Half of all businesses are now optimising their compliance programmes to create a compliance culture. Not just to stay on the right side of the law, but to protect their people, their reputation and because the security of their business is a priority.
This year, 75% of organisations increased their compliance budgets to stay aligned with the rapidly shifting regulatory landscape. One major update? The Data Use and Access Act 2025, which presents more severe fines for breaches of Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), with potential fines of up to an eye-watering £17.5 million.
In light of any new policies, the demand follows for updated training to ensure your people are aware of and can manage the associated risks. But how is such training typically received at your organisation? Disinterested expressions and begrudging obedience?
It might be awkward to admit your training is boring and ineffective, but many other employers are in the same boat. A striking 85% of employees feel disengaged during compliance training, and only 11% apply what they learn in the workplace. The problem isn’t just the content; it’s the approach.
Updating training materials to reflect new policies is a legal requirement. But reducing the risk of a phishing click or preventing a privacy breach requires more than knowledge. It requires behaviour change. To reduce real-world risks like phishing or data breaches, businesses must go beyond box-ticking and rethink their entire approach to compliance.
Making the change
AI has changed the game for cybercriminals.
Scammers can craft more believable emails, heightening the probability of an employee clicking on a seemingly innocent URL. Just one click could endanger the security of your business, and with over 3.4 billion phishing emails sent per day, employees are increasingly vulnerable to falling prey to these scams.
As technology advances, businesses must adapt, which means change. The “c-word” might fill some managers with dread and employees with apprehension, but without change and innovation, businesses lose relevance and revenue.
To keep up, many organisations are rethinking compliance training entirely. In fact, 70% of corporate risk and compliance professionals say their approach is evolving to match changes in policy and technology. This shift moves away from passive, text-heavy modules towards strategic, culture-driven learning that embeds compliance into the way people work every day.
A strong compliance culture moves beyond surface-level checklists and policies. It builds a workplace where everyone understands their role in upholding standards and is motivated to act accordingly. It encourages all members of a business to recognise that they are accountable for maintaining compliance in the workplace and should all be invested in the reasons for doing so.
Effective training plays a key role here. It should help employees:
- Recognise how their behaviours affect the wider business
- Understand the why behind compliance
- See the positive impact of their actions on colleagues and customers
When this understanding is in place, employees are more likely to act with care and accountability. They’re not just avoiding penalties, they’re taking pride in doing the right thing.
Motivation matters
The most sustainable compliance behaviours are driven by intrinsic motivation. This is when employees act appropriately because they want to, not because they’re told to.
Intrinsic motivation leads to better performance, higher engagement, and longer-lasting behavioural change. By contrast, extrinsic motivation (such as rewards or fear of punishment) wears off quickly. Once the incentive is gone, so is the behaviour.
Generating awareness as to the consequences of their actions on their co-workers promotes self-responsibility for employees and encourages them to adopt a ‘think before you do’ approach within the workplace, preventing incidents before they happen. The switch is flipped from viewing compliance as a set of rules to being intuitive and natural for employees.
When people see compliance as part of doing good work (not just something to avoid getting wrong!), it becomes second nature. It’s about creating the right mindset, not just delivering the right message.
The behavioural advantage
When compliance training focuses on behaviour change, the results go beyond risk reduction. Teams become more self-aware, more respectful, and more aligned in their goals. Motivation, satisfaction, and performance all improve. This is the competitive edge that many organisations are already working to create. In 2024, 50% of risk and compliance professionals described their programmes as mature, either managing or optimising. For those still relying on outdated models, the urgency to innovate is real.
The cultured way forward
Embedding a compliance culture takes time. But in today’s high-risk environment, delays can be costly. The good news is that it doesn’t all have to come from you.
At Saffron, we understand that lasting behaviour change requires more than one-off training. That’s why we created Charlie, an AI compliance coach that helps embed good decision-making into everyday work.
Charlie is available 24/7 to guide employees on reporting processes, policy interpretation, and everyday queries. Since its launch, businesses using Charlie have seen a 27% reduction in compliance concerns raised by staff. Employees feel more confident, and mistakes are reduced. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing. Between hesitation and action.
Charlie gives an additional layer of security and reassurance for your employees and your business, guiding them to always do the right thing.
Start the shift. Today.
Your next compliance update doesn’t need to be another tick-box exercise. It can be a turning point.
By investing in a culture-first, behaviour-led approach, you can reduce risk, improve performance, and future-proof your business.
Let’s make your compliance training truly effective and impactful.
