Survey of Workplace Compliance and Business Ethics Training

Transcription

1 IFNASCI IGLHI T AS T AO NR D S T GR UE NI DES Survey of Workplace Compliance and Business Ethics Training As of June 30, 2003 Sponsored by Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. Does your learning make a difference?

2 about eli Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. (ELI ) develops integrated learning solutions that assist organizations in changing workplace behaviors, communicating standards of business conduct, and building a proper legal and ethical work environment that helps minimize disruptions and the risk of costly lawsuits and scandals. ELI s proven learning methodology focuses on outcomes that impact bottom-line business results. By taking complex legal issues and presenting them in everyday language with easy-to-remember guidelines, the programs provide participants with the tools they need to fulfill their responsibilities for maintaining a productive, legal, and diverse workplace. The ELI curriculum provides interactive, engaging classroom and online learning experiences that reach all constituencies within an organization, ensuring a consistent message is communicated throughout. Since the company s founding in 1986, ELI instructional designers, legal experts, and publishing specialists have worked closely with a number of organizations to develop customized training programs on a wide variety of legal and compliance topics. ELI works in partnership with clients to assess specific organizational, cultural, and training needs and then identify and develop appropriate solutions in terms of content, implementation, and delivery mechanisms. ELI also offers specialized learning solutions addressing legal and compliance issues in the fields of banking, healthcare, and safety, among others. Additionally, ELI programs have been used to satisfy court-imposed settlements and consent decrees. ELI s flagship courses, Civil Treatment for Managers and Civil Treatment for Employees, have won numerous awards over the past decade, including Top Ten Training designations from Human Resource Executive magazine, the Distinguished Legal Service Award from Corporate Legal Times, the MCAi GOLDEN Reel Award, and the Silver AXIEM Award for Civil Treatment for Managers Online. 1

3 introduction As the legal and regulatory environment surrounding workplace compliance issues continues to evolve, training initiatives have grown both in scope and delivery. Corporate scandals, landmark legal decisions, public demand for greater corporate responsibility, and an ever-changing and increasingly global competitive landscape have all spurred an increase in interest and focus on corporate compliance training. This Executive Summary provides a high-level overview of recent findings from a survey of Human Resources and Legal executives representing Fortune 1000 organizations across an array of industries. The purpose was to gain insights into organizational focus on corporate compliance, training solutions, and training providers by: assessing current levels of emphasis on corporate compliance and related training, determining how and why specific training solutions are chosen and factors affecting decision-making, and identifying areas of subject matter focus. The overview of survey results provided on the following pages was culled from the individual interviews conducted with survey participants. Survey participants by job function 2

4 importance of compliance training Interviewees were asked to gauge the strategic importance of training on fair employment, compliance, and ethics issues within their organizations. The survey revealed that 92% of respondents found that the importance of training on these issues has increased in the past year, either greatly (34%) or somewhat (52%). Fourteen percent responded that there had not been a significant change in emphasis. Events such as the Enron scandal and the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley were frequently cited as key contributing factors among those who recognized the greatest increase in importance. These results suggest that, for a certain segment of business, fear of public scandals or lawsuits will be a primary motivating factor to implement training. In general, those participants who responded that there has not been a great increase in importance of training on these issues stated that the initiatives have always ranked of high importance within their organizations as an integral part of their core values. How important is compliance training? 3

5 why training was implemented Survey participants were asked whether or not there was a trigger to initiate training, and if so, what that trigger was. Slightly more than half of the respondents (57%) indicated there was a triggering event that spurred development of a formal training program on compliance issues. Legal regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the federal sentencing guidelines, and HIPAA were commonly cited as triggers, as were organizational changes, such as the hiring of a new CEO, company growth, going public, and policy formalization and/or revisions. External events, including highpublicity lawsuits and corporate scandals were also mentioned by several respondents. As would be expected, in industries where training on certain compliance issues may be a legal requirement, the initiatives were implemented as an element of conducting business. Was there a trigger point? No (43%) Yes (57%) 4

