ANALYST INSIGHT: Trace’s compliance training curricula has been deployed by hundreds of multinational companies to educate their employees and supply chains. Offered here are some insights into the training process and the content taught. 

Legal compliance matters such as anti-bribery, sanctions compliance, prevention of illicit trafficking and anti-money laundering are fundamental parts of the “G” in ESG: governance. A common challenge from multinational member companies at TRACE — a non-profit business association dedicated to anti-bribery, compliance and good governance — is creating a shared knowledge base on complex topics throughout the entire value chain and ensuring its effectiveness. Companies with tens of thousands of employees across complex supply chains, for example, have a lot to consider when building a compliance training program: language, cultural factors, applicability of topics, timing and cadence, and more. Moreover, to keep training interesting and accommodate increasingly short attention spans, compliance teams must consider how to make training “stick.” Based on experience developing training curricula that has been deployed by hundreds of multi-national companies with their employees and value chains, here are five considerations we keep top of mind. 

1. Tailor training where possible. Employees, third-party intermediaries, suppliers and distributors, sales agents and other parties in your supply chain may have different training needs depending on their job function, exposure to risk, region, existing knowledge level and other factors. Some companies conduct due diligence or risk assessments to identify gaps in their supply chain’s shared knowledge base, and assign training accordingly. Others utilize different types of required training for respective tiers in their supply chain, rolled out at varying frequencies. Tailoring required training can eliminate redundancies and ensure learners are receiving content that is applicable to their roles, responsibilities and risk level. 

2. Use the time between required trainings to reinforce key concepts. From short refresher courses to one-page training aids and memes, share bite-sized multimedia content with relevant parties in your supply chain to remind them of compliance-related values, company policies and laws. This is also a good time to reiterate the tangible importance of training concepts through videos, podcasts and news stories. As an example, TRACE developed the short, publicly available video Bribery’s Deadly Consequences, which can be utilized by multinational companies seeking to keep anti-bribery compliance top of mind. 

3. Leverage real-world lessons learned and possible scenarios. Compliance training should include “lessons learned” from any past incidents at the company, which can be scrubbed of personal details and anonymized if necessary. Whether real or fictional, scenario-based training can better prepare employees and third parties for real-world challenges they might encounter in their day-to-day responsibilities.  

4. Make training as engaging as possible. Because multi-tasking and short attention spans are our default settings these days, it can be challenging to keep learners engaged. Building in features such as gamification, a 360-degree perspective, avatars, plot and character development, and required learning assessments not only increases learner engagement, but can make key concepts “stick.” 

5. Consider the learner. Are some employees and third parties required to take training that has no relevance to them? Is there no test-out option for more advanced learners? Have you scheduled required training during a major holiday? Is the content available in the local language? Logistical challenges can create major obstacles to training delivery, but they’re relatively easy to eliminate. 

Training employees across complex supply chains can be fraught with obstacles, from timing to relevance. Taking steps to keep learners engaged and invested in training content is proven to increase learner retention of key concepts, a foundational part of protecting your company from reputational, financial and legal damage that results from compliance violations.