How EasyLlama Simplifies Compliance Training In 8k Workplaces: Q/A with CEO Samuel Devyver

Creating your own in-house training is often not the best way to remain compliant with your state’s laws. Here’s why:

• The requirements are strict and complex, so it’s easy to get charged with costly noncompliance fines, or even lawsuits
• Employees are often not motivated to complete their courses in a timely manner
• You need different platforms for compliance training, onboarding, and analytics

Website Planet interviewed Samuel Devyver, Co-founder and CEO of EasyLlama and three-time tech founder, to learn how EasyLlama helps companies become better, safer, and more inclusive through their innovative workplace solutions, including training, centralized L&D efforts, anonymous reporting, analytics, and more.

Key learnings in this interview:

• How EasyLlama reached over 8,000 happy customers in a wide variety of business sizes and industries, and 200+ courses available in their extensive library, as of 2024.
• What helped them earn 27 awards in the categories of Harassment Prevention Training, Ethics and Compliance Learning, and eLearning Content, plus #1 ranking in Usability and Satisfaction in the category of Harassment Prevention Training Software on G2.

What problems are you solving for your customers and audience?

We are revolutionizing the often boring and outdated workplace training experience with modern and interactive courses, an easy-to-use dashboard to manage employee analytics, as well as other high-quality solutions for compliance and engagement.

When it comes to noncompliance, many states and industries have strict legal requirements for training in topics like harassment prevention, HIPAA, Bloodborne Pathogens, Workplace Safety, and more. EasyLlama researches all of the latest legislature to ensure that our training meets these needs, preventing companies from being charged with costly noncompliance fines, or even lawsuits for not handling issues like harassment or safety properly in the workplace.

Some companies may choose to create their own in-house training to stay in compliance with laws, but they quickly realize how much time it takes to both maintain these types of presentations, as well as assign regular training and keep track of who has completed it.

EasyLlama’s smart-assign feature automatically designates state or industry-required training to each employee based on their supervisory level, and our platform also sends regular email and text reminders to make sure that employees complete the courses on time.

Another concern with DIY training by companies is having to manage course presentations in one platform, track and analyze in another, and onboard in yet another system. With a product like EasyLlama and our Learning Management System (LMS), companies can navigate all of their compliance training, onboarding, and analytics in one easy-to-use dashboard.

While the behind-the-scenes management of workplace training is important to employers, employees benefit most from the modern and engaging experience that EasyLlama provides.

Our course content focuses on real-life situations that employees may face while on the clock, rather than the cheesy or outdated videos that customers find from our competitors. This helps them resonate with the material presented, which increases their retention of information and helps promote appropriate workplace behavior. Interactive quizzes, entertaining video scenarios, and the ability to stop and start across any device make the experience an engaging rather than tedious one. Plus, no login, email, or download is required to start training, making it simple for any employee to complete their assigned courses.

Which types of companies benefit the most from what you offer?

Our products are loved by small businesses and trusted by enterprise companies. Any company can benefit from our compliance and skills-based training, but we also provide industry-specific training in the fields of Healthcare, Retail, Restaurant, Manufacturing & Logistics, Hospitality, Construction, Office, Education, and Government.

The courses that we offer go beyond just compliance to address tech, ethical, work-life balance concerns, and much more. The 200+ courses that we provide exist within the suites of Harassment & Discrimination Prevention; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); Data Privacy and Cybersecurity; Ethical Practices; Soft Skills; Wellness; and Workplace Safety.

We primarily work with C-suite leadership and company administrators in the areas of Human Resources, Legal and Compliance, Information Technology, Learning & Development, and DEI to solve their concerns about fulfilling state and federal compliance requirements, as well as building a safe and inclusive company culture. “Easy” is in our name for a reason – we make it easy for our customers to implement our solutions and rely on our automations and integrations to keep workplace training flowing smoothly all year round.

What makes them eventually choose you over your competitors?

Our customers talk a lot about how EasyLlama is really on the cutting edge of workplace training, with modern content that resonates with their employees.

“Before EasyLlama, we had a lot of outdated harassment surveys that weren’t relevant to what constitutes harassment. That’s the course that we assign the most, but we didn’t have anything that was relevant or modern. Especially in this day and age, where we have the heavy influence of social media and cell phones, we needed something that was going to be more up-to-date.”

