Creative Storyteller & Business Communications Advisor

The cornerstone of success for every business is trust. Without it, an organization can become vulnerable to a host of code violations and malfeasance. That is why most businesses rely on the three P’s to develop and hone the best practices that will help them earn that trust: people, policies and procedures.  

• People are a company’s most important asset. They are the brand ambassadors and guardians of intellectual property, customer data, and the company’s reputation. They set the tone for the internal culture and influence the customer experience. 
• Policies define the behaviors people adopt and will ultimately help a company achieve its business objectives. These principles, rules and guidelines should be widely accessible and clearly articulated in writing to ensure people know exactly what conduct is expected of them, especially when it comes to the standards to which the company may be held legally liable.  
• Procedures are maps that lead people to positive, predictable outcomes. These documents should serve as step-by-step how-to guides that, when followed, will result in a safe, secure and successful conclusion.  

Together, this trinity can be leveraged to ensure a culture of compliance, credibility and accountability—perpetually driving business forward.  

Use technology to improve compliance, reduce risk

In addition to the three P’s, companies are increasingly deploying new technologies to help them manage operations and deliver an impeccable customer experience. The right technology—combined with training and testing, active oversight, and widespread adoption of policies and procedures— can make all the difference to an organization. 

For decades risk governance was handled with traditional resources such as antiquated legacy systems and paper files, which led to unintended and disparate results. Employees couldn’t always determine whether they were working off the most recent version of a policy or procedure. Some didn’t know where to go to locate the latest versions, and some policies or procedures were so outdated that they were no longer relevant.  

Today, more companies are moving to Microsoft Office 365, which offers a secure cloud environment and the convenience of being able to work anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection. Top benefits include the familiar Office environment—updated regularly with the latest versions of the software—and improved collaboration features that allow you to share files directly with your network and control the versions of documents you and your team create.  

Pick a software partner invested in your success

ConvergePoint offers Policy Management software that works seamlessly with Office 365 and SharePoint Online so an organization has the secure tools it needs to: 

• Train its people and certify that they are aware of the policies and procedures in place to promote compliance, safety and wellbeing 
• Allow policy managers to easily manage the lifecycle of every document from one location, with a dashboard that shows policy statuses, upcoming renewals, and employees’ acknowledgements in real time 
• Collaborate and manage permissions and versions of documents in real time, to ensure only the latest and fully approved documents are accessible to the organization 
• Remain current with industry best practices by having the latest version of the software available instantly.  

By focusing on these internal resources and adopting them into the company’s culture, an organization will automatically be on the right path to earning and sustaining the trust of its employees and customers alike.