FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Greg French at GroPartners Consulting
gregf@gropartnersconsulting.com | 847-845-6970
www.gropartnersconsulting.com

Skokie, Illinois, May 30, 2017
DOL Education Delivers Unexpected Engagement

A spoonful of sugar can go a long way to engage learners in DOL compliance education, as indicated by recent DOL education program now producing unexpected results. Within the first four days of the program’s launch to a leading provider’s distribution network, more than 1,400 producers started the course, with nearly half completing it.

Considering the headquarters mandate of a late August completion date, this early indication bodes well for overall engagement in the program. The secret ingredient for success: Edutainment.

This timely insight emerges amid the growing industry intensity over the rule’s imminent implementation. The 1-1/2 hour multi-module DOL education course recently developed by GroPartners Consulting for a leading insurance and retirement investment provider shows early signs of extraordinary engagement.

Greg French, founder of GroPartners Consulting, co-creator of the DOL “Edutainment” program explains, “DOL education is an absolute necessity for providers who continue to offer retirement investment information or services beginning June of this year. But it’s such dense and intimidating content that our client saw the wisdom of adding a degree of relevant entertainment value to the program. Apparently word is getting around the distribution network that it’s actually a bit fun, and we’re seeing unexpectedly high participation levels early in the initiative.”

HIGH PRAISE
Comments from the field are coming back in the form of “not so bad,” “well done,” and “good education.” Anyone familiar with compliance education would categorize this as high praise. “Engagement is half the battle,” says Karen Valdez, GroPartners financial strategist. Valdez, formerly a marketing director for Allstate Insurance and vice president with Scudder Investments elaborates, “If you can’t get people engaged in the content in the first place, what chance do you have of transferring the information, much less getting them to actually implement the knowledge in practice?” GroPartners senior Consultant and co-lead on the project, Therese Fennig, adds, “Seeing results like this is encouraging because we know distributors are not only learning the rule ‘by the book’ but they’re also able to see how it can look when it’s implemented through the lens of their host brand…sometimes presented in a tongue-in-cheek way that takes the fear and stress out of it.”

WHY EDUTAINMENT HELPS IN HIGH-COMPLIANCE LEARNING
Edutainment has been used for centuries as an effective learning and engagement device for children. From Sesame Street and Blues Clues to Bill Nye the Science Guy, infusing fun with learning has produced widely acknowledged enhanced learning results. But until recently, Edutainment has been largely limited to the realm of early learners, not often used as a serious tool to improve business results. According to French, there are three important reasons Edutainment works well in the area of DOL compliance. “First, relevant distraction helps break up dense material and disarm anxious learners. Second, it provides a good platform for brand relevance and a way to illustrate ‘how our brand uniquely interprets the rule.’ Third, it promotes visibility into the end-to-end customer experience to help align the organization’s value chain with its customers.

According to Valdez, “Every retirement investment manufacturer and distributor should integrate some degree of Edutainment into their DOL and other education programs. In the case of DOL compliance, it can help quell anxiety, demonstrate context, and mitigate risks.”

GroPartners Consulting creates strategic content programs and platforms that unite expectations throughout the end-to-end customer journey. Serving clients from middle market to Fortune 100 in high-compliance industries, GroPartners bridges the gaps between strategy and execution. For more information on DOL Edutainment programs, contact Greg French at GroPartners Consulting. gregf@gropartnersconsulting.com. 847-845-6970.

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