Alternative name for compliance/regulatory/required courses?

Oct 07, 2014

Hi there -

I'm putting together a portal for our learning courses and my boss is looking for a better or alternative label for the "Compliance" bucket.  The purpose is to include all "core" or required courses (not all of them are regulatory or compliance in nature).  What do other companies call their set of required/basic courses that could include compliance courses?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Kara

7 Replies
Adele Sommers

Hi, Kara!

Having worked in the corporate world for decades, I also lament the lack of creativity in typical training-program naming conventions. Sometimes it seems like companies are dragging employees into training by their hair, instead of making direct connections to how specific types of training will help them better carry out the company's strategic plan.

So, here's an idea... since a company's required courses really ought to be in lock-step with its vision, mission, and goals, that training might be called "mission-critical" or "strategic" training. I'd be curious to hear whether that idea resonates with your boss...

Adele

Bruce Graham

Kara...

We only train in corporate-land for 3 reasons:

1. Increase Profit

2. Reduce Losses

3. Reduce Corporate and Business Risk.

Everything ties back to those - or at least IT SHOULD....but many course sponsors forget this basic fact. Your courses have NOTHING to do with compliance...they are about compliance SO THAT XYZ HAPPENS, (or does not happen) - ultimately one of the above. If you were on the Board, you would have to talk in these terms, and explain to investors why you were doing the training/how you to back to these 3. That is the key. Go back to business basics for your solution, move out of the "training" comfort zone.

Compliance normally addresses 3. first, and then 1, and usually 2 in some way.

So....

"Annual Health and Safety Compliance Training" is really - "How to avoid spending weeks in hospital!" or alternatively "Help us keep our insurance bills down!"

"Working at Height 101" is really "How not to fall off ladders and go SPLAT!".

"Safety in the Laboratory" is "Mummy - why have you got less limbs than you had this morning", (I used this line, or at least very close to it once in a H&S course for government research scientists!   )

Just because training is deadly serious, it does NOT have to be deadly dull. Get your boss to be brave, have some fun, and get people to enjoy the training rather than go ".....oh....here we go again..."

Get then to tie the training back to the business - WHY do you REALLY have to do it?

Answer that and it all becomes a lot simpler - perhaps just group them around the 3 training imperatives?


  • Courses that help increase our profits and increase our bonuses.

  • Courses that reduce our losses and make us a better company.

  • Courses that stop us having to pay ASTRONOMICAL insurance bills.

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