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- Robert Bell
Online Training: Advantages for FCA-regulated firms
In our industry, complying with the regulations isn’t just a legal requirement, it’s an important foundation in consumer trust. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets high standards to safeguard consumers from harm, to protect the UK economy from the impact of financial crime, and to ensure the stability of the financial system.
In the last five years alone, we’ve had the SMCR – which introduced the Conduct Rules – the Consumer Duty, updates and amendments to AML legislation, the tailored support guidance impacting on how we deal with Financial Difficulties, and the FCA’s guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. For financial services firms, staying compliant is essential to avoid regulator action and maintain a good reputation in a strong field. As the regulatory environment continues to change, firms need to be proactive about staff training to meet the requirements.
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The importance of compliance training cannot be overstated. It gives staff at all levels the knowledge and skills they need to understand how compliance requirements impact on their own work, how they interact with customers, and on the business and strategy of the firm, as well as preparing for future regulatory developments.
Given the pace of change, online training is an important tool for maintaining compliance with FCA regulations. Using online training means that firms can swiftly deliver training around updates and changes in regulation across their entire staff. It allows for the delivery of thorough and up to date training materials that can be easily accessed by staff at all levels, ensuring that everyone, from senior management to new starts, is on the same page regarding their regulatory responsibilities.
Online training as a tool is beneficial to learning. Rather than being limited to one or two learning styles, online training can offer something for everyone, making it more effective than many traditional learning environments. Visual learners benefit from videos and infographics, while narrated presentations and video content is perfect for auditory learners. There’s room for traditional text-based materials including slides and quizzes and kinesthetic learners are catered for in a way that traditional methods usually struggle to accommodate through interactive scenarios, offering the opportunity to take on real-world challenges and apply knowledge in a practical context.
Offering complete flexibility online training allows staff with multiple responsibilities, and who might otherwise find it difficult to schedule in-person training sessions, the ability to keep up to date with regulatory requirements and changes at a time that suits them and at their own pace.
This is a widely overlooked aspect of learning that traditional methods don’t tend to allow. Online training can be accessed at the user’s convenience, and lessons can be repeated. This means that staff can spend more time on complex topics or return for a refresher if they experience something in their role that they’d like to double check. Online training material is accessible around the clock from anywhere with an internet connection. The ability to access training on any device, including laptops, tablets and smartphones allows employees to choose what best suits their learning preference and circumstances.
Internet accessibility is also a significant advantage for firms with offices in different regions of the UK, ensuring that all employees receive the same high-quality training. As firms expand or evolve, online training can easily accommodate an increasing number of users, making this ideal for firms concerned about compliance standards across locations.
There’s the added benefit of a cost-effective training programme. With the economy affecting everyone, online training platforms can be much more cost-effective than traditional in-person sessions, saving on travel, accommodation, venue and refreshment costs, as well as business costs related to requiring groups of staff to attend in person. Where scaling up is a concern, online platforms can easily accommodate more users without significant increases in costs.
Once training has been completed, it’s important to be able to evidence completion and pass rates to be able to demonstrate compliance to the FCA. Online training allows firms to capture this electronically for added convenience, saving on paper waste.
Investing in staff knowledge and skills doesn’t need to be resource-consuming. Our range of courses are available online, and our onboarding process is simple. Our courses are engaging and interactive, offering the opportunity for staff to ‘try out’ the knowledge before putting it into practice on the job. For larger groups we also provide corporate packages that offer the best value for your cohort. If you would like to know more about our training, contact us: Robert.bell@rbcompliance.co.uk.
