When well-designed, compliance training platforms automate the data that your company relies on for reducing risk, ensuring that employees are working within the law, and keeping documentation accessible and organized. For us, that means keeping training and other tools at users’ fingertips while equipping admins with insights, metrics, and reporting tools so it’s easy to spot patterns and keep everything running smoothly (and automatically).

In the spirit of this week’s Camp Ethena theme (it’s Talent Show time, folks!) we’re exploring some of the top reasons companies have chosen Ethena for their employee training — and the features they’re using to create better, more safer workplaces.

Why does compliance training fail?

Most online compliance training fails. That’s not hyperbole — it’s a fact. Gallup data shows that just 17% of participants rate their online program as excellent, and only 11% strongly agree that their coworkers apply lessons learned in the training to their everyday work.

If employees aren’t putting their new knowledge into practice, what’s the point of having the training? It fulfills your legal obligation, but at what cost?

Here’s why most compliance training fails:

  • Lifeless content: Most compliance training content is drier than a week-old piece of toast. You have to pay your employees to watch it (literally) because it’s so outright boring and unengaging.
  • Shoddy delivery: Watching a bland 30-minute course every 365 days won’t impact change. It’s about as effective as cramming right before your big college exams. Sure, you might pass the tests — but did you remember anything?
  • Irrelevant and unrelatable: Training that isn’t personalized comes off foreign. Employees question, “When would I ever be in that situation? How will that ever apply to me?”

Poor training doesn’t just fail to solve issues; it causes new ones. Research shows that sub-par training and adoption of practices can lead employees to “violate the formal compliance rules in a widespread fashion.”

“Traditional training just isn’t effective at behavior change.”

Roxanne Petraeus, CEO and Co-founder @ Ethena

Training features that help our customers build better workplaces

1. Content quality

You wouldn’t force your teenagers to watch Dora the Explorer, would you? Then why would you require your employees to watch a dull, sleep-inducing training on sexual harassment prevention? No offense to Dora, but making adults answer questions about primary colors is just as boring as required compliance training.

At Ethena, we design our content to be engaging, practical, and delightfully cringe-free. Our award-winning creatives and expert educators create fine-tuned content with advice from our in-house legal counsel. We deliver it in various formats to keep learning fresh and exciting — kinda like your Instagram feed. Here are some examples of the different formats we use:

  • Bite-sized articles
  • Unique videos
  • Podcast-esque lessons
  • Colorful comics

Jen Hecht, VP of People at Posit, stressed the critical role of people operations in navigating the challenges of scaling while preserving the company’s mission and values. Discussing the positive impact of our unconventional, humor-infused compliance training, she highlights how it enhances employee engagement and makes heavy topics less intimidating:

“Ethena’s training doesn’t stop at compliance; the humor within helps us build an ethical, inclusive, and safe company culture. It removes anxiety and fear, making serious topics more approachable and engaging to our employees.”

Jen Hecht, VP of People Operations @ Posit

“Ethena’s continuous content updates, seamless integration, and scalability have been invaluable for our HR team. It’s not just cost-effective; it’s a program that evolves alongside our growing organization, making it an ideal solution for us.”

Greg Van Kleeck, Total Rewards Manager @ Starburst

2. Admin functionality

Manually organizing and managing compliance training can be a time-consuming, headache-inducing job: What training does our NYC-based employees need? How about that new hire in Maine? Or the contractor in California?

“Ethena is administratively less burdensome than our previous platform.”

Lauren Gagliardi, Senior Human Resources Manager @ BetterUp

It’s a lot to oversee on your own. Ethena does all the heavy lifting so your HR team can focus on high-priority items and the insights behind the numbers. No more trivial reminders or follow-ups — our platform delivers the right training to the right employee at the right time, without causing training fatigue or compliance burnout.

Snap Inc. (parent company of Snapchat) began their partnership with Ethena to bolster a user-friendly compliance culture, emphasizing the significance of manager roles in ethical training, with features like Team Insights enhancing efficiency and accountability. Nicole Diaz, Global Head of Integrity & Compliance at Snap, advocated for Ethena as a contemporary, culture-fitting training platform, contrasting it with other outdated systems.

“All of the great admin features are a huge added bonus. Being able to send a one-click reminder to all overdue learners is so much easier than having to pull a report, copy and paste those emails into a separate email, and then send individual reminders.”

Nicole Diaz, Global Head of Integrity & Compliance Legal @ Snap

3. Legal compliance

On September 13, 2023, the California State Legislature passed California Senate Bill 553 (SB 553). This bill is focused on improving workplace safety by requiring employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan (WVPP). It aims to reduce incidents of workplace violence and provide additional protections for employees.

Nearly all California employers (as well as out of state employers with employees in-state) are impacted by SB 553. With a July 1, 2024 deadline looming, the Ethena team got to work creating a hub of resources dedicated to compliance with the new bill, including a Workplace Violence Prevention Checklist, WVPP Template, as well as a brand-new training course on Workplace Violence Prevention.

Zoë Johannas, Head of People & Recruiting at Superhuman, shares how she knew Ethena was the right partner:

“Ethena made getting compliant with SB 553 easy and actionable with templates and other resources. We didn’t even look at other vendors; we trusted Ethena to support us fully.”

Zoë Johannas, Head of People & Recruiting @ Superhuman

4. Reputation

Considering a business’s reputation before partnering with them is essential because it directly impacts your own company’s image, trustworthiness, and long-term success. A company with a strong, positive reputation is likely to be reliable, ethical, and committed to delivering a quality product, which can enhance your business’s credibility and brand value.

Conversely, partnering with a business that has a poor reputation could expose your company to risks like legal issues, customer dissatisfaction, or reputational damage by association. A good reputation often reflects a history of successful collaborations and responsible business practices, ensuring that your partnership is more likely to be productive and mutually beneficial.

“I was seeking a vendor well-versed in the science behind effective training, one that wouldn’t inadvertently harm our culture or reinforce negative stereotypes. Ethena has lived up to this, speaking the same language of values and ethics that we hold dear.”

Jen Hecht, VP of People Operations @ Posit