Last month, we noted that compliance programs need to move from "training completion" to "work readiness." The ensuing question is more challenging: When employees need to make compliance decisions in real scenarios, what does "readiness" truly mean?

Go1's latest research provides us with a more nuanced answer.

Go1 surveyed 313 U.S. legal, compliance, and risk professionals, as well as 312 HR, people, and learning and development (L&D) leaders. An additional 320 employees who had completed employer compliance training within the past 12 months participated in scenario-based assessment tests.

The sample was not matched at the organizational level, so the findings reflect market-level comparisons rather than direct gaps between leaders and employees within the same organization.

Nearly 90% of compliance, legal, and risk leaders believe employees can apply compliance policies in real situations; HR and L&D leaders show even higher confidence, at nearly 96%. Meanwhile, recently trained employees scored an average of only 64.5% on assessments simulating real work scenarios.

Employees know the rules, but judgment is harder

Employees perform well when expectations are clear. Among those who completed anti-harassment training, 90% recognized that employers have a responsibility to address third-party harassment, and 90% recognized that federal law covers same-sex harassment.

Performance varies when employees need to interpret policies in specific contexts. Only 39% recognized that management's knowledge does not eliminate conflicts of interest; just over half recognized that they should recuse themselves after disclosing family relationships; only 43% could correctly distinguish between general complaints about unethical management and protected whistleblowing.

These findings do not suggest that employees lack compliance knowledge, but rather point to a more specific challenge: knowing the rules is different from knowing how to apply them when the answers are not so obvious.

For HR and L&D teams, this changes the measure of "readiness"—it is not just about whether employees understand training content, but whether they have opportunities to practice in situations requiring contextual judgment.

What happens after compliance training is crucial

Real compliance issues rarely appear in the form of courses or knowledge tests. They often surface through conversations, interpersonal relationships, and decisions, where employees need to identify potential risks, interpret situations, and decide on next steps.

This does not mean that broad compliance training has lost its value. It builds shared expectations across the workforce. The key is to build on this foundation with exercises that mirror employees' real decision-making.

Leaders already recognize the importance of follow-up. 76% of compliance, legal, and risk leaders and 85% of HR and L&D leaders say their organizations "always" or "often" reinforce compliance learning after training. However, fewer than one in five in both groups view reinforcement as a primary method of their programs.

There are signs this is changing. About one-third of leaders plan to invest in post-training reinforcement, and about 27% plan to invest in scenario-based learning. Leaders also note that real-world practice, ongoing knowledge checks, accessible guidance, and manager support are effective ways to build employee readiness confidence.

For HR and L&D, this does not necessarily mean creating longer compliance courses. A realistic scenario can give employees a decision to think through; brief reinforcements can review uncertain areas; and managers can help employees interpret expectations in the context of their work.

From completion to readiness

Completing training remains essential. The opportunity lies in supplementing, not replacing, this evidence.

Completion records prove that training has been delivered; assessments prove that employees understand the material; real-world scenarios can further show how employees apply knowledge when decisions depend on context.

Therefore, the shift from "completion" to "readiness" should build on the foundation of compliance programs: track completion, test understanding, provide employees with opportunities to practice real decisions, and reinforce areas where uncertainty remains.

Because the hardest compliance decisions are rarely about remembering rules, but about knowing what to do when rules meet reality.

Explore the full report:Go1's Compliance Readiness Curve。