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How to Handle Annual Compliance at a Global Company

  • January 29, 2025
  • 6 replies
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Novice III
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Hello friends!  I have a question about annual compliance training that I’m hoping y’all can assist with.  :)

My company is global with employees in ~50 countries.  Currently we have two certifications built for annual compliance training (US and Global) which are assigned based on the employee’s location. The US certification links to a single US-specific course; the Global certification links to a single internationally-focused course.  

Our new compliance training vendor offers location-specific courses, so employees in France can view a France-specific course, employees in India can view an India-specific course, employees in the US can view US-specific courses based on their region, etc. (and we chose this vendor specifically for this purpose).

My goals are to:

  • Automatically assign the correct courses based on the employee’s location.  (I don’t want to do manual assignment.)
  • Have a single certification path that all employees are assigned to.  (I want to avoid creating location-specific certifications if possible as I cannot maintain 50+ certifications as the sole LMS admin.)
  • Configure the courses as equivalencies in the certification.  (I want to make sure that regardless of which course the employee completes, their certification status is updated to Completed.)

My question is:  What is the best way to build out the system to meet these goals?    

I’ve considered a few options, including:

  • A learning path with all the location-specific courses included that is attached to a single certification.
    • This concerns me since the only way to complete the learning path is to complete all of the mandatory courses within it.  I could build out the courses as equivalencies, but I don’t want it to look like an employee has completed all of the courses when they really just did one of them.
  • A course with all the location-specific SCORM files added as training material that is attached to a single certification, so users choose the material that is appropriate for them.  
    • This concerns me because I don’t want users to get confused when selecting the training material they need to complete.  I could organize the training materials into folders to make it easier, but I worry someone will choose the wrong training material.  
    • I also want to make sure that users aren’t required to watch all of the training materials--only the one that is relevant to them.  

Sorry for the long-winded question, but I want to make sure this is set up to be easy on the employee while also lessening the administrative burden.  Any advice or suggestions are welcome--thank you!

Best answer by Davefox

We have some similar requirements, and I have spent a lot of time finding solutions.  So this is a LONG reply.

Yes, certifications are the answer. These can be created around completing different courses or learning plans. They are set to renew x number of days after being earned and you can use system notifications to inform learners of pending expirations. You can also use reports and dashboards to enable power users to track certification information.

A gotcha we encountered is that they are date and time-based and not calendar-based. So, the clock starts when it is earned not based on a year cycle. So, if you want a certification to expire Dec 31 regardless of when it is earned, you can’t.  An edge case for some, and a requirement for others (points at self).

If you need a calendar-based expirable “certification” you can use badges, as they offer a similar set of methods for learner and power user tracking. Can expand on this if needed.

If you are looking at a learner who has to complete multiple classes to earn a certification, a learning plan is your answer. Once they complete the plan, they earn the certification.

This has some limitations of its own. Especially if you are giving your users a choice of how to earn the certification. Learning plans are completed when all required classes are completed by the learner. You can add optional classes, but there is no provision within a learning plan by default to say, “Here are 8 classes, take 4 to earn your certification”.

We struggled with this and found a workaround solution. Add a start here class and an end class to your learning plan that is required to complete the plan and set your other classes as optional. Then go into the plan and set the prerequisites so they have to take the Start Here class first before they can access the optional classes. This allows you to create something that explains the program. I wish that there was an Introduction object or material you could just add to a learning plan, but that is another challenge.

Then in order to take the footer class, set its prerequisites to X number of optional classes completed. Once they complete the end class, the learning plan is complete, and the certification is issued. I think Docebo should create a better way to handle this, but this works in the meantime.

As for enrolling students, it’s all about auto-enrolling groups and branches. So, we have an employee branch that includes all employees. Some of our mandatory classes are set to auto-enroll members of this branch on the first login. So, it is as automated as possible.

In the US some cities and states where we have offices require annual training. California for example has mandatory requirements for Harassment, Violence, and trafficking classes.

There are two ways we have found to handle location-specific training. One is subbranches and auto-enrollment. We elected NOT to do this as we use an SSO process and our data in that system does not include location so it would have to be manual for us (YUCK).

We use Additional fields at the user level to accomplish this and added workflow at onboarding. So, we created a “region” field for users. During onboarding we have users log into the system and the HR representative conducting the onboarding has power user access to modify the field. 