6 key influences The survey also asked participants to rate factors influencing the decision to implement training. Five categories were provided, and participants then ranked them by order of importance as an influencer: Risk management Organizational performance Market positioning Civic positioning Right and a better way of doing business 1 While, predictably, Risk management ranked high in importance to the majority of respondents, A right and better way of doing business also stood out as an important influencer. When asked to elaborate on this response, 59% said their organization has a commitment to implement compliance training because it s the right thing to do. 1 Source: Value Shift: Why Companies Must Merge Social and Financial Imperatives to Achieve Superior Performance, by Lynn Sharp Paine Factors influencing commitment to training 100% 80% Not at all important Not important 60% 40% Important Very important Critical 20% Right and a better way of doing business Risk management Market positioning Civic positioning Organizational performance 5

7 providers of training When asked who develops their training programs, a majority (63%) of the participants responded that training is developed solely by inhouse personnel. Because of the importance of linking compliance and ethics training to company policies, vision, and mission, organizations may be more confident in relying on internal resources to integrate the training effectively into their overall culture. respondents said their companies most often used outside training providers for program development. Areas in which the subject matter may be more closely tied with company-specific policies and issues, such as workplace violence, workplace privacy, professionalism, and intellectual property, were least likely to be provided by an outside vendor. Diversity, along with fair employment issues such as harassment and discrimination, were areas in which Who develops training? *When training is done 6

8 training program satisfaction When surveyed about their levels of satisfaction with current training initiatives, more than two-thirds of interviewees reported being somewhat (43%) or very (33%) satisfied. Among those who were less than very satisfied, elaboration often revealed that the training strategy is a work in progress. Some of the issues identified included: budget restrictions difficulty in measuring the training s success external changes requiring frequent updates to existing initiatives more comprehensive approach needed for addressing business ethics issues challenges in reaching a large, geographically dispersed and rapidly changing workforce slow progress in getting online implementations underway Satisfaction levels with current training initiatives 7

9 criteria for evaluating external providers The survey asked interviewees to consider what key criteria their organizations use to evaluate and select outside training providerpartners. Cost was the most frequently mentioned criteria, as would be expected due to previous comments about budgetary restraints as a barrier to implementing training. Other significant responses included Course content/quality and Ability to customize. With many organizations developing some programs internally, there is an interest and need in external content that can be modularized and integrated into their other, existing initiatives. Vendor reputation/track record was also mentioned by several of the respondents, indicating a focus in the marketplace on longevity and proven experience among legal training providers and partners. Key decision criteria for evaluating/selecting training provider-partners Cost, price 17% Course content/quality Vendor reputation 10% 10% Ability to customize 9% Flexibility/Service/Responsiveness 8% Expertise/Knowledge Breadth of programs/scope 6% 6% Appeal to users/easy to understand Web-based, electronic delivery 5% 5% Delivery/Deployment flexibility 4% Easy to use Stays updated 3% 3% Misc. other 15% 5% 10% 15% 20% Actual responses; percent of all mentions 8

10 trusted sources of information Due to the limited knowledge and awareness of training providers available in the marketplace, the survey indicates that organizations are looking to familiar and trusted resources to gain knowledge about current issues and vendors. Common resources cited included industry trade associations, professional associations, and industry publications. Specific mentions included: SHRM (22 mentions) EOA (10) ASTD (8) ACCA (7) ABA (4) HR Comply (4) HR-Hero (3) Internal legal (3) Sources of information Associations Outside legal counsel Assocations (web sites) Associations (journals) Peer referral HR magazine Corporate Counsel magazine HR Exec magazine Industry Compliance newsletters Week magazine 9

11 measuring training impact The majority of survey respondents (60%) stated that their organizations are taking steps to measure training impact and outcomes. The findings reveal that a variety of factors are used as measures for determining whether or not training strategies and implementations are successful. The formality and regularity of these measurement initiatives and processes, however, are unclear. Factors tracked to measure training impact 10

12 additional information For additional information about this survey and its results, please contact: Stephen M. Paskoff, Esq. President Employment Learning Innovations, Inc. (ELI, Inc.) 2675 Paces Ferry Road Suite 470 Atlanta, Georgia Tel Fax 11