[July 27, 2016]

Report Shows Organizations With Advanced Training Programs Perform Markedly Better, But Many Are Behind on Training Boards and Innovating Their Programs

Ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global® today announced findings from its 2016 Ethics & Compliance Training Benchmark Report. While creating a culture of ethics and respect was again respondents' top objective, many organizations still struggle with basic training program elements and leave key learner populations under educated. More than 40 percent of organizations don't train board members and only 20 percent train new board members.

"Organizations of all sizes understand that ethics and compliance training is critical to building an effective ethics and compliance program, but these same organizations continue to struggle with basic training program elements. For the first time, we are able to show the strong connection between quality and effectiveness, on one hand, and program results," said Ingrid Fredeen, J.D., NAVEX Global's vice president of online learning content and the report's author. "Fundamental to program success is providing effective training to everyone. One audience segment, however, remains chronically under-trained and that is the executive leadership. Boards and the C-suite are the stewards of the program and are responsible for its oversight and funding. If they don't understand the risks they cannot lead effectively."

The report, which included surveys from 644 ethics and compliance professionals, found notable gaps in training topics when comparing board training with training for the organization as a whole. Only 12 percent trained board members about workplace harassment, compared with 76 percent who train employees on that topic. Just 33 percent train board members on conflicts of interest (compared with 76 percent overall) and ominously, only 22 percent train board members on cyber security, compared with 69 percent overall.

"Failing to educate board members about cyber security is a major vulnerability - and is frankly shocking considering the sensitivity of what is on their devices," Fredeen said. "Cyber breaches are increasingly about external entities, including state actors, seeking intelligence on corporate decision-making, plans and IP, not just accessing consumer data."

The report found organizations are continuing to struggle with basic program elements, rather than focus on innovation and engagement of the modern workforce. Less than one in five have included mobile learning, gamification, just-in-time learning, collaborative or social learning, or created training portals.

"By 2020, half of the American workforce will be millennials - and they see the world differently and want different things," Fredeen said. "That doesn't mean millennials can't fit into the corporate environment, but they respond to different messages and approaches. Program innovation takes time, and it's disappointing to see that so many organizations are not even focus on it."

The report also identified the emergence of what the author calls an elite group of organizations that provide advanced training for their employees. Based on criteria NAVEX Global provided in the survey to respondents, 12 percent identified their training programs as Advanced, and 50 percent described them as Maturing. Nearly 40 percent rated their programs as Basic or Reactiv.

"This was the first time we created a maturity index, and it's clear that getting a program to the next level improves performance," Fredeen said. "Organizations noted a real difference - including markedly different results in terms of creating a speak-up culture, improved morale and higher trust in leadership - if they had more mature programs."

Other key findings include:

• Culture of ethics and respect: Seventy percent of respondents said that creating a culture of ethics and respect was one of their top three objectives, with 45 percent putting it at the top of the list.
• Lack of sufficient budget continues to plague most respondents: Sixty-seven percent of respondents said they lacked the budget necessary to accomplish their objectives. Organizations with larger budgets were more mature and organizations with smaller budgets said they had Reactive or Basic programs.
• Aligning training with risk is gaining momentum: Thirty-nine percent of organizations are assigning courses based on learner role or risk, compared with 15 percent last year. This is essential in improving program effectiveness and efficiency.

To download NAVEX Global's 2016 Ethics & Compliance Training Benchmark Report, please click here.

About NAVEX Global's Benchmark Reports

NAVEX Global's trusted hotline, training, policy management and third party risk management benchmark reports help ethics and compliance professionals measure their programs against peers and industry standards to make better decisions and increase ethics and compliance program effectiveness.

About NAVEX Global

NAVEX Global's comprehensive suite of ethics and compliance software, content and services helps organizations protect their people, reputation and bottom line. Trusted by 95 of the FORTUNE 100 and more than 12,500 clients, our solutions are informed by the largest ethics and compliance community in the world. For more information, visit www.navexglobal.com.

Learn more about NAVEX Global (www.navexglobal.com) online: Ethics & Compliance Matters™ Blog (blog.navexglobal.com), @NAVEXGlobal (twitter.com/navexglobal), LinkedIn (News - Alert) (www.linkedin.com/company/navex-global), Facebook (News - Alert) (www.facebook.com/NAVEXGlobal) and SlideShare (www.slideshare.net/NAVEXGlobal).

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