The modern business environment exposes organizations to a range of challenges that affect business operations, hence the need for robust regulations.
Ignoring standards and guidelines can lead to costly fines, operational disruptions, and reputational damage. Last year, a US court asked a bank to pay USD$3 billion in fines—the biggest in history—for having weak monitoring systems that facilitated money laundering activities. (1)
Keeping pace with the latest relevant rules and conducting mandatory training can help minimize compliance risks. But how can you ensure that you’re providing the right knowledge to the right people at the right time? The answer lies in compliance training solutions. These tools automate compliance training from start to finish.
What is Compliance Training Software?
Compliance training software is a specialized platform that businesses can use to create, manage, and implement effective compliance training programs. When looking for one, choose a product with these capabilities:
Automates Employee Training
Most platforms have artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that allow personalized learning experiences. For example, a recommendation engine automates the assignment of compliance training based on employees’ job roles.
A pre-built compliance training content library makes developing compliance courses simple because you don’t have to start from scratch. But if you do, there’s an authoring tool that allows compliance managers and subject-matter experts to work together and create engaging corporate compliance courses without the need for coding.
To make interactive courses that improve knowledge retention and engagement, course creators can add interactive features, social learning tools, or gamification features. You can also activate automation for recertifications to keep your team updated with the latest regulations.
Tracks Completion and Progress
With compliance training software, you don’t need to keep individual training files manually or manage these through spreadsheets. The platform has progress-tracking capabilities and provides real-time reporting data. You can use standard or custom reporting features to define key metrics, such as training completion rates.
Delivers Up-to-date Content
Businesses need to adapt their compliance training content to the latest regulations to make knowledge-sharing more relevant and impactful. For instance, EU countries are working to revise the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), owing to the widespread use of AI, machine learning, and international data transfers.
Companies in the region must adapt their practices as soon as such changes take effect to avoid costly legal problems. For example, businesses with GDPR violations have paid about EU€4.5 billion (or around USD$ 5.1 billion) as of 2024, with Spain imposing the highest accumulated fines since 2018.
Reporting and Audit Trail Functionality
Relevant rules vary from country to country or industry to industry. Construction and healthcare companies, for instance, may have stricter workplace safety policies compared to purely office-based entities.
Regardless, companies need robust documentation to prove adherence to compliance requirements. It’s crucial that companies keep copies of their compliance training materials, track compliance rates, and record corrective measures taken in case an incident occurs.
These platforms cover a wide range of compliance requirements specific to your business sector. Organizations can use them for different purposes, but those in corporate governance, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing industries find these tools critical to their operations.
Some financial companies in the UK are particularly struggling to fulfill cybersecurity and regulatory requirements, according to a recent survey. Compliance training software can help ease these challenges and minimize safety risks by making it easier for companies to adhere to industry regulations and workplace policies.
How Compliance Training Software Reduces Risk
Online compliance training for employees guarantees that your workforce receives the right training based on their roles and responsibilities. Apart from legal compliance, it can provide multiple advantages that benefit your business and the people behind it.
Ensures Consistent Company-Wide Training
These systems simplify the learning process by delivering consistent training content to everyone, regardless of their location or role. As a result, both small businesses and multinational companies can make training more accessible to all employees.
In fact, building a culture of compliance helps build a more resilient workplace: Businesses with effective cybersecurity training programs can reduce the risk of breaches by 65%, according to a recent study.
Tracks and Documents Compliance Efforts
Compliance training tracking software automates data collection and generates reports. Powerful reporting features make it easy for managers to monitor an individual’s certification progress. These assessments include information on completed courses, partial completions, and recertification training modules.
You can also view a team’s progress charts or request visual progress reports for quick analysis.e
Automates Updates to Regulatory Changes
Compliance with data privacy and protection is a leading concern among businesses. Most users consider a company’s ability to protect client data before deciding whether they’re good enough to transact with or not. This holds particularly true among financial companies, law firms, and health institutions.
It doesn’t help that the laws must constantly adapt to the changing threats. In the US, almost 60% of entities surveyed in 2023 found it hard to keep pace with the privacy regulations and the disparities between state laws. About 52% had difficulty increasing their budget because of such changes. (2)
Instructors can help mitigate these risks by regularly updating compliance training processes and materials to reflect the latest regulations. By staying informed about regulatory changes, they ensure that employees receive up-to-date training, reducing the potential for violations and supporting compliance efforts.
Encourages a Culture of Accountability
Apart from learning, the software ensures that employees understand, follow, and take responsibility for regulatory requirements and company policies. Structured training programs and automated performance tracking reinforce the importance of following legal standards.
Safety officers, for instance, can set alerts and reminders to conduct regular safety training in construction sites or whenever there are regulatory updates. This reminds them to fulfil their obligations and provides an audit trail of compliance activities.
Final Thoughts
Compliance training software is more than just a regulatory tool. It’s a safety net that protects businesses from operational, financial, and reputational risks. However, automating essential processes is only the first step.
Organizations must establish effective compliance policies and training programs to meet their regulatory obligations. Adopting a proactive approach and using the right tools are the only ways for businesses to thrive in this highly competitive, digital-first environment.
Citations
- ‘TD Bank hit with record $ 3 billion fine over drug cartel money laundering’. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/10/investing/td-bank-settlement-money-laundering/index.html
- ‘Challenges companies doing business in the United States face while adapting to changes in consumer data privacy laws as of May 2023’. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1403367/us-firms-challenge-consumer-data-privacy-law/#:~:text=A%20survey%20conducted,of%20the%20changes.
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