True Office Learning Blog

Appropriate workplace communication covers so much, and the digital age has increased this complexity exponentially. From safe use of email and social media to what employees can legally and morally say and not say, electronic communication is often a compliance minefield. Consider:

• A survey of 500 IT decision makers conducted by Egress found that 44 percent of employees have accidentally exposed sensitive information via email.
• The same survey revealed that 26 percent of employees share unencrypted sensitive info outside the organization, thus increasing the odds of a data breach. 

Corporate corruption consequences don’t come much bigger than the $1 billion settlement that Ericsson reached following an ongoing investigation. Ericsson was accused by the Justice Department of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and engaging in bribery.

Most corruption cases obviously don’t approach the scope of the Ericsson settlement, but smaller organizations should nonetheless take heed. Companies may not blatantly engage in corruption, but they and their employees must know corruption and bribery law basics, recognize when business decisions feel amiss, and identify actions that potentially cross the line into unethical or illegal territory.

This is the first of a series of posts by Harper Wells, True Office Learning’s Director of Compliance Insights and Strategy. Harper is passionate about moving ethics and compliance programs from evolving to leading practice. With over 15 years of compliance, risk, and governance experience across heavily regulated industries, Harper drives the product strategy and thought leadership functions, bringing the client voice into True Office Learning's solution roadmap.

Oh, New Year's resolutions...

Love them or hate them, they become a central topic of conversation every year. How many of us swear we’re going to hit the gym three times a week or learn a new language? These lofty – and often unrealistic – goals seem like a great idea until we try to live up to our own expectations. Experts predict most “resolutions” fall by the wayside by the time February rolls around.

In June 2018, Connecticut joined the growing number of states creating new and amending existing laws on sexual harassment training requirements. This trend, which started in tandem with the #MeToo movement, is aimed at increasing awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace and the rights and responsibilities of all employees to ensure a safe environment. The law went into effect October 1, 2019, so employers must ensure their training programs meets provision requirements.

Compliance training teaches employees best practices, important concepts, and behavioral mandates necessary for their jobs. The data produced from that training may be an afterthought to some organizations—but it should be just as strategic (or moreso) as the actual learning.

Great data—numbers beyond completion rates (which we’ll address shortly)—offers analysis that reveals not only how employees comprehend compliance training, but also how those employees operate in their everyday roles. The numbers show compliance strengths and weaknesses, how people are consuming learning, and where future problems may be imminent.