It’s hard to overstate the importance of compliance e-learning. Your employees’ day-to-day activities represent your company and their relationship with regulatory bodies. Undertrained professionals are particularly dangerous in finance, healthcare, or law. So, keeping up to date on new policies and procedures not only keeps your company out of trouble but keeps both employees and clients safe.
Challenges with Adult Learning
Adults learners have the deck stacked against them in many ways. Some common challenges for adult learners are self-doubt and a lack of time. Institutions are often responsible for providing resources to learners, but it is easy to understand why adult learners with other responsibilities would have trouble further dividing their time and attention. After spending years away from formal education, entering a digital classroom to continue professional development can be a challenge. Moreover, new methodologies, regulations, and technology can all be overwhelming.
Learning Theories to Target Compliance E-Learning
Research from different fields in psychology suggests that adults may not learn effectively through traditional learning methods when compared to children. Neuroscientists note decreases in neuroplasticity: The capacity of brains to restructure in the processes of learning. Other theories, like Knowle’s andragogy, note distinct differences in the cognitive processes of learning between adults and children. For example, Knowle proposes adults are motivated by the immediate application of knowledge to make their lives easier. This idea serves as a foundation of the instructional design trend to explain that training content is valuable because it is relevant to learners’ work. Moreover, Knowle emphasizes the need to integrate new information by building upon prior knowledge and the importance of prompting critical thinking.
Adult learners can use their prior work experience to contextualize content from a compliance e-learning course. So, be sure to use relevant examples when creating training activities. Training simulations can be effective for recreating situations in which to apply newly acquired information. Experiential learning strategies, for instance, prompt employees to learn by doing. Adult learners will better absorb new information by putting the training content in the context of their daily work and by using their knowledge to navigate relevant challenges during training.
Tips for Better Compliance E-Learning
General theories are interesting, but how can you turn these ideas into tangible results for your people? There are some specific tips that can be used to incorporate adult learning theories into your compliance e-learning coursework. Providing clear and understandable language to your learners will help them apply the concepts to their own work, especially with technical terminology. Always avoid or define jargon, even if there is an assumption of knowledge among your learners. Make videos and written examples available for subsequent review so that learners can refer to those assets on-the-job.
Your compliance e-learning courses are important for your employees, your consumers, and your company’s ability to continue to operate. Use these tips to find the best way for your company to work every day within the context of the law.