WeComply: Catering to Regulatory Whims One Corporate Training Module at a Time

Government regulation got you down? Don’t worry; buy
WeComply!

Owned by Thomson Reuters, WeComply produces corporate training
modules and ethics courses. Many are devoted to helping employers
comply with dumbass state and federal training requirements.

I suppose that’s a valuable service. But there’s just something
vaugely icky about a bureaucracy-aiding agent that’s literally
called we comply. Comply with what? Whatever’s the
new regulatory hotness! For instance, WeComply just revamped its
“Preventing Sexual Misconduct” modules for college
campuses. 

Recently
the Campus SaVE Act—not to be confused with the sex-trafficking
SAVE Act—created a requirement that colleges and universities
launch sexual-assault awareness and prevention programs for both
students and employees. “Our
Preventing Sexual Misconduct courses can help institutions
ensure campus-wide compliance with the Campus SaVE Act,” said Steve
Perreault, global head of eLearning at WeComply.

From the company press
release:

WeComply offers separate Preventing Sexual Misconduct training
courses for faculty and staff members, teaching assistants, and
students. Each version focuses on the special responsibilities and
requirements of those individuals in preventing and handling
complaints of sexual misconduct and maintaining a safe and
respectful campus environment.

The 30-minute courses begin with a look at the various reasons
for concern and an overview of anti-harassment laws and policies.
The courses then discuss the Campus SaVE Act, sexual harassment and
sexual violence, and the types of harassment and behavior to avoid.
Other topics include reporting sexual misconduct, bystander
intervention, responding to complaints, and the effects of trauma.
The courses conclude with a discussion on how to avoid
retaliation.

The shorter, 10-minute training course for students covers
sexual violence, quid pro quo, hostile environment, when to
intervene and what to do if it happens to you.

(The quid pro quo threw me too, but someone explained that it
probably refers to handling “sleep with me if you want a good
grade/promotion” type of situations, not a lesson on good sexual
etiquette between students.)

How likely is a 10-minute video to be effective at teaching
students anything on these serious and nuanced issues? Not very.
This is simply a check-box that campuses now have to mark. And this
is how feel-good federal regulations drive up the cost of doing
business—which, in schools, is obviously passed on to students—and
waste everyone’s time.  

WeComply also offers courses on conflict minerals and “avoiding
insider trading.”