8 LMS Features You Need For Compliance Training

8 LMS Features You Need For Compliance Training
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Summary: Whether you are in a heavily regulated industry or running a regular 9-5 business, you know what compliance training is. The question is, how do you create compliance training that brings results without bringing nightmares to your employees?

The LMS Features For Top Compliance Training

Corporate compliance training is one of the most challenging types of training. One reason for this is that it often handles unpleasant topics ("OK guys, so today we’ll discuss all the ways you might get injured at work! Who’s excited?"). Then, there’s the underlying pressure that comes from the consequences of not following procedure or disrespecting the workplace rules. It’s no wonder why employees don’t connect with compliance training and snort at the thought of it.

Compliance training is necessary as much as it is challenging, though. Your employees can’t afford to miss it. And you can’t afford to deliver anything less than a comprehensive course that meets the official requirements when this is the case. Delivering compliance training online can help create courses your employees will actually learn from and enjoy. In this article, you’ll discover which LMS features will make your compliance training a total success.

1. Instructor-Led Training Support

Compliance training occasionally deals with serious topics. For example, it demonstrates procedures employees must follow to the letter to avoid injuring themselves or others or causing environmental damage. How can you ensure your online compliance training doesn’t leave any loose ends?

The answer is ILT sessions, during which employees will learn with the help of an online instructor. This means you should seek for an LMS that supports ILT sessions and integrates with web conferencing tools. It should also offer an intuitive user environment so that you can manage your classes easily and automatically send notifications about upcoming sessions.

2. Intuitive Content Builder

Your L&D team will need to create tons of content for compliance training over the years. Not only because there are so many subjects to cover but also because different types of content serve different purposes. And let’s not even start on the varying learner preferences.

Some pieces of content will be simple. Like teaser videos that will get employees excited before you launch the course. But others, like simulations and branching scenarios, are more complicated to build and will need more elaborate work.

That’s why one of the most significant LMS features to look for is an intuitive content builder. This will allow your L&D team to create content fast, without hassle and complications. They’ll also be able to update the courses as soon as there are significant changes or new information available.

3. Certification Management

Unfortunately, your word isn’t good enough in the event of an audit. You need to provide proof that your employees have completed their training successfully and are up to date with all the recent regulations. Certifications provide this proof, thereby completing compliance training to perfection.

In high-risk industries like manufacturing and construction, employees will need to renew their certifications often. Therefore, you need an LMS that allows you to set an expiration date and which automatically reassigns the course after. This way, your company will be ready for an audit anytime, and you won’t risk being held liable for noncompliance.

4. Automatic Report Generator

Would you dare to leave employee compliance training to chance? Or would you rather monitor how employees are progressing through the course? If you prefer to know how your training is faring, invest in compliance training software that offers built-in reporting.

Your LMS reports will tell you who has completed their training and who hasn’t. You can also check the reports to track learner behavior in real time. By doing so, you can spot whether something is wrong with your training and fix it in time. Lastly, your LMS can autogenerate reports and distribute them to predefined recipients.

5. Online Collaboration Features

Employees should be able to interact and collaborate seamlessly online. In an informal environment, employees and instructors can share tips, experiences, and their very own real-life examples. Employees eventually learn more effectively because they hear different points of view, discuss in depth, and receive real-time feedback.

So, which are the features that enhance collaboration? At the very least, you’ll need a discussion forum where employees can post questions and carry out conversations. An LMS that integrates with web conferencing tools will also enable employees and instructors to discuss more complex ideas that can’t be sufficiently discussed through a chat.

6. Separate Learning Environments

All employees need to train on diversity or what to do in case of an earthquake. Then again, your financial executives need to know your anti-bribery policy inside out. But they probably don’t need to know much about the warehouse hazards. Conversely, your employees in California might need to dispose of hazardous waste following a different procedure than those in Texas according to state regulations.

Using an LMS that allows you to create separate learning environments, you can organize your online compliance training better across different departments or even branches. You limit access and visibility only to those concerned. Most importantly, you get to collect more targeted data that you can later compare on a larger scale.

7. Gamification

As you go through the LMS features you need for compliance training, it becomes all the more evident that a compliance course can easily take a turn for the…dull. Reports, certifications, separate learning environments—it’s all too formal. Fortunately, there’s a delivery method that can amp up and modernize your compliance training.

Gamification can bring balance to compliance training, especially in industries where compliance is a daily routine. Rewards and badges add a lighter note and incentivize employees who receive training often. Don’t hesitate to offer real-life rewards to employees who consistently land high on the leaderboard or collect all badges to show your appreciation.

8. Off-The-Shelf Content

Compliance training often addresses issues that are regulated by entities outside of your company, like anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws or waste disposal procedures. These rules apply indiscriminately to all companies across an industry or country.

An LMS with ready-made courses is a lifesaver for companies that need to ensure compliance with universal standards. Using off-the-shelf content is the most reliable way to train your employees, knowing that all the information is accurate and up to date. Off-the-shelf content can also save you a lot of money and your L&D team many hours of work.

Conclusion

Employee compliance training is a tall order. To get results, you need to be smart about the way you deliver training and creative with your content. Using a full-featured compliance training software, like TalentLMS, you can create compliance courses that effectively train employees without boring them or messing with their workflow.

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Originally published on June 2, 2020