We can develop an effective mandatory training program by following a best-practice cycle of planning, implementation, and evaluation. Let’s examine the core activities within each phase.

1. Planning Mandatory Training

Within the planning phases, these are the core best-practice strategies:

• Conduct an annual needs assessment, which may be referred to as a training needs analysis.
• Identify and validate the need to include an item in the training plan using data.
• Review the target audience and job roles: who are your learner cohorts? Have their needs, names, roles, or scopes changed?
• Determine the desired learning outcomes of mandatory training: compliance awareness, risk mitigation, or quality care.
• Scheduling training using a staggered approach means spreading out the delivery of training over some time rather than cramming all the content into the first few days.

If the training does not focus on one of these outcomes: compliance awareness, risk mitigation, or quality care, question why it is being included. Is it simply because it has always been part of the program, or is there a specific request for its inclusion? It is important to understand and question the rationale behind these decisions and check if the data is supporting the need for staff to complete this compulsory training.

2. Implementing Mandatory Training

Within the implementation phase, the core activities to complete include:

• Assign and deliver training.
• Optimise engagement and effectiveness.
• Monitor for red flags in compliance.

As training is being delivered ideally in a staggered manner, these red flags can serve as important indicators that not only is compliance low but also that the training may need to be more effectively designed or implemented.

• Increasing “missed” items.
• Extended “overdue” periods.
• Extended “open” periods.
• Increased number of overdue items.
• Increased number of skipped items.
• Requests for extensions.
• Training plans with items above the industry benchmark.

3. Evaluating Mandatory Training

The phase of the best-practice cycle is evaluation. Effective evaluation needs to be considered in two phases: accurate reporting and evaluation.

Accurate record-keeping and reporting on learning typically focus on the measurement of completion rates. This is critical to maintaining compliance with regulatory standards. During an audit, L&D teams need to produce accurate and reliable learning records. We also need to look beyond reporting as a compliance function only.

​Evaluation of the outcomes of organisational learning is best practice. We want to demonstrate the impact of mandatory training and L&D on the broader organisational goals. Well-integrated education and quality initiatives can improve care, reduce risks, and yield measurable cost savings for an organisation.

Improving Evaluation of Mandatory Training

You are not alone if you are tracking and reporting on completions only. Simple yet impactful steps can help us move from measuring compliance to evaluating whether a change in practice or improvement occurs as a result of training or education. For example:

• Keep it simple - Not all training activities need to be evaluated at the highest level.
• Small steps - Pick an activity or program and identify which level of data best evaluates the effort.
• Conserve effort - Align a training program's effort, duration or cost with the evaluation method.
• Set a goal — If you are not currently measuring beyond low-level evaluation data, consider setting a goal to collect one instance of higher-level evaluation data in the next six months.

Mandatory Training Best-Practices

In a recent webinar on Mandatory Training Best-Practices, I explained the core activities within each of these phases and finished by busting a few myths along the way. I encourage L&D teams to move towards evaluating meaningful outcomes of mandatory training: change in practice, an outcome, a change in care, rather than just completions. This is what we’re seeing high-performing organisations do.

From Compliance to Capability

This webinar was the second of a free four-part series titled From Compliance to Capability. Register now for upcoming webinars that review best practices for improving compliance and building workforce capability.

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