Believe it or not, HR at varied instances is more important to an organization than the sales team. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, there is hardly any aspect of a business that the HR department does not impact, making it one of the most valuable and an integral part of any company. It supports the development, growth or even responsible for consolidation of activities and many times for strategic planning. Whether it’s having sufficient funding to cover enhanced labor costs or focusing on the initiative that demand expertise which the company lacks, HR  and strategic planning are expected to go hand in hand.

In a global knowledge economy, irrespective of whether the function of HR team is support-oriented, strategic or operational, HR services should match the business model, add measurable value and enact the role of a true business partner. Therefore, under no circumstances, HR can afford to go wrong. In fact, if your HR department makes a mistake or happens to get it wrong, your organization which is performing well can feel pain real quick. Your organization may need to seek legal council or may need to take help from an accounting firm for further answers and documentation.

A single discrimination or wrongful discharge claim is expensive. In such a scenario, offering compliance training is critical for every organization because failure to follow certain rules, laws, and regulations usually leads to severe penalties and destroy a company’s reputation. When a business makes concerted efforts to provide compliance training to the HR team structure because it will enable them to educate the employees on company policies and also ensure compliance with laws and regulations.

Evolution of new-age HR

In the past, HR was a position filled by a Senior Secretary, Executive Secretary or Accountant but today’s HR professionals are expected to have a clear understanding and navigate numerous laws and regulations that govern the employment relationship. Some of the common types of laws regulating the employer-employee relationship that the HR professionals should be aware of include: Federal Civil Rights Laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

While the primary function of HR professionals is largely to identify, hire and retain the people the organization will depend on to achieve its goals and execute its strategy, but nowadays they are expected to negotiate specific benefits with vendors and manage compensation and benefit programs for employees which are also regulated. Moreover, the HR professionals associated with the private-sector organizations are expected to be aware of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) reporting, disclosure and fiduciary requirements among other items.

So, all in all, the role of HR professionals is challenging. Does your HR team need to refresh their skills? Is your HR manager needs a better understanding about the employment-related issues? Well, it’s time you provide your HR team with compliance training.

Why compliance training matters for HR

HR Compliance ensures laws and policies are being followed. Simply writing policies and procedures is not enough. After these are established, these must be carefully communicated and implemented to the organization as a whole. HR compliance works best when integrated with the organization’s strategic plan and the leadership encourages employees to follow them

 These are some of the key reasons why HR compliance training assumes relevance in today’s world of business -

 1) Attrition - 22% of newly hired employees leave their positions within 45 days of being hired; 33% of bosses surveyed said they knew within the first 90 seconds of an interview if they would hire that candidate or not.

 2) Education and training -  Since 76% of high-performance employees say trade mastery is more important than money when considering career decisions, the HR team should be aware of the current of regulatory and legal requirements and be well informed about employment laws.

3) Employee Handbook: Every organization needs to maintain an employee handbook. This means it is revised as and when necessary. This assumes relevance because it helps communicate an organization’s policies, procedures, and expectations to every employee. An employee handbook and each revision should be updated prior to being distributed.

4) Compliance audits: It is recommended to conduct regular HR compliance audits as non-compliance causes great risks for organizations. Staying up to date on compliance audits needs to be part of the plan to avoid legal liabilities.

In simple words, HR professionals have a lot to manage, therefore needing to undergo compliance training is key for them.

How companies can help HR professionals achieve compliance training needs

Earlier in the past, compliance training involved face-to-face session. While this method is effective but has limitations. Moreover, classroom sessions, seminars, and other instructor-led training aren’t cost-efficient. This type of training is expensive because it involves the cost of hiring an instructor, cost of compensating employees’ travel expenses and probably the cost of booking a venue. Apart from the direct costs, a business may also witness losses due to the absence of those staff members attending the courses.

Switching to an online training solution or using a learning management system (LMS) which the learners are free to access whenever and wherever they happen to be is an excellent option. It will help you save money and ensures better use of your employees’ time. In fact, the instructional videos will prove to be a worthwhile return on investment with an LMS because it will let you deliver the same video content and also take advantage of the eLearning platform’s assessment and reporting features. You don’t have to rely on guesswork and will let you find out which videos are working for you and which aren’t. After a viable reporting solution is implemented, you won’t be needed to ponder if your HR team have grasped their compliance training that will surely give you extra peace of mind.

 Key features of a good LMS platform -

- Single Training Repository - You would be able to store all your training material in one place- video, audio, PPT, reference documents etc.

- Anytime, anywhere training - A mobile LMS will allow your learners to complete training courses as per their own convenience from a location of their choice.

- Measure learners progress - Create and access reports with different levels of management. Also, keep a close watch on how the learners are progressing.-

- Safe and secure - With an LMS you don’t have to worry about data security. In fact, you can impose access restriction wherever needed as per your own convenience.

Industry experts feel that engagement is key to delivering training that actually works, therefore choosing the right one that effectively delivers compliance training and enjoyable for the learner is important.

Summing up

Are you using any online training platform for achieving your organizational needs? Do let us know in the comments below.