Another year, another round of compliance training. Training professionals know the cycle all too well: Check for content updates, communicate expectations, report completion, check the box and do it all over again. Genuine engagement and clear measures of employee understanding and buy-in are often missing. Still the t’s are crossed, and the i’s are dotted, and company leadership is satisfied. But hey, it’s working, right?

Compliance training is one of the most universal forms of organizational training. Often spanning topics from safety and data security to harassment and fraud awareness, the goal of these programs are to reduce risk by promoting responsible behavior. And yet, most of these programs simply inform learners of the rules, processes and should and should nots. The learners take an assessment and return to work.

In many cases, mistakes and compliance failures aren’t caused by a lack of policy and procedure or failure to inform, but instead because people either do not remember, understand or care to comply in the moments when it matters. And those mistakes and failures can cost an organization big; reputation, legal exposure, worker retention, and overall, morale are just some of the outcomes these training efforts are meant to avoid.

The Case With Compliance Training

Most required training courses have clean, objective goals to make sure all team members have been given the same essential information. Most companies do this in the most efficient way possible. Cite the company handbook. Review the policy documents. Watch a video.

In the 2022 KnowBe4 report, “The State of Employee Compliance Training,” over 90% of organizations say their compliance training is delivered via eLearning. Yet, many learners admit to multi-tasking during learning or just clicking through to pass the quiz.

As a result, learning retention and application remain low — not because training wasn’t delivered, but because its impact isn’t felt, and without that emotional resonance, behavior change, and performance improvement can’t take root. People apply new knowledge and comply with rules and procedures when they care. And for them to care, the content must be relevant, valuable and necessary to them.

Embedding EI into Compliance Training

We can create this care by implementing emotional intelligence (EI) in our training design and delivery. EI is not just a fluffy leadership skill or personal development topic. It’s an approach that considers how people process, respond to and engage with the world, or in this case, your training. When these considerations are made, our training goes from a one-sided content-going-out, to a reflective, content- being-absorbed experience.

Designing with EI in mind means asking questions like:

• What is the learner feeling? What do we want them to feel at the end?
• Do the words and scenarios used reflect their current world?
• Do they see themselves in the content?
• Do they know what’s to gain in the long-term?

When these questions are addressed, learners are more likely to not only stay engaged through the duration of the training, but to retain it and use it later. Designing for EI means anticipating the initial mindsets of the learners and creating moments intended to shift those mindsets.

How to shift learners’ mindsets with EI design.

Here are a few common mindsets and how EI design can help make a shift toward better learning retention:

1. “I’m not going to pay attention because it doesn’t really apply to me.”

Include role relevant scenarios that reflect the actual environment. Invite the learner to help create the scenario by considering their own role and workspace.

2. “It’s the same as last time. I’ve done this before.”

Change it up! Introduce a new story, branching scenarios and/or gamification. Rotate different story arcs every year to keep it fresh and give the learner autonomy to select the difficulty level.

3. “This is just a thing we have to do so the organization can protect itself.”

Use people-centric language that frames the content as a shared responsibility rather than an organizational liability. Communicate to learners how their contributions can directly support the business. When people can understand the “why,” they can be more likely to show buy-in.

4. “This is uncomfortable.”

Discomfort is common in training related to sensitive topics like anti-harassment or some diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, even if the learner is alone with the screen. Begin by acknowledging potential discomfort and offer plenty of space to pause, reflect and consider behavior in future scenarios.

5 EI Design Tips for Compliance Training

At this point, you may be thinking, “We don’t have the time or resources to overhaul our compliance training initiatives.” That is understandable, but you don’t have to overhaul.

Here are five simple tips to embedding EI into your compliance training design:

1. Reframe the opening. Add a personal story, a recent real-life example or a values-based “why these matters” message.
2. Use simplified, people-centered language. Make it conversational and inclusive. For example, use “we” instead of “the company” or “everyone” instead of “all employees.”
3. Add in a few reflection prompts. Ask the learner to write-in or consider where they have seen similar, or how they would feel in a scenario.
4. Update one scenario. Choose one scenario that doesn’t quite fit and replace it or add an organization specific scenario to the end.
5. End with a meaningful call to action. Instead of “Congratulations! You passed,” end with a prompt to “submit 1-3 things you will do differently next time.” If possible, collect this data and distribute it to leadership for follow-up conversations. This can encourage the learner to make a commitment and put some skin in the game.

Conclusion

Compliance training can still be efficient in addition to being meaningful. When designed with EI in mind, these courses move away from being dry and dull to becoming experiences filled with reflection and intrinsic value for the learner. They can help shape a culture are engaged with the company and aware of the right choices, not out of compliance, but because they care.