Introduction

“Ethics and compliance training” includes regulatory compliance, conduct, employment law and information security training. Topics as diverse as workplace harassment, wage and hour, code of conduct, cyber security, and anti-bribery and corruption all fit within this broad definition. Further, this definition includes all forms of training on ethics and compliance topics such as online, in-person, virtual and blended training approaches.

In 2018, NAVEX Global partnered with an independent research firm to survey professionals from a wide range of industries about their approach to building an effective ethics and compliance (E&C) program. The survey represents over 1,200 respondents from around the globe who influence or manage their organization’s E&C program, including 801 individuals who are actively managing or influencing the training function within their organization.

Use the insights presented in this report for the inspiration, justification and direction necessary to make key decisions about the future of your organization’s training approach.

  • Assess the quality and effectiveness of your own ethics and compliance program, as well as your training program within it, and whether your program is effectively protecting your organization from risk.
  • Evaluate your program against peers and discover pathways toward program maturity.
  • Benchmark your training program against industry norms and best practices.
  • Leverage data and recommendations to improve your program effectiveness and efficiency.

How to use this report

This analysis reflects the status of the ethics and compliance training market, trends and best practices. It is a benchmark for ethics and compliance professionals to evaluate trends and best practices and make informed decisions on how to improve their own programs. In this report, we analyze the performance of ethics and compliance training programs within the larger context of a complete compliance program.

Many organizations have compliance training programs in place today. These programs help build a culture of ethics and respect and protect their people, reputation and bottom line. Yet, many programs are challenged by a lack of dedicated budget and resources, often as a result of the difficulty program leaders and administrators have demonstrating the value of a training program. When faced with increasing demands for training despite limited resources, demonstrating value and performance is critical.

Executive Summary

Several central themes emerged from this year’s analysis:

  • Training Is Most Effective Part of Compliance Programs: More than any other element of the compliance ecosystem, training was identified as the program component that prevented misconduct and ethical violations over the past three years. This was especially apparent in Maturing and Advanced programs – as training clearly can also help shape a better culture, increase productivity, attract and keep better people and reduce employee cynicism.
  • Measuring ROI Remains Elusive for Most Organizations: Most organizations that invest in training programs seek some measurement of ROI. Yet, training ROI remains hard to quantify. Several organizations use semi-quantitative factors, such as fewer conduct issues, reduced employee turnover and per-employee productivity measures to assess training impact. Many also use more qualitative indicators, such as improved market reputation, easier recruiting for top talent, improved trust in organizational leadership and employee engagement.  
  • To learn more of the key findings, download the full report.