You’ve heard the saying: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. We take issue with this saying on a couple of levels.
First, we know that having someone who excels in an area available to teach others how to do that task can be extremely valuable. Second, we know that the best teachers are the ones who can explain things in such a way that people understand and can then do that skill, function or task at an acceptable level. We believe the “can do” and the teaching go hand in hand.
However, you can’t always find an internal person who can teach as well as they can perform a task, and vice versa. And there are several challenges for businesses when it comes to compliance training, in particular, even when they have an abundance of those who can both do and teach.
One challenge is simply keeping up with changing rules and regulations. As an example, Forbes illustrated this by showing that in 2016 at the Federal level, 3,853 rules were issued in addition to 214 bills that were signed into law. These numbers do not include rules and regulations from state and local governmental agencies.
Of course, all of these do not have to be conveyed to employees. But figuring out which ones do and how best to do it can be another hurdle. (You can find an up-to-date list of rules and regulations here.)
A second challenge is keeping up with which of your employees need which trainings. This comes into play especially for larger corporations and manufacturing facilities whose employees are doing a variety of different jobs. The coordination among departments, such as HR and the division an employee is in, is crucial. Scheduling, meeting deadlines, bringing in extra employees to cover other workers’ time away — these are only a few of the moving pieces that have to be assessed.
A third challenge is cost. The Harvard Business Review explains the financial considerations:
“The average multinational spends several million dollars a year on compliance, while in highly regulated industries—like financial services and defense—the costs can be in the tens or even hundreds of millions. Still, all these assessments deeply underestimate the true costs of compliance, because training and other compliance activities consume thousands of valuable employee hours every year.”
Some compliance trainings take place off campus. This means in addition to the cost of the training itself and covering employees’ time away, there is the cost of travel. Depending on what is going on in the world (as we’ve all learned and experienced in recent years), travel for such trainings may be prohibitive altogether.
A final challenge businesses often run into simply comes down to time. An effective training is one that is designed with the learner in mind. It isn’t only about presenting information; it is about presenting information in such a way that the learner both understands and executes on the knowledge gained. For businesses that want to keep compliance training in house, the ones who can do and the ones who can teach are often the same. And they simply cannot do everything. That’s where The Learning Network can be a resource.
By moving to online compliance training and employing an eLearning solution, companies and organizations can revolutionize dated procedures and effectively streamline impactful, purpose-driven learning. Learn more by visiting our website or contacting us.
