How to Make Compliance Training Fun and Interactive
Helping your workforce maintain compliance is an important task for every organization looking out for the well-being of their employees and quality of their products and services. However, the subject of compliance is often dry and learning about it can be tedious. You need a new approach that will engage your employees and make the learning process enjoyable.
If you’re at a loss for how to make a training session fun, look no further. Consider these fun compliance training ideas to improve your employees’ learning experience. These tips will help you motivate your workers to want to learn about compliance and help them retain information from the training sessions.
1. Get Out of the Building
Sometimes all a person needs to get interested in a training event is a new environment. When you select the space for your training or workshop, think about how it can be best customised to your needs. A fresh, new location might motivate your employees to take a new approach to learning.
Also, an off-site seminar room can serve as neutral territory. This is great if one of your goals is to promote cooperation amongst departments. Create a safe space that welcomes open communication and all levels of participation.
2. Make it Relevant
The key to adult learning is helping them understand why it’s important to them. Lead with the “why” early in the session. Invite your trainees to share personal stories related to the compliance issues being discussed. Use these stories to relate back to the current topic.
The fun here comes from the flow of being engaged in a conversation rather than the dullness of a lecture. Not all adults will react positively to a training session that requires a lot of physical exertion. However, most will respond well to affirmations of their importance. Inviting them to share their stories and acknowledging their input does just that.
3. Make it Interactive
Nothing makes a training more boring than sitting for hours while one person commands a podium. Create exercises and activities that allow your participants to get creative. These could be as simple as a case study requiring small groups to discuss a problem or as ambitious as a compliance-themed game show.
The nature of the activity should be dictated by the goal of the lesson. Case studies are great if you’re trying to promote critical thinking, communication, and problem solving. A trivia-style game show helps promote fact retention. If your compliance is process-based, consider setting up an obstacle course and awarding points for fastest time and best adherence to safe procedures.
4. Make it a Game
A small amount of competition encourages learners to stay focused on the experience. Gamifying training has proven effective at increasing engagement and enjoyment amongst learners. This isn’t the same as playing games like those described above. Instead, you’ll turn the entire training session into a game.
Look at your learning objectives and turn those into game goals. Award points or badges to participants who help the trainer meet those goals. Keep a leader board to track achievements and have prizes ready to award at the end of the session. You can have your trainees play as individuals or as a team.
5. Get Endorsements
Wanting to hang out with the cool kids doesn’t stop after high school. If an employee knows their leadership sees value in the training then they’ll start to see it too. Before the session, work with managers to get them to promote the session.
Look for ways to get the leaders invested in the training – they can contribute ideas or help facilitate. If they’re excited about the training, they’ll pass that on to other employees. Everyone wants to look good in front of the boss.
6. Respect Everyone’s Time
Nothing kills joy faster than feeling like a presenter is taking ten times longer than they need to cover a topic. You should already have an understanding of your learner’s competencies before developing the training. Respect that knowledge and keep reviews of old material short to leave time for new information.
Plan your schedule around the material rather than trying to make your content fit into an extended time frame. Sometimes after you’ve set your agenda and rehearsed the presentations and activities, you’ll realise you’ve budgeted too much time. If that’s the case, end the session early. Your workers will appreciate the brevity and you’ll seem like a more effective trainer.
These are just a few ideas to help you create a fun compliance training. It all boils down to knowing your audience. Involving them in the learning process is key to creating an enjoyable learning experience.
