How Engaging Compliance Training Pays Off

As a Compliance Director at a mid-sized public company, you might sometimes feel like the “Chief Reminder Officer” – constantly nudging busy employees to finish their mandatory training. We get it: corporate compliance courses have a notorious reputation for being snooze-fests. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way, and making compliance training more engaging isn’t just a nice-to-have – it can protect your company’s reputation and bottom line.

Consider this cautionary tale: e.l.f. Beauty, a mid-size cosmetics company, paid a $1 million fine in 2019 for unknowingly violating U.S. trade sanctions.

Imagine having to explain that costly omission to your board—yikes. Effective compliance education might have caught that issue early. And it’s not just about avoiding worst-case scenarios; a recent analysis found that companies with 500–5,000 employees can save around $20,000 per year in fines by implementing solid online compliance training. Talk about ROI! In other words, getting compliance right pays off—literally.

So why do so many employees still dread these training sessions? One big challenge is engagement: Many employees consider compliance training tedious and irrelevant. Bored learners tend to tune out, which defeats the whole purpose of training. If nobody remembers the policy on gifts and hospitality, it’s almost as bad as not having a policy.

How do we transform compliance training from a check-the-box chore into something that sticks?

The key is to make it relatable, memorable, and, yes, a little fun. Some tips to level up your training game:

• Keep it real. Ditch the abstract legal jargon and use real-world scenarios or case studies. When people see how a bribery risk or data privacy dilemma could play out in their daily work, the lessons hit home. (A dash of tasteful humor or storytelling doesn’t hurt either!)
• Make it bite-sized. Attention spans are short. Instead of a one-hour marathon, break courses into shorter, focused modules that employees can fit into their busy schedules. Five 10-minute sessions will beat a single 50-minute lecture in terms of retention.
• Be interactive. No one loves clicking through 60 slides of do’s and don’ts. Engaging compliance training should have interactive elements like quizzes, mini-games, or video scenarios that require responses. Engagement soars when learners can do something, not just read or listen.

By revamping your approach, you’re not just entertaining employees for fun – you’re building a stronger culture of ethics and respect. When training is engaging, employees remember the rules and apply them. They’re more likely to speak up about potential issues and less likely to make that risky decision in the first place. It’s a win-win: your team stays on the right side of the law and fosters a workplace where doing the right thing is part of the DNA.

And you don’t have to do it alone.

Partnering with a specialized provider like Xcelus helps ensure your compliance courses (Code of Conduct, Anti-Corruption, Fair Competition, GDPR/Data Privacy, Security Awareness – you name it) are up-to-date and genuinely interesting. We’ve been known to turn dry policies into compelling stories – one of our compliance training videos even uses a mountain-climbing adventure to illustrate the importance of following compliance processes​

The result? Employees want to finish the training. Compliance and compelling content can coexist in the same sentence!

A well-trained and engaged workforce is your best defense against fines, scandals, and sleepless nights. Why not invest in compliance training that people might enjoy? It’s time to wake up your compliance training – your company’s success (and your sanity) depends on it.