There have been a number of important technological developments in online compliance training. Craig Donaldson examines these trends and looks at how HR can maximise the return on investment in online compliance training
Online compliance training has evolved over the
years to become a sophisticated, yet cost-effective,
method of delivering training, and there have been
a number of recent technological developments in
the area, according to experts in the field.
The improvement in standards-based integration of learn
ing assets with Learning Management Systems (LMS) will
open new doors for flexibility and maintenance of online
training content, while Open Learning Services Architecture
(OLSA) is also gaining traction as a preferred integration
method for the online learning industry, according to Julian
Fenwick, CEO of Blake Dawson Technology, which offers
a web-based legal compliance training solution called salt.
The implementation of OLSA allows for the separation of
content repository from a client’s LMS, he says, and organi
sations that have an LMS that has OLSA, such as NetDi
mensions, Saba, SumTotal and others, can benefit immediately.
Rob Stewart, director of sales and marketing for SAFE
TRAC, which was launched by Minter Ellison Lawyers in
1999 and provides a number of compliance training and
testing solutions, also says that ways of maintaining up-
to-date content and data are becoming far less onerous
because different platforms are able to accommodate and
cross pollinate each other. “Customised solutions are
becoming more and more commonplace as online tools are
developed to make this easier to achieve,” he says.
Adam Dunkley, marketing manager for e3Learning –
which provides a number of solutions, including a learn
ing and compliance management system called LearnForce
– also notes that technology in online compliance training
is moving rapidly, and one of the key areas of growth is the
need for online hosted solutions to integrate with existing
HR systems. “This will ensure records between systems
are synchronised, reducing administration,” he says.
Improving results and ROI
Where online compliance training is considered as insurance
against the risk of a breach, it is easier to consider return
on investment (ROI) as just insuring business collateral
against loss or damage, according to Stewart.
“However, users need to see value in the time they invest,
so the mere fact that they are exposed to knowledge train
ing that can assist them, not only in the incumbent role
but for future roles, is quite powerful,” he says. “On from
that, it is important that they are engaged by judicious use
of scenarios and graphics that relate directly to their
role/business/industry.”
Dunkley says the starting point of good ROI is negoti
ating a good deal. “Don’t get locked into contracts – there
are enough suppliers out there who will not charge you
exit fees and penalties for leaving contracts,” he says.
In gaining traction with any online compliance train
ing, Dunkley says any such programs must be manda
tory. “We have seen many e-learning rollouts fail
because companies insist on a voluntary program. The
reality is that people are too busy to voluntarily take up
compliance training. Our advice – choose a great prod
uct that is engaging and educationally sound and make
it compulsory,” he says.
Fenwick says that in developing an ROI methodology
for compliance training, it is important to look at the pos
itive factors of implementing a compliance culture in your
organisation. “It is easy to say that by having a Trade Prac
tices training program in place, we have reduced our risk
of exposure to fines and other penalties under the Trade
Practices Act, but this has to be matched with data inform
ing us of the risk,” he says.
“Today it isn’t enough to just report on how many staff
completed a course. Legal counsel, risk and compliance
managers need data that will help them quickly see trends
and act on those trends for continuous improvement and
risk mitigation. Senior management wants metrics linked
to business objectives.”
Technology trends
Over the coming three to five years, Dunkley says, every
company in Australia will either be using online compliance
training or exploring its benefits. The cost comparison of
traditional training versus online for compliance is “too
great a divide”, he says.
Businesses will also have a broader selection of “off
the shelf” courses and a library of internally built
courses, according to Dunkley. A key to success will be
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model, a
collection of standards and specifications for web-based
e-learning). “This international standard will ensure
that courses built internally, from multiple suppliers and
custom developers, can all be run seamlessly on the same
system,” Dunkley says.
With broadband becoming more readily available,
Stewart predicts richer and more sophisticated solutions
that can operate only in a high-bandwidth environments,
such as rich plug-ins and media players underscored by
online assessments.
In the future, Stewart also says, outcomes from online
compliance training will need to be reported in much
smarter ways, and an organisation’s compliance policy will
drive the behaviour of the management, analysis and report
presentation of its online compliance management system.
With the advent of the global financial crisis, Fenwick
says the online compliance training market is sure to grow,
as organisations move toward e-learning for improved cost
benefit and as governments react to the situation with an
increase in regulation.
He predicts a number of key changes in content and
delivery, including: an increase in role/risk-based curric
ula to minimise unnecessary training and improve user
interest; an increase in on-demand resources, refreshers
and updates; and enhancement of testing and reporting
functionality to meet the increasing demands of regulators
and management.
Key factors to include when measuring ROI
• What boards and CEOs need to know about compliance activities in their organisation
• The link between training and positive compliance outcomes
• Business result linkage through staff satisfaction, improved brand reputation and other factors
• Actionable metrics which identify potential and actual