Then we use a group to handle enrollment. The group is set to automatically add users based on this additional field, and the course or learning plan has an auto-enrollment rule for all group members.

So multiple steps in creation but only one actual manual process which HR agreed to take on as part of their onboarding workflow. Everything else happens automatically.

Lastly, you can manually assign someone a certification in the admin menu. Certifications and Retraining/Manage. Click the person icon for the certification and then Award users.

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  • dianex.gomez
  • Guide II
  • 420 replies
  • January 29, 2025

Good news you only need ONE certification.

You can have multiple courses tied to a single certification without equivalencies any one of them can earn/renew the certification.

  1. Create/establish one Certification for the compliance topic
  2. Align related courses to the Certification.
  3. Setup Groups and Enrollment Rules to enroll the people in the right course, based user profile.
  4. If you put the courses in a catalog that is not viewable to users or don’t put them in a catalog, the users will only have visibility to the course they are enrolled in. 

Renewals

If you use the same courses to recertify annually you will need to provide some user journey help as the renewal process can be a bit cumbersome. (There are other conversation threads on this and other compliance approaches). 

There is a renew button on your certification and a countdown to when it needs to be renewed, but the user can click on it at any time, which archives the enrollment. If they start the course but don’t finish it in one setting it is not easy to resume without a bit of guidance as the user typically clicks renew again which archives the enrollment and they have to start over. 

If you use new courses each year, you can align them to the Certification and retire (unpublish) the prior courses.

Assign Certification Path

Unfortunately, you cannot assign a certification to users. You can enroll them in courses that earn certifications. You can report on certifications earned, expired, renewed, in the process of renewal. Since there is no assignment to the certification, you cannot report on those who have yet to earn their certification directly. To get to this metric, we typically use course enrollment status, anyone not complete which will include pending and those in the renewal process.  

sigamoline
tararussell
Davefox
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    sigamoline
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    aml1tsey
Davefox
Helper III
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  • Davefox
  • Helper III
  • 180 replies
  • Answer
  • January 30, 2025

We have some similar requirements, and I have spent a lot of time finding solutions.  So this is a LONG reply.

Yes, certifications are the answer. These can be created around completing different courses or learning plans. They are set to renew x number of days after being earned and you can use system notifications to inform learners of pending expirations. You can also use reports and dashboards to enable power users to track certification information.

A gotcha we encountered is that they are date and time-based and not calendar-based. So, the clock starts when it is earned not based on a year cycle. So, if you want a certification to expire Dec 31 regardless of when it is earned, you can’t.  An edge case for some, and a requirement for others (points at self).

If you need a calendar-based expirable “certification” you can use badges, as they offer a similar set of methods for learner and power user tracking. Can expand on this if needed.

If you are looking at a learner who has to complete multiple classes to earn a certification, a learning plan is your answer. Once they complete the plan, they earn the certification.

This has some limitations of its own. Especially if you are giving your users a choice of how to earn the certification. Learning plans are completed when all required classes are completed by the learner. You can add optional classes, but there is no provision within a learning plan by default to say, “Here are 8 classes, take 4 to earn your certification”.

We struggled with this and found a workaround solution. Add a start here class and an end class to your learning plan that is required to complete the plan and set your other classes as optional. Then go into the plan and set the prerequisites so they have to take the Start Here class first before they can access the optional classes. This allows you to create something that explains the program. I wish that there was an Introduction object or material you could just add to a learning plan, but that is another challenge.

Then in order to take the footer class, set its prerequisites to X number of optional classes completed. Once they complete the end class, the learning plan is complete, and the certification is issued. I think Docebo should create a better way to handle this, but this works in the meantime.

As for enrolling students, it’s all about auto-enrolling groups and branches. So, we have an employee branch that includes all employees. Some of our mandatory classes are set to auto-enroll members of this branch on the first login. So, it is as automated as possible.

In the US some cities and states where we have offices require annual training. California for example has mandatory requirements for Harassment, Violence, and trafficking classes.

There are two ways we have found to handle location-specific training. One is subbranches and auto-enrollment. We elected NOT to do this as we use an SSO process and our data in that system does not include location so it would have to be manual for us (YUCK).

We use Additional fields at the user level to accomplish this and added workflow at onboarding. So, we created a “region” field for users. During onboarding we have users log into the system and the HR representative conducting the onboarding has power user access to modify the field. 

