What Employees Really Think of Compliance Training (And How to Fix It)

Ever wonder what your employees truly think about compliance training? Spoiler alert: It might not be pretty. But acknowledging the problem is half the battle, and fortunately, there’s a better way forward.

Here’s the truth—backed by data, not just office gossip:

A person looking bored because of standard compliance training — Familiar look when compliance training comes around

1. Your employees are bored (Really bored).

A staggering 85% of employees feel disengaged during compliance training sessions, according to internal research and insights published by the Financial Times (2025). Imagine hosting a training where almost everyone in the room wishes they were anywhere else. Actually, scratch that—you probably don’t need to imagine it. You’ve seen it firsthand.

2. Compliance training often feels irrelevant.

Deloitte found that only 12% of learners apply compliance training content effectively in their daily roles. Why? It’s too generic. Employees crave relevance—content tailored to their specific roles and real-life scenarios, not vague hypotheticals.

3. Employees dislike lengthy sessions (Hint: Micro-learning wins).

According to research from the University of California Irvine, attention spans in workplace training sharply decline after just 10 minutes. Employees want quick, bite-sized training—think Netflix episodes, not a compliance marathon.

4. Lack of interactivity hurts retention.

Traditional compliance methods—lengthy PDFs, passive lectures—achieve only 20% information retention, as shown by Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience. Interactive, multimedia-rich experiences can boost retention up to 70%. That’s a 350% improvement.

5. Employees want training that fits their lifestyle.

Gallup found that 74% of employees prefer training that's accessible anytime, anywhere, across multiple devices. Mobile-friendly, flexible training increases completion rates dramatically.

Person waiting for train completing compliance training on his mobile phone — Having mobile-friendly compliance training without having to rearrange your schedule

Why employee compliance training feedback matters

Collecting and understanding employee compliance training feedback helps organisations design experiences that actually work. When employees are disengaged or frustrated, your training program fails—no matter how well-intentioned or legally airtight it is.

So what’s the solution?

At AirTrain, we've tackled each of these pain points head-on:

Short, TikTok-style micro-modules to boost engagement by up to 80%.
Customisable content ensuring employees see direct value in their training.
Fully interactive, multimedia experiences that drive retention far above traditional methods.
Mobile-first design enabling employees to train conveniently and flexibly.

And here's a quick win—AirTrain’s AI-powered platform reduces your compliance admin workload by 80%, letting you focus on strategic, impactful tasks instead.

Ready to transform your compliance training into something your employees actually appreciate?

Request a quick demo today and see how we can make compliance your competitive advantage—not just a corporate chore.

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