Five Vital Types of Compliance Training for Companies (with Examples)

For most L&D practices, the requirement to design and implement a compliance training program is as certain as the sunrise.

Organizations need regulatory training to maintain safe and effective day-to-day operations, comply with laws and industry standards, and foster a robust company culture. To achieve these goals, employees need to know and understand the legal requirements, regulations, and company policies specific to their roles.

This article outlines five types of compliance training that will help your organization meet its regulatory obligations and industry standards while creating an ethical and inclusive company culture where people want to work.

What is compliance training?

Compliance training is the structured learning process that ensures employees understand their responsibilities and obligations under laws, regulations, and company policies.

An effective regulatory training program will ensure that all employees, from new hires to senior leadership, fully understand their roles' safety, legal, and regulatory requirements and the company policies that drive your organization. 

Broadly, compliance training falls into one of the following three categories:

• Safety training: These training courses ensure employees are physically and psychologically safe in the workflow.
• Legal compliance: Training content that helps employees understand their rights and responsibilities in their role under the law. 
• Cultural training: Learning experiences covering the practices, values, and expectations of company culture.

Implementing compliance training across your organization will significantly impact day-to-day operations and employee performance and satisfaction.

The benefits of compliance training

Compliance training is essential to keeping employees current on company policy and legal requirements. 

By ensuring everyone is aware of their responsibilities, an organization can maintain its reputation by avoiding non-compliance issues. For example, a financial markets authority or a commerce commission will publicly report when a company fails to comply with regulating legislation. 

Other benefits of an effective training program include:

• Ensuring that your organization is adhering to your industry's regulatory obligations.
• Shielding your organization from legal action.
• Protecting your organization’s bottom line.
• Providing employees with a safe work culture and environment.

Today’s economic environment is challenging enough without organizations having to deal with issues of non-compliance that could have been avoided with a robust and effective compliance training program.

Five common types of compliance training for employees

To help get you started on developing your training plan, here are five common but vital types of compliance training.

1. Workplace safety training

Workplace safety training focuses on ensuring a safe work environment, which is especially critical for labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing.

This type of training focuses on empowering employees to identify, report, and mitigate the potential hazards in their workflow. 

Workplace safety can significantly impact a business’s bottom line. On the positive end of the scale, for example, companies with strong health and safety programs can see a return on investment of up to 114% by preventing injuries and maintaining stable operations. 

Key examples of workplace safety training programs include:

• OSHA compliance: In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets and enforces standards to ensure healthy and safe working environments. OSHA compliance teaches employees about safety protocols, hazard identification, and how to use safety equipment. 
• Fire safety training: These sessions educate employees on fire prevention practices, evacuation plans, and identifying mustering points.
• First aid: Training that teaches employees first aid basics for providing immediate care in emergencies.

2. Cybersecurity and data protection training

Data protection and privacy are critical considerations for most organizations as technology advances, meaning cybersecurity is becoming necessary for many businesses.

In the second quarter of 2024, there was a 30% year-over-year increase in cyber attacks globally. With the rise of cyber threats, training that teaches employees how to safeguard sensitive data effectively is more critical than ever. Implementing comprehensive data protection training can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches. 

Examples of cybersecurity and data protection compliance training include:

• GDPR proficiency: Skilling employees on the principles of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data privacy and security law, which will include data processing, consent, and the rights of individuals whose personal data is being processed.
• HIPAA compliance: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets specific requirements for patient privacy and security of healthcare data for the US healthcare industry. 
• Cybersecurity best practices: These training courses empower employees to identify and prevent cyber threats, including phishing, malware, and ransomware attacks.

3. Anti-bias and diversity training

Anti-bias and diversity training is essential for creating a respectful and inclusive workplace culture.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training helps employees understand the importance of embracing diversity, promoting fairness, and creating workplace conditions where everyone feels valued and respected. Diversity training can boost a company’s reputation and workforce retention—companies with inclusive cultures have 22% lower turnover rates.

Some examples of diversity training programs include: 

• Diversity training: Foundational training programs that focus on familiarizing employees with a company culture that values diverse perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds.
• Unconscious bias training: Learning experiences that help employees recognize and identify unconscious biases that affect workplace interactions and decision-making.
• Skills-based diversity training: Training sessions that teach interpersonal skills such as communication, empathy, and active listening to empower teams to work together effectively.

4. Anti-harassment training

Anti-harassment training is designed to educate employees on how harassment is defined and how to respond to it should it occur at work. 

Deploying anti-harassment training will help your organization prevent legal issues, build a culture of respect and inclusion, and ensure employees feel safe if and when they need to report a case. 

Key elements of anti-harassment training can include: 

• Understanding different forms of harassment: Training that defines various forms of harassment, especially sexual harassment and bullying.
• Reporting and addressing incidents: Employees are trained on the procedures for reporting harassment, conducting investigations, and enforcing consequences.
• Preventative measures: This training covers the importance of creating a culture that discourages harassment and promotes respect among colleagues.

5. Code of conduct and ethics training

Ethics training aims to help employees understand the moral boundaries within which they should operate and align their actions with industry and company ethical standards.

These training programs are designed and deployed around values such as integrity, accountability, and ethical decision-making in the workplace. Examples of ethics training programs include: 

• Anti-bribery and corruption prevention: Compliance training that guides employees through internal policies on gifts or undue influence.
• Code of conduct training: Learning experiences designed around the fundamental principles and expectations of the organization. 
• Conflict of interest: Training that covers identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest and the appropriate steps to disclose them.

Interactive and eLearning methods in compliance training

Historically, most compliance training has suffered from low engagement and completion rates because the content is often generic and boring. 

Many L&D teams are turning to interactive and eLearning approaches to make compliance programs more engaging and effective when dealing with these complex regulatory topics. Leveraging a compliance training learning management system (LMS) empowers L&D teams to design tailored training programs and scale them enterprise-wide. 

Critically, a comprehensive learning solution will include functionality to ensure that learners can access the right compliance courses when and where they need them and that L&D teams can easily ensure that the content is up to date with current regulations or policy changes as they occur. For example, a learning solution like 360Learning will automate all your mandatory training and put the learner experience first. 

Features like learning pathways, automated notifications, and tracking and reporting can ensure that everyone within your organization complies with relevant laws, industry-specific standards, and company policy.

Industry-specific compliance training

When creating your compliance training plan, you need to identify and understand the specific regulatory compliance requirements and industry standards that apply to your organization.

This depends on where your organization is located geographically of course, but also on your employees' unique learning needs. To inform your training needs, you should start with a compliance audit to identify your organization’s compliance training needs. 

A well-rounded and robust regulatory training program is essential for ensuring corporate compliance and fostering a positive company culture. Lastly, updating your training program as the regulatory environment changes is critical. Get a personalized demo of 360Learning to see how to effortlessly automate and optimize compliance training in your organization.