Then we use a group to handle enrollment. The group is set to automatically add users based on this additional field, and the course or learning plan has an auto-enrollment rule for all group members.

So multiple steps in creation but only one actual manual process which HR agreed to take on as part of their onboarding workflow. Everything else happens automatically.

Lastly, you can manually assign someone a certification in the admin menu. Certifications and Retraining/Manage. Click the person icon for the certification and then Award users.

The difference between Science and Magic is proportional to their comprehension of technology and your skills in prestidigitation.
sigamoline
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2 people like this
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    aml1tsey
JZenker
Guide II
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  • JZenker
  • Guide II
  • 232 replies
  • January 30, 2025
dianex.gomez wrote:

Good news you only need ONE certification.

You can have multiple courses tied to a single certification without equivalencies any one of them can earn/renew the certification.

  1. Create/establish one Certification for the compliance topic
  2. Align related courses to the Certification.
  3. Setup Groups and Enrollment Rules to enroll the people in the right course, based user profile.
  4. If you put the courses in a catalog that is not viewable to users or don’t put them in a catalog, the users will only have visibility to the course they are enrolled in. 

Renewals

If you use the same courses to recertify annually you will need to provide some user journey help as the renewal process can be a bit cumbersome. (There are other conversation threads on this and other compliance approaches). 

There is a renew button on your certification and a countdown to when it needs to be renewed, but the user can click on it at any time, which archives the enrollment. If they start the course but don’t finish it in one setting it is not easy to resume without a bit of guidance as the user typically clicks renew again which archives the enrollment and they have to start over. 

If you use new courses each year, you can align them to the Certification and retire (unpublish) the prior courses.

Assign Certification Path

Unfortunately, you cannot assign a certification to users. You can enroll them in courses that earn certifications. You can report on certifications earned, expired, renewed, in the process of renewal. Since there is no assignment to the certification, you cannot report on those who have yet to earn their certification directly. To get to this metric, we typically use course enrollment status, anyone not complete which will include pending and those in the renewal process.  

Great explanation - I just want to add that users can be manually awarded the certification. Say to add retroactive records.

A
1 person likes this
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    aml1tsey
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Novice III
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  • aml1tsey
  • Author
  • Novice III
  • 8 replies
  • January 30, 2025
Davefox wrote:

We have some similar requirements, and I have spent a lot of time finding solutions.  So this is a LONG reply.

Yes, certifications are the answer. These can be created around completing different courses or learning plans. They are set to renew x number of days after being earned and you can use system notifications to inform learners of pending expirations. You can also use reports and dashboards to enable power users to track certification information.

A gotcha we encountered is that they are date and time-based and not calendar-based. So, the clock starts when it is earned not based on a year cycle. So, if you want a certification to expire Dec 31 regardless of when it is earned, you can’t.  An edge case for some, and a requirement for others (points at self).

If you need a calendar-based expirable “certification” you can use badges, as they offer a similar set of methods for learner and power user tracking. Can expand on this if needed.

If you are looking at a learner who has to complete multiple classes to earn a certification, a learning plan is your answer. Once they complete the plan, they earn the certification.

This has some limitations of its own. Especially if you are giving your users a choice of how to earn the certification. Learning plans are completed when all required classes are completed by the learner. You can add optional classes, but there is no provision within a learning plan by default to say, “Here are 8 classes, take 4 to earn your certification”.

We struggled with this and found a workaround solution. Add a start here class and an end class to your learning plan that is required to complete the plan and set your other classes as optional. Then go into the plan and set the prerequisites so they have to take the Start Here class first before they can access the optional classes. This allows you to create something that explains the program. I wish that there was an Introduction object or material you could just add to a learning plan, but that is another challenge.

Then in order to take the footer class, set its prerequisites to X number of optional classes completed. Once they complete the end class, the learning plan is complete, and the certification is issued. I think Docebo should create a better way to handle this, but this works in the meantime.

As for enrolling students, it’s all about auto-enrolling groups and branches. So, we have an employee branch that includes all employees. Some of our mandatory classes are set to auto-enroll members of this branch on the first login. So, it is as automated as possible.

In the US some cities and states where we have offices require annual training. California for example has mandatory requirements for Harassment, Violence, and trafficking classes.

