Are your compliance e-learning completion rates showing a downtrend?
If yes, it’s time to analyze your current compliance learning strategy to check if it has the key elements to make it engaging for the learners.
But what are those key elements? Read the blog further to find it out.
1.Design for the millennials
By 2022, the workforce will be increasingly replaced by the millennials who are otherwise popularly called as the modern learners. Surveys and researches have found that the learning needs and demand for this new breed of learners differ from the previous generation of learners like the baby boomers.
So what do these modern learners demand?
•They need information ‘quick and instant’ on their fingertips.
•They are tech savvy and are connected to mobile devices and Internet of Things (IoT).
•They want the learning content to be personalized and relevant to them.
•They prefer information at the time of need.
•They prefer learning to be simple.
When you are designing engaging compliance learning for the millennials, here are my tips:
• Use the fonts that are more engaging and attractive to the millennial generation. But ensure that they are clear and readable.
• Explore and try the minimalist design approach as it is making a comeback with the millennial audience.Experiment new ways of design styles and approaches. For example, instead of using strict formal colors in compliance e-learning, use vivid and bright colors. Play with the color palate and take inspiration from the latest graphic trends.
• Make the learning topic more authentic by including real case studies and scenarios
While we discussed about the millennials, there are the baby boomers and the gen z who can also be a part of the target learners. Hence it is very important that we cater to their needs too. I feel that for the next couple of years, the organisation has a bigger task of handling a multi-generation of learners comprising of the baby boomers, millennials and gen z.
While the baby boomers are not that tech savvy, you rarely find one without a smartphone or a tab now which means that they have started embracing the technology.
Here are some of my tips if your target audience comprises of mostly the baby boomers-
• Make sure that compliance learning is user friendly and easy to explore and navigate
• Clearly communicate the goals and objectives, while the millennials value the achievements and immediate moment of joy, the baby boomers are focused to drive the joy in achieving the final objectives and goals.
2. Make it visually exciting
Modern compliance training should include the right use and mix of multimedia content and elements.
For example, in my opinion, don’t restrict compliance e-learning to a solid and dull background color. Instead, use color combinations and explore the new trends in visual design to create visually appealing compliance e-learning.
•Include animations and characters in your compliance e-learning and allow the learner to customize the options like personalizing the character etc.
•The importance of videos is growing day by day and the compliance e-learning can include relevant high-quality video contents to grab the attention of the learner.
•Build an e-learning scenario for compliance e-learning to simulate a real working environment that can make the learners feel wow and help them in relating to the real environment.
For example, we developed a compliance e-learning project for a pharmaceutical firm on GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice for the product ). The e-learning module included a careful selection of multimedia content as it needed a lot of real high-quality images to reflect the real working environment and tools. This could bring authenticity and make it very easy for the learners to relate to.
3.An amazing Storyline
The human brain loves and enjoys listening to good stories as they have the power to influence the learners and grab their attention. Compliance e-learning can utilize the storytelling approach where the learners can enjoy a positive learning environment and are hooked to the learning content from the start itself.
Let’s see how we can use a story to make your compliance e-learning engaging and interesting:
Using case studies and real-life examples as it can help the learners to relate to the learning content better. For example, start your compliance e-learning with a title text that shows “ In the year 1992’. The organization can also use supporting graphic elements to create the look and feel of the story.
•Include scenarios that are story based – This is especially useful in the compliance e-learning as it gives the learners more control over their learning experiences.
•Include stories that can emotionally connect with the learners.
•Include stories that can motivate and inspire the learner.
4. Gamification of compliance
Gamification when done right can make boring compliance training engaging and interactive. Instead of being passive learners and listening to the Do’s and Don’ts, the learners are now allowed to express and steer the learning path themselves. For example, include the game element of rewards like game points and virtual badges to reward the correct actions of the learners.
•Include the leaderboard to induce competition among the learners and ensure that the leaderboard is visible to all the learners.
•I strongly recommend to include the different levels to your compliance e-learning as it increases the engagement and same time allows the learner to proceed to the advanced stages of compliance e-learning after completing the basic level.
5. Personalized learning
A key strategy to make compliance training more engaging is to introduce elements of personalization. .To make engaging and personalized compliance training, I recommend to tie the learning contents to the circumstances and scenarios that employees are likely to encounter or face in their jobs every day. This can make your compliance training more personalized.
Here are some important ways to personalize your compliance e-learning:
•Simulate the work environment in the compliance e-learning. For example a compliance e-learning on health and safety of the workers. I recommend using the multimedia graphics that can mirror the look and feel of the real factory working atmosphere.
•Include the character that is easily relatable, design the characters with the same uniform/dress code as followed in the organization etc
•The organisation can also allow the learner to personalize the character by allowing the learners to customize his/her name in the compliance e-learning
With current capabilities of technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, the future looks very bright in terms of personalizing the compliance learning content. For example, enter your employee details and the catalog shows you all the available compliance programs that you are required to complete. Very soon we are going to see such innovations adopted by the organizations that can change the way the compliance training is personalized
6. Anytime, anywhere and any device
With the rapid growth of technology and with increased penetration of the mobile device, there is no point in locking your compliance training to the doors of a classroom training anymore.
Instead, the organisation can make the compliance learning available and accessible across the device of the learners. If we evaluate the reasons for the low motivation from the learners for attending compliance policies, I am sure that ‘the four walls of a classroom training’ and ‘lack of time to attend the training’ will be among the prime reason.
Hence, I recommend making the compliance e-learning accessible across devices like smartphones, tablet, desktop etc. This allows employees to access the compliance e-learning at their ease and comfort. The organisations of today have started realizing the same as there is a visible positive trend, with many organisations promoting the policy of Bring Your Own Device etc
7. Keep it short and sweet
Adopting a microlearning approach can help the organisation to cut short the long compliance content to smaller micro-nuggets with individual learning objectives. These short micro-nuggets allow the learners to quickly refer back to the learning content easily and when required, leading to enhanced retention of the learning topic.
Microlearning can even blend with the other learning techniques where the organization can use the microlearning nuggets as snippets of information that are pushed across the learner to supplement the learning and create reinforcements. After completing a compliance e-learning the organisation can share the snippets of the learning topic with the learners in the form of short micro nuggets that are aimed for spaced repetition to make learning more likely to be recalled. This can be in the form of small assessments or check-ups that can be completed in a few minutes to help reinforce learning.
8. Like share and subscribe
We human being are social animals and enjoy the company of others. With the growing popularity of social media websites and apps, the organisation can leverage it for creating excitement around compliance e-learning .
Here are the multiple ways to include the benefits of social learning in your compliance e-learning.
•The organisation can include the option of chat, social forums etc to encourage the active discussion about the compliance policies. For example, When a new compliance e-learning is announced, the organization can engage in active discussions even through informal channels like social websites, WhatsApp groups etc.
•Allow the learners to share the knowledge, ask questions etc which lifts the engagement of compliance training program. I recommend to include the game elements here like using virtual points or badges to motivate the learners to encourage active participation. For example, reward the learners for every relevant question asked and for helping out the peer learner with correct answers etc.
•Allow the learner to share their achievements on social media.
These were the eight handpicked elements to design and develop an engaging compliance e-learning, feel free to share your suggestions and recommendations in the comment box below
