Compliance Training: Top 3 tips to engage your team

Do you struggle to get your staff to complete their compliance training? Feel frustrated when your team leaves it to the eleventh hour to top up their CPD? We’ve put together 3 top tips to help you guide them down the learning pathway and make compliance training a habit.

1. Make time for training

Managers play a vital role in influencing how the team performs. The same goes for how the team views compliance training. This goes beyond simply leading by example; managers need to make time for training in a variety of ways.

• During your regular team meetings (weekly, fortnightly) include compliance, training and development opportunities on the agenda. Ask your team what they have completed, what’s on the list to do, and what ideas they may have to help them develop further.
• Make sure there is time allocated within your team members’ calendars to complete training. You might choose to block out 1-2 hours per week in the calendar for uninterrupted study time, or allocate a number of days per month/quarter for short courses. Don’t forget to check in and make sure your team are actually using the time for education purposes.
• Include compliance training as a KPI or core task within the job description for each team member. Discuss how well the staff member has met this KPI during their performance review. If they have not been successful, ask them what you can do as their manager to help them meet their goal in the future.

2. Align training with team goals

Compliance training is more effective if your team understands why they are doing it and how it can lead to better outcomes for the team (and themselves). This is a fairly easy task if the training is self-directed or required to progress into a higher position.

Mandatory compliance training, on the other hand, is typically positioned as something that has to be done – a chore. And chores are often put off until they cannot be ignored.

Instead, discuss with your team how mandatory training can benefit them. For example, it might improve their performance, reduce the time it takes to complete a task or even lead to new opportunities.

When your team has completed the compliance training, ask them to reflect on whether it has made their job easier, or helped them to achieve a goal or target. Discuss what else could be done to continue to improve.

3. Celebrate small training wins

Create an environment where compliance training is in the spotlight, not the shadows. At regular intervals, invite one team member to share something they have recently learned with the rest of the group. Ask the individual to give a short presentation on the training topic: what it covered, how they undertook the training, how it has impacted their role, etc.

The objective is not to train the other team members, but to highlight how undertaking the training has benefited the individual (and how, in turn, this will benefit the wider team).

Don’t forget to include yourself in the list of presenters. What new skill have you learned in the past quarter? How has it helped you to become a better leader? How could it benefit the other members of your team?

Remember, management is responsible for setting the culture of the organisation. How you choose to incorporate compliance training into your day-to-day management activities will influence how your team views the importance of ongoing education. Make it a priority, and your team will not only develop the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs to a high standard, but they will also feel engaged and motivated at work.

We’re here to help; if there is any training that you or your team needs, feel free to reach out and we will be happy to assist.