Most organizations think their compliance training efforts reduce regulatory fines; however, a 2016 survey found only 66 percent of organizations measure the effectiveness of their compliance training. Considering the cost of compliance violations, you would think more organizations would want definitive performance improvement data.
So, why not measure? Often, it's simply a lack of infrastructure. But this issue is something that emerging learning technologies may be well equipped to solve. Immersive technology such as virtual reality and interactive video, when paired with back-end data tracking and analytics, can be a highly effective performance measurement tool. Moreover, integrating these learning technologies into your training can increase engagement and knowledge retention.
How Do We Learn?
According to the NTL Institute of Applied Behavioral Science, the method of learning has a direct effect on knowledge retention. This research looks at seven different categories of learning—lecture, reading, audio-visual, demonstration, discussion, practice doing, and teaching others—and ranks them least to most effective.
The two factors that determine the effectiveness of the type of instruction were passive versus active learning methods and how many senses the learning method required. Lecturing was the most passive and least sensory category, making it the least effective. Teaching others required the most active participation and required the learner to use their auditory, visual, and kinesthetic systems, making it the most effective method.
Presumably, we may see a similar effect by incorporating more engaging, immersive learning modalities into our compliance training. Here are some examples of how that could look.
Learning Technology for Compliance
Virtual Reality (VR) for Insurance
A branch of insurance adjusters that evaluates damage after car accidents was spending large amounts of money to purchase vehicles with specific kinds of damage. Then their learners trained by doing on-site evaluations to practice identifying and categorizing the damage to the vehicle. In this case, AR/VR training technology was the solution. By creating a virtual environment for vehicle evaluations, the training team was able to push controlled content to a larger audience within a much shorter timeframe.
Ethics Simulations
Change Healthcare approached AllenComm to put together a new code of conduct program. Ethics training may not be the most riveting subject, which certainly doesn't help learners retain the content, but the training method can still create engagement. Our solution was to build a complex simulation that allowed learners to apply their critical thinking skills to realistic situations. The simulations were an interactive decision-making model based on compliance issues unique to Change Healthcare. By promoting active participation within the course design, we increased content consumption and completion rates.
The Future of Learning Technology
Learning technology continues to improve our ability to engage learners and create more realistic experiences. When used for compliance training, it can re-create environments or build scenarios for our learners to explore. Though there isn't as much research around these technologies in the corporate training space, we do understand the importance of active learning. This tech has tremendous potential to augment our processes, but how these advancements will affect compliance training remains to be seen. At the least, the potential to minimize the financial burden and provide a more effective training system is promising.
