Compliance Training: Effective or Avoided

Nothing makes employees cringe like employee training. Add the word “compliance” and you’ll have your staff running for the hills. Training brings to mind hours of monotone lectures, a total snoozefest where employees will have to fight to stay awake. Boring or not, training is a necessity according to the OIG, and one that every organization needs to take seriously to run an efficient, and compliant practice. However, some techniques are a lot more effective than others.

In the United States alone, organizations spend about $135 Billion to train individuals each year. Research on practices reveals the most effective training methods. These include unique preferences for adult learners as well as proven principles for training in a work setting.

Science indicates that successful training does four things:

1. Conveys information
2. Demonstrates the desired attitude
3. Creates opportunity to practice the knowledge
4. Gives feedback to the trainee on how they’re doing so they can make adjustments

The most effective training takes the learners into consideration and teaches them in a way that is best for them. For example, adult learners absorb information differently than do children. For adults to get the most out of training, and for companies to get the most out of employees, it’s smart to cater your training methods to your audience.

Knowles' 4 Principles Of Adult Learning:

1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction.
2. Experience, including making mistakes, provides the basis for learning activities.
3. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their jobs.
4. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-centered.

Watch my free webinar on-demand, “Master Compliance Training: The Science Behind Successful Employee Education,” where I cover effective training principles in general as well as the approaches, concepts and topics that are unique to training in the context of healthcare compliance.