The True Power Of Engagement
So many people hear the words “compliance training” and zone out. Perhaps, for example, they immediately picture a dry, checkbox exercise involving far too many slides, a monotone, emotionless voice-over, and maybe one or two unskippable quizzes. Yet, ethics and compliance (E&C) training should be anything but dull. It can (and should) be invigorating, relevant, and actually helpful to employees across all levels of the organization.
It’s not about forcing employees through lessons that lack flexibility and don’t reflect the different roles people play at work. The notion that you can copy and paste the same training module for a newly hired financial analyst and a tenured HR director is perhaps a bit like trying to teach everyone to dance by making them watch the same single routine on YouTube. They might pick up the beat eventually, but only if they manage to grasp the entire choreography.
Why Standard eLearning Falls Flat
The pivot to online training has happened. In the last few years, remote work soared, and many companies rushed into digital training as though it were the final frontier of E&C education. Yet, if you simply upload your old slides onto a sleek digital platform and call it a day, it’s perhaps akin to taking a fruit cake recipe and expecting it to transform into a soufflé just by changing the oven. The format alone doesn’t dictate the experience.
Standard online modules often fixate on cramming regulatory jargon into learners’ heads. There’s a lot of repetitive text. But not a whole lot that ties it to what employees actually do. If people can’t see how it applies to their roles, the message dissipates.
Experiential Learning To The Rescue In E&C Training
Enter the concept of experiential learning—a method championed by David A. Kolb. Here’s a quick rundown of Kolb’s famous cycle:
- Concrete experience
You start by letting people “do” something in a context that feels authentic. For compliance, that could mean a scenario-based problem requiring ethical decision-making. - Reflective observation
Next, they mull over what just happened. Why was that scenario so easy—or so complicated? Where did their assumptions conflict with reality? - Abstract conceptualization
Learners then connect the dots between the scenario and the bigger picture. They start linking the event to organizational policies or universal ethical principles. - Active experimentation
Finally, they take this newfound knowledge and apply it to the next scenario or even the real world. Rinse and repeat, and watch knowledge retention go through the roof.
When you embed these experiential principles into your eLearning setup, you avoid the trap of turning training into a glorified compliance dictionary. Instead, you make it about testing out ideas, reflecting on outcomes, and gradually building a mental toolbox that employees can dip into when they’re confronted with the real thing.
Making It Relevant And Fresh
“Authenticity” can be a slippery term, but in E&C training, it’s everything. A scenario about an overworked HR manager battling a glitchy system, for example, may mean absolutely nothing to a brand-new product manager who’s knee-deep in software coding. Tailoring the scenario to the role is half the battle in securing buy-in.
Another must-do is avoiding the dreaded rerun. How many times have we clicked through the same harassment training slides we first met as new hires? You might need refreshers—especially in areas like anti-bribery or data protection—but you can get creative. Change the storyline, ramp up difficulty levels, or toss in new cameo characters. If your employees spot the same storyline from three years ago, they’ll mentally tune out.
The Power Of Short Bursts And Microlearning
We’re all living in an era of snackable content. People get their news in 280-character tweets or watch 15-second videos and call it “infotainment.” So, consider following that lead. Instead of forcing employees to take a deep dive for two hours straight, parse out the lessons into micro-sessions—like a quick two-minute video or a five-minute blind spot quiz. A quick burst of relevant knowledge, followed by an immediate call to reflection, sticks in the mind.
Beyond Memorization: Lasting Value For E&C Training
Ultimately, experiential eLearning is the difference between telling employees about regulations and empowering them to adopt behaviors that align with those standards. If a scenario-based quiz reveals you’re at risk of corruption in vendor bidding, you’re not just told “pay closer attention to your actions and potential related consequences.” You get to see the ramifications play out in a simulated environment, weigh the moral and professional implications, and remember that gut-check moment the next time a questionable gift or favor crosses your desk.
When E&C training uses experiential learning, it’s akin to practicing an instrument rather than reading about how to play one. The more you practice, reflect, and learn from potential mistakes (safely, in a simulated scenario), the better you perform in the real concert. By merging authenticity, role relevance, and short, engaging content, you transform compliance training from a one-time slog into a multistage journey—one that employees enjoy taking.
