples drawn from their daily work activities. Allow them to access the online training materials on their electronic devices. Spice it up with some tips and tricks from the world of advertising. Make compliance an engaging process rather than a duty. This way, they’re more likely to learn, retain, and apply its principles, which is good for everyone. Simulations help employees tackle on-the-job emergencies and build essential skills. Read the article Safety First: 7 Tips To Use Simulations For Health And Safety Online Training to discover more tips on how to take advantage of simulations in your health and safety online training program.