Isaac Gomez, HR Supervisor at Installed Building Products.

EasyLlama’s platform is also extremely easy to use, especially compared to our competitors.

“It really became evident that EasyLlama is a very user-friendly way to interact with the content. We all have these stories of terrible, required training that is often assigned to new hires. We were cognizant in thinking, ‘Is that really the experience we want our new employees experiencing when walking in the door?’ What EasyLlama has allowed us to do is obviously introduce what was required, but do so in a way that is topical, current, and educational. We also have a 97 percent completion rate, and I absolutely attribute that to EasyLlama’s automated reminders.”

Emily Fieser, Director of Culture and Development at Natural Retreats.

In some cases, our biggest competitors are even our prospects themselves, like in the case of our clients at Shake Shack.

“Before EasyLlama, we were creating most of our compliance training in-house… As legislation has continued to evolve in the states in which we do business, we knew that we needed a trusted learning partner that would help us stay compliant in all of the states in which we do business, but also in a fun, engaging way that aligns with our brand. By partnering with EasyLlama, we have saved countless hours in researching employment legislation, assigning training manually, and making sure that we are getting the required compliance training out to our team members.”

Lorin Dunphy, Vice President of People Practices at Shake Shack.

Since you started, what helped you grow and retain your audience?

EasyLlama continues to experience rapid growth and we prioritize reinvesting the majority of our earnings back into the business to emphasize continuous expansion. We’re really proud of our positive and engaging company culture, and especially the opportunity to host in-person retreats in 2022 and 2023, with plans underway for the upcoming 2024 retreat, bringing together our remote workforce from various parts of the country.

We’ve also taken a keen look at what really makes a difference for our clients — beyond the basics of compliance. Realizing the vast landscape of needs ranging from cybersecurity to creating a culture of safety and inclusion, we’ve significantly broadened our toolkit. This expansion includes cutting-edge features like our anonymous reporting system, which acts as a confidential conduit for employee concerns, and our phishing simulator, a tool that turns users into the first line of defense against cyber threats. Not to forget, our Learning Management System (LMS) which simplifies training administration.

These enhancements are our answer to the evolving demands of a modern workplace, designed to offer a more rounded, solution-focused approach to our customers. It’s this pivot toward providing a comprehensive suite of tools that has deepened our relationships with existing customers and drawn new ones to our door. By continuously seeking to address the wider spectrum of workplace training needs, we’ve not only solidified our market position but also underscored our commitment to delivering innovative, impactful solutions.

What tools are you using to run your business and daily activities?

As a fully remote business, our tech stack includes products like Zoom and Slack to stay in frequent communication, as well as Notion and Asana for project management. As for our eLearning courses, we created our own software, which has been extremely helpful so that we don’t have to rely on any external course-building tools. It’s allowed us to be really creative in building out our training library, and we knew that it would set us apart from our competitors who were often using the same tools to create their courses.

What perspective do you have about where your industry is headed?

I think that we are helping lead the eLearning industry into an era of customized and modern solutions that are doing a much better job of engaging employees than ever before. Many still view compliance training as a necessary but mundane task, overlooking the opportunity to create courses that not only meet regulatory requirements but also captivate learners. EasyLlama’s real-life scenarios, interactive quizzes, and skill-building content are really challenging the conventional belief that compliance training is nothing but boring and outdated.

We see so many opportunities to make workplace training a more, dare I say it, enjoyable experience. The shift toward mobile-first, micro-learning options and the use of advanced technologies such as AI could revolutionize how compliance training is delivered, making it more accessible, efficient, and entertaining for learners.

The positive feedback we’ve received really underscores how this shift in the industry is working out well for companies and their employees.

What’s in the roadmap for your future?

Obviously, our largest goal is to grow our company to reach more customers and support them in their efforts for a safe and inclusive workplace.

We plan to expand our course library, particularly in the fields of Cybersecurity, Workplace Safety, and Wellness. We always remain up to date on all the latest legislative requirements, and currently, we are about to launch our state-specific Workplace Violence courses for California and Texas to align with their new laws going into effect later this year.

This past year saw our company grow to over 30 employees, along with three new products launched, and that trend of growth is set to continue in 2024.