How to Run an Employee Compliance Training Program

Running a compliance training program is largely an operational challenge. Your goal isn't to reinvent legal doctrine; it's to ensure the right people take the right training at the right time — and that you can prove it happened.

Whether you are an HR manager setting this up for the first time or an operations lead trying to wrangle spreadsheets into a real system, the process follows the same fundamental steps.

Step 1: Identify your training requirements

A compliance program is simply a list of requirements mapped to a list of people. Before choosing software or buying courses, you need to define your requirements matrix.

Note: This guide covers the operational logistics of training. To determine exactly which regulations apply to your specific business, consult with your legal counsel or HR advisor.

Common requirements usually fall into three buckets:

Universal requirements: Things everyone must do (e.g., Harassment Prevention, Data Security basics, Employee Handbook sign-off).
Role-specific requirements: Training tied to job duties (e.g., HIPAA for healthcare staff, OSHA safety protocols for warehouse workers).
Manager requirements: Advanced training for anyone supervising others (e.g., Interviewing compliance, Manager-level harassment training).

Step 2: Source the content

Once you know what you need to teach, you need the actual material.

For active learning: SCORM courses

If the requirement involves deep learning, scenario-based questions, or graded quizzes (like Cybersecurity or specialized safety training), you will typically use an interactive e-learning course. These are almost always packaged in the SCORM format. You can buy these off-the-shelf from training vendors or build them in-house using tools like Articulate Storyline.

For passive acknowledgment: Policy documents

If the requirement is simply acknowledging rules (like the Employee Handbook or a Remote Work Policy), assigning a heavy interactive course is overkill. A PDF document with a digital sign-off is the right tool for the job.

Read our guide: Policy Acknowledgment vs. SCORM Training.

Step 3: Assign training and set deadlines

The most common reason compliance programs fail is ambiguity. Employees need to know exactly what they have to do and exactly when it is due.

When assigning training, be clear about the deadline. A 30-day window is standard for most annual requirements. For new hires, 14–30 days from their start date is typical (see How to onboard a new hire into compliance training).

Step 4: Automate your reminders

As the program administrator, following up with people who haven't completed their training is the most tedious part of the job. If you are tracking training in a spreadsheet, this means manually writing emails every week.

Whatever system you use to deliver training should handle reminders automatically. A smart cadence spaces reminders based on how much time is actually left. For example:

Initial assignment: "You have a new requirement..."
Halfway mark: Reminder when 50% of the time to complete has elapsed.
Approaching deadline: Urgent reminders at 25% and 10% time remaining.
On the deadline: "Action required today..."
Overdue: Weekly follow-ups until completed.

Step 5: Track completion and protect the records

If a regulatory body or an auditor asks for your training records, "I think everyone did it" is not an acceptable answer.

Your system of record must be able to instantly produce an audit trail showing:

The employee's name and email
The exact training they took (versioned, if you update the content)
The date and time they completed it
Their score (if a SCORM quiz was involved)
The certificate or digital signature

Step 6: Handle the annual renewals

Compliance isn't a one-time project. Most major requirements (Harassment, Data Security) require annual retraining. Good programs automate this: when someone's certificate expires a year from now, the system should automatically re-assign the course and start the reminder sequence over again.