There are two ways we have found to handle location-specific training. One is subbranches and auto-enrollment. We elected NOT to do this as we use an SSO process and our data in that system does not include location so it would have to be manual for us (YUCK).

We use Additional fields at the user level to accomplish this and added workflow at onboarding. So, we created a “region” field for users. During onboarding we have users log into the system and the HR representative conducting the onboarding has power user access to modify the field. 

Then we use a group to handle enrollment. The group is set to automatically add users based on this additional field, and the course or learning plan has an auto-enrollment rule for all group members.

So multiple steps in creation but only one actual manual process which HR agreed to take on as part of their onboarding workflow. Everything else happens automatically.

Lastly, you can manually assign someone a certification in the admin menu. Certifications and Retraining/Manage. Click the person icon for the certification and then Award users.

This is phenomenal--thank you so much for the detailed reply!  One additional caveat is that we also need to include a security awareness, unconscious bias, and HIPAA course as part of the certification. (All employees would complete the same version--these don’t have location-specific options.) 

It sounds like I would set up the learning path like this:

  • Start Here Course to explain the process (mandatory - pre-requisite to other courses)
  • Location-specific Anti-Harassment Course (optional - at least 1 is required, learner picks the one that is relevant)
  • Unconscious Bias course (mandatory)
  • Security Awareness Course (mandatory)
  • HIPAA Course (mandatory)
  • End Here Course (mandatory)

Next, use Additional Fields to auto-enroll.  We already pull Country Code as an additional field, so I could use that to automatically assign the users to groups, then build enrollment rules for each location-specific course (to ensure folks get enrolled in the correct course).  

Third, auto-enroll everyone into the mandatory courses and the learning plan.  I believe we already do something similar for the certification we have today but I’ll have to confirm that.  

And lastly, tie the learning plan to a certification.  We do plan to have a compliance week where we promote this training (with the goal of getting everyone on the same timeline for re-certification) but I know some people won’t complete the training during compliance week so this will ensure they are required to renew each year.  

Does this sound correct based on your experience?  I really don’t want to built this out more than once--and I definitely don’t want us falling out of compliance--so I appreciate any additional insight you can provide.  :)  

Davefox
Helper III
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  • Davefox
  • Helper III
  • 180 replies
  • January 31, 2025

​@aml1tsey  you are most welcome. I spent close to a year and a half sleuthing out how to make this all work and I am glad it can help someone else. 

You absolutely have a grasp on how to do this and put it all together. Remember to test, test, and then test. 

Good luck Champion!!

 

The difference between Science and Magic is proportional to their comprehension of technology and your skills in prestidigitation.
A
1 person likes this
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    aml1tsey
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Novice III
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  • aml1tsey
  • Author
  • Novice III
  • 8 replies
  • February 10, 2025
dianex.gomez wrote:

Good news you only need ONE certification.

You can have multiple courses tied to a single certification without equivalencies any one of them can earn/renew the certification.

  1. Create/establish one Certification for the compliance topic
  2. Align related courses to the Certification.
  3. Setup Groups and Enrollment Rules to enroll the people in the right course, based user profile.
  4. If you put the courses in a catalog that is not viewable to users or don’t put them in a catalog, the users will only have visibility to the course they are enrolled in. 

Renewals

If you use the same courses to recertify annually you will need to provide some user journey help as the renewal process can be a bit cumbersome. (There are other conversation threads on this and other compliance approaches). 

There is a renew button on your certification and a countdown to when it needs to be renewed, but the user can click on it at any time, which archives the enrollment. If they start the course but don’t finish it in one setting it is not easy to resume without a bit of guidance as the user typically clicks renew again which archives the enrollment and they have to start over. 

If you use new courses each year, you can align them to the Certification and retire (unpublish) the prior courses.

Assign Certification Path

Unfortunately, you cannot assign a certification to users. You can enroll them in courses that earn certifications. You can report on certifications earned, expired, renewed, in the process of renewal. Since there is no assignment to the certification, you cannot report on those who have yet to earn their certification directly. To get to this metric, we typically use course enrollment status, anyone not complete which will include pending and those in the renewal process.  

Thank you for this thoughtful response!  I will plan to use the Catalog feature to restrict the courses so that folks don’t end up taking a course that is inappropriate for them. 

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