Corporate compliance training is increasingly moving away from mandatory slide decks toward interactive, role-based learning designed to influence how employees make decisions. LRN Corporation has received six awards in the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, with programs developed alongside companies including McAfee, Hasbro, Howden, HP Inc. and Sanofi recognized for approaches spanning gamification, compliance education, learning measurement and employee inclusion.

Compliance training has historically been one of the least glamorous corners of enterprise learning. Employees complete required modules, answer questions and move on.

That model is increasingly under pressure as organizations deal with more complex regulations, cybersecurity risks, privacy requirements and ethical questions around emerging technologies.

LRN Corporation, an ethics and compliance technology provider, is betting on a different approach: make workplace learning more interactive, contextual and closer to the decisions employees actually face.

The company has received six awards from the 2026 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards, marking its sixth consecutive year of recognition, according to LRN.

The awards cover programs developed with McAfee, Hasbro, Howden, HP Inc. and Sanofi, spanning learning innovation, gamification, compliance training, measurement and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

The awards were evaluated by independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives across criteria including business alignment, program design, user experience, innovation, adoption and measurable impact.

Gamification moves beyond employee engagement

One of the strongest themes across the winning programs is the use of games and simulations to make compliance training less passive.

LRN and McAfee received a Gold award in the Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development category for “The Integrity Games,” which uses game-based learning to teach ethics and compliance.

Hasbro received a Silver award for its “Code of Conduct Game,” which turns the company’s code of conduct into an interactive digital experience using storytelling, ethical dilemmas, team competition and real-time feedback.

The distinction matters because gamification in corporate learning can mean very different things. Adding points or badges to an existing training course does not necessarily change how employees learn.

More sophisticated simulations attempt to recreate the uncertainty of workplace decisions.

An employee may need to decide whether to escalate a concern, handle a conflict of interest or respond to a questionable request without having a simple multiple-choice answer in front of them.

That approach can make compliance training more closely resemble the situations employees are expected to navigate.

Compliance learning becomes more measurable

Another trend highlighted by the awards is the shift from measuring course completion toward measuring business relevance.

Howden received a Silver award for “Global Risk Reduction & Compliance Training,” recognized in the Best Learning Measurement category for connecting compliance learning with global risk reduction.

That is an important distinction for HR and compliance leaders.

Completion rates tell an organization whether employees finished training. They do not necessarily show whether the training changed behavior or reduced exposure to risk.

Learning measurement is therefore becoming a more strategic issue as CHROs and compliance executives are asked to demonstrate return on investment from corporate education programs.

The broader learning technology market is moving in the same direction, with analytics and AI increasingly being used to personalize content, identify knowledge gaps and connect learning activity with workforce outcomes.

Shorter training can have a direct business impact

Sanofi’s award-winning compliance program provides one of the clearest examples of measurable operational impact.

Its “Leading with Integrity in US Healthcare Compliance” program received a Silver award for Best Compliance Training. The program uses role-based scenarios to make complex healthcare regulations more relevant to employees.

According to LRN, the program reduced training time by 68%, saving more than 19,000 hours and an estimated $1.4 million annually, while achieving 99% completion.

Those figures are company-reported program results rather than independently audited savings, but they demonstrate the type of metric enterprise learning teams increasingly want to track.

The objective is no longer simply to satisfy a regulatory requirement.

It is to deliver the required education while minimizing disruption to employees and connecting the training to operational outcomes.

Privacy and healthcare compliance present different challenges

HP Inc. also received a Silver award for “Drive to Win Privacy Training,” which was recognized in the Best Compliance Training category.

Privacy training presents a particularly difficult learning challenge because regulations, technologies and data practices can change rapidly. Employees may also have very different responsibilities depending on whether they work in engineering, sales, marketing, customer support or other functions.

Role-specific learning can help bridge that gap by presenting information in the context of actual responsibilities rather than treating every employee as though they face identical risks.

Sanofi’s healthcare compliance program follows a similar principle by using role-based scenarios.

That suggests a broader direction for enterprise learning platforms: personalization is becoming increasingly important for compliance education, not simply for employee development or skills training.

HR technology is converging with organizational culture

Sanofi’s other Silver award, for “Cancer & Work – Acting Together,” moves beyond traditional compliance into employee support and workplace culture.

The program helps employees, managers and caregivers navigate serious illness with greater empathy.

Its inclusion alongside compliance and learning awards highlights how corporate learning platforms are increasingly being used to reinforce organizational behaviors and values, rather than simply distribute information.

That creates a larger role for HR technology.

Learning systems are becoming part of the infrastructure organizations use to shape culture, communicate expectations and support employees through complex workplace situations.

What enterprise HR teams should take from the awards

LRN’s six awards are not evidence that gamification or scenario-based learning will automatically improve compliance outcomes for every organization. Enterprise buyers still need to evaluate content quality, integration with their learning management system, accessibility, localization, analytics and evidence of behavioral impact.

But the winning programs point toward several important changes in HRTech and corporate learning.

Compliance training is becoming more interactive. Learning measurement is becoming more closely tied to business outcomes. And organizations are increasingly tailoring training to the specific decisions employees make in their roles.

For HR and compliance leaders, that changes the definition of effective training.

The goal is no longer simply to get employees through a course.

It is to make the right decision easier when the employee encounters a real-world situation.

Market Landscape

The corporate learning market is shifting from traditional LMS-based course delivery toward learning experience platforms, AI personalization, simulations, skills intelligence and analytics.

Vendors increasingly compete on engagement and measurable outcomes rather than content libraries alone.

The trend is particularly relevant to compliance. Regulations around privacy, cybersecurity, healthcare, financial services and AI are becoming more complex, while employees are expected to make increasingly consequential decisions.

Gartner has identified AI-powered learning and skills technologies as part of the broader transformation of talent management, while LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report has continued to highlight the growing importance of aligning learning with business priorities.

Within this market, LRN occupies a specialized position around ethics, compliance and corporate culture, competing indirectly with broader learning platforms from providers such as Cornerstone, SAP SuccessFactors, Workday and Docebo.

Top Insights

• LRN won six Brandon Hall HCM awards, recognizing innovative compliance and learning programs developed with McAfee, Hasbro, Howden, HP Inc. and Sanofi.
• Game-based learning is being used to make ethics and compliance education more immersive, with McAfee and Hasbro recognized for interactive approaches.
• Sanofi’s role-based compliance program reportedly cut training time 68%, saving more than 19,000 hours and $1.4 million annually.
• Learning measurement is moving beyond completion rates toward risk reduction, time savings and business outcomes, as demonstrated by Howden’s recognized program.
• The awards highlight a broader HRTech shift toward contextual, personalized learning designed around employee decisions rather than generic course completion.

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