Respect shouldn’t be an aspiration. It should be a baseline expectation in every workplace.
Yet too often, traditional compliance training treats respect like a checkbox topic covered once a year in generic modules, then filed away with little impact on real behavior. In reality, fostering a culture of respect is a critical risk management strategy, a driver of business performance, and a reflection of your organization’s values.
Why respect matters for compliance and culture
When employees feel respected, they’re more engaged, productive, and loyal. Disrespect, on the other hand, breeds disengagement, turnover, and reputational damage. Consider:
🚩 Nearly 67% of U.S. employees report working in a toxic environment, and 74% link poor mental health at work to that toxicity
🚩 Only 37% of U.S. employees strongly agree they are treated with respect at work—down from 40% in 2023 and 44% in 2020
🚩 56% of employees who leave cite poor management or unfair treatment as their top reason
🚩 Low engagement and poor well-being now cost the world economy an estimated $8.9 trillion (about 9% of global GDP)
The cost of disrespect isn’t just emotional, it’s financial, legal, and cultural. That’s why building a respectful workplace should be core to your compliance strategy.
Respect and compliance: More connected than you think
Compliance programs often focus on policies, laws, and investigations. But prevention begins with culture and respect is foundational to culture.
A respectful workplace:
- Reduces the number of substantiated harassment, discrimination, and retaliation reports made to the helpline
- Encourages employees to speak up early about concerns before they escalate
- Strengthens psychological safety, collaboration, and innovation
Moving beyond checkbox respect training
Traditional respect training tends to focus on definitions and policies. While necessary, that approach alone doesn’t build the skills employees need to navigate gray areas or intervene when witnessing disrespectful behavior.
Smarter compliance training focuses on behavior change. Here’s what that looks like:
Realistic, immersive scenarios
People learn best through experience. Training should include scenarios that reflect the nuanced, everyday situations employees actually face not just the obvious violations. This builds judgment, empathy, and confidence to act.
Adaptive learning pathways
No two employees are identical in their understanding of respectful behavior. Adaptive learning technology adjusts the training journey based on each employee’s decisions and confidence levels, ensuring everyone builds the skills they need without wasting time on what they already know.
Behavioral insights to drive strategy
Great training goes beyond completion data. It captures behavioral insights how employees think, decide, and act. This data shows:
- Where employees demonstrate confidence and competence
- Where risky misconceptions or blind spots persist
- Where targeted follow-up training or communication is needed
Continuous reinforcement
Respect isn’t a once-a-year topic. Microlearning and nudges throughout the year keep respectful behaviors top of mind, reinforcing policies while strengthening your culture.
Building a culture of respect together
At its core, compliance is about protecting people and building trust. Respect sits at the heart of both. When employees feel respected, they’re more likely to respect others, speak up about concerns, and make ethical decisions under pressure.
Training alone won’t create a respectful workplace, but it’s a powerful tool to accelerate change. Combined with clear expectations, strong leadership modeling, and a culture of accountability, smarter compliance training empowers employees to build the workplace everyone deserves.
Jay Sharp is Chief Human Resources Officer at Learning Pool, where he brings an unconventional, forward-thinking approach to aligning business goals with employee growth. A servant leader with over 15 years in senior HR roles, Jay integrates strategic vision with real-world impact to evolve HR practices that drive lasting organizational success.
