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In 2023, over 70% of enterprises were the target of ransomware attacks. Interestingly, the majority of those businesses (over 60%) were able to recover their data without paying the ransom. Thanks to following up-to-date cybersecurity practices and backing up critical data to a secure location, they avoided disaster. This is an example of policy management in action. What is policy management and how can it help your business?
Policy management means putting organizational policies into practice. It covers every step of the process, from creating new policies and updating old ones to helping employees understand how to follow each policy correctly.The goal of policies is to keep everyone in the company on the same page, regardless of position or department.
Some areas of policy involve paying attention to compliance and regulatory concerns, such as payment card industry standards. Policy management can help businesses avoid fines and data breaches. Nearly every area of business can benefit from using compliance frameworks to organize and manage their compliance policies.
Operating policies can help workers produce high-quality products. Internal policies often dictate production standards and the way workers use equipment. If there are government regulations relating to those products, effective procedures help your organization stay compliant.
With the rise of online threats like malware and cyberattacks, it’s wise for businesses of every size to have high-tech cybersecurity policies in place. The right procedures govern things like software updates, mobile devices, multifactor authentication, email practices, and encryption. Cybersecurity matters because your customers want to know their data is safe. Using policies to make sure they are following cybersecurity best practices for data backups helps small business owners safeguard against ransomware, natural disasters, and data breaches.
The simple fact is that all organizations need some set of practices and standards to be productive. Of course, having policies isn’t enough. Your team also needs to follow them.
In highly regulated industries like financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy, policies help a company avoid violating federal laws and other regulatory requirements. Not only does this help organizations avoid heavy fines, but it also builds trust with customers.
When an organization doesn’t have a centralized process to create, implement, and oversee policies, it’s hard or impossible to collaborate smoothly. Often, different departments end up creating their own procedures.
These departmental policies can be inconsistent, contradictory, or downright wrong. At best, they lead to conflicts and chaos within an organization. At worst, they can cause expensive accidents and production shutdowns.
When employees don’t know how to or don’t see the importance of following company policies, it can get your business in serious hot water. You can end up with liability forworkplace injuries, products that don’t meet specifications, or consumer lawsuits.
Did you know that the weakest link for data breaches is usually people, not technology? If you don’t train your employees in correct data security procedures, they can let hackers into your system accidentally. The solution is to reduce human error with policy management software, which includes features like automated reminders and controlled access to ensure compliance with established policies and minimize mistakes.
Uncertainty hurts your organization’s productivity. Policy management removes uncertainty by centralizing your policies and procedures so everyone can see them. Instead of looking like rush hour traffic, your business becomes a smooth freeway where things get done quickly and precisely.
Whenever a new policy gets lost in the shuffle, crucial information and communication can become disorganized or ignored. This creates the opportunity for errors. It only takes one mistake or poor decision to destroy your reputation. Policy management prevents this.
Modern policy management relies on cutting-edge software platforms to monitor critical information and processes. The right software program provides a level of organization, visibility, access, and control that is nearly impossible to achieve with manual systems. This gives you a centralized database for coordinating, implementing, and tracking policies.
Exchanging your manual compliance process for a software solution saves your company time and money. Consider a few benefits of automated policy workflows:
When all departments can easily locate and read policies, it removes confusion about what procedures to follow, why, and how. Digital development and storage let employees use full-text searching to locate important information. Auto-naming and filing tools keep everything organized according to company standards whenever new documents are added to the system.
When anyone on remote work teams can make document changes, it’s hard to know which version to follow. Policy management tools solve this by showing logs of all policy changes and versions. The most up-to-date version is always accessible.
If a policy or procedure needs supporting documentation, a dedicated platform offers the space to store this information. Reports are one example. It’s easier to comply with audits when supporting evidence is readily available in the form of reports.
Compliance is an essential part of what policy management is. Some organizations rely on nondescript emails to send vital notifications about policy changes. This is a poor way to implement procedures because many emails go unopened, unnoticed, unread, or undelivered.
It’s better to use a software management system to electronically deliver updates and new policies. This system provides a verifiable electronic audit trail. Administrators can use reporting features to see which employees have read the required policies.
Effective policies and procedures often require the involvement of several departments or administrators. When you exchange documents by email, confusion and delays are all too common. This makes productive collaboration difficult. Digitizing your management process improves document workflow, organizing and automating the planning, review, approval, and update stages so you can work together more effectively.
Making sure your policies and procedures support your organization’s mission is the overarching goal of policy management. Aligning policies with the mission helps improve employee alignment, enhances productivity, and builds customer trust. Here are a few tips for streamlining your management approach and ensuring the effectiveness of policies.
A policy manager takes responsibility for each policy developed. This individual explains company policies and enforces them, monitoring procedures and instructions to make sure employees follow them correctly.
Carefully evaluate which policies need to be revised or replaced. Critical areas should take priority, such as industry standards and regulatory compliance. Look for gaps, duplicate policies, or issues that jeopardize work standards and data privacy.
Any policies in development should include stakeholder considerations and insight. You may clearly see the benefit of a certain policy from your position, but engaging others can bring a different perspective and widen the impact of the policy across the organization.
Policy development teams need a clear process, too. Establish a workflow that outlines who is responsible for authoring, reviewing, approving/vetoing, or revising the policy.
Before implementing any policy, make sure it complies with regulatory requirements. This ensures that you are not creating barriers for individuals or causing an unbalanced impact. Once you have the green light, put the new policy in place.
What policy management is varies by industry and organization. To get the best results, you need customized solutions and adaptable tools. Compyl is a powerful information and security platform that helps organizations implement effective policy management. Contact us to discover how our solutions can work for you.
