The Hidden Costs of Not Using a Policy Management Tool

Imagine a family planning a trip to Six Flags with the goal of riding as many rides and enjoying as many attractions as possible in one day. However, Dad didn’t buy the fast-pass, which would have allowed them to skip the line. So, most of the day was spent waiting in hot miserable lines instead of zipping past the idle crowd. Dad blew it. If the goal is to enjoy as many rides as possible, the fast-pass is a necessary component. 

The same could be said about company policies. Most companies have an extensive library of policies and procedures. Their intention is that all employees receive them, are aware of them, and follow them. If your company builds the most amazing policy library, but some employees can’t access them, others don’t know they exist, and a few simply don’t follow them, what’s the point of having those policies?

Having policies isn’t enough; you need to be able to effectively manage them. Without a policy management tool, businesses face significant financial, operational, and reputational risks. Simply put, if you have policies, you need a policy management tool; it is a critical component. It doesn’t make sense to do otherwise.

The Financial Costs of Manual Policy Management

Manually distributing and tracking policies can cost businesses thousands of hours annually. Updating, distributing, and tracking policies manually is not only time consuming, but it opens the door for too many mistakes. An intended recipient may not receive an important policy update via email due to a full inbox or spam filter settings. Data may be entered into the wrong spreadsheet cell when tracking who has acknowledged receipt.

Simple mistakes like these can lead to hours of distracting email chains or extra meetings to track down accurate info. Time wasted is money wasted! Manual methods are open invitations to missed deadlines for compliance updates, which can make companies more vulnerable legally and financially. Why continue investing in overhead costs related to outdated processes and tools?

Let a policy management tool recoup the money lost on manual processes like policy updates, distribution, and tracking, legal costs and unnecessary overhead costs. It simply doesn’t make sense to do otherwise.

Operational Risks of Outdated Policy Management

Some policies can change as often as the wind changes direction. With so many changes to policies so often, how can an organization be sure that everyone who needs to know about an update knows about it? This is a truly important consideration when the operation of the business is dependent upon adherence to that particular policy.

It is more difficult to keep employees informed when a manual system (or a disorganized system) is in place. While email is a fantastic tool and has its place, policy management is not it. There are so many variables—so many potential points of failure—with email. Email is at least digital and searchable; it certainly beats a hand-written manual system. If any of those still exist, their employees probably aren’t reading this!

Manual methods increase the potential for adherence to outdated or incorrect policies. It is essential that the entire workforce operates under the same policy revision across all departments. All must work from the same set of processes and procedures. Inconsistent implementation across teams causes operational chaos.

Depending on the magnitude of the discrepancy, your productivity could be wiped out by an impromptu zoom meeting to sort out details and reconcile issues. All such unnecessary and costly meetings could be avoided if only there was a centralized location for all company policies to ensure that all are using the same exact (current) policy version. A policy management tool does just that and more!

Legal Liabilities

Company profits should be used to reinvest in growing the business. It’s a shame when they must be used to cover legal fees, especially when those fees are associated with compliance issues.

Some industries are more regulated than others; some companies may face regulatory fines and penalties for failing to meet industry standards. Healthcare, pharmaceuticals, utilities, and financial services such as banking are a few examples of industries in which strict adherence to certain guidelines and regulations is mandatory.

The food and beverage industry, aerospace, transportation, and insurance among many others are all subject to a host of regulations and agencies providing oversight. Proving compliance without a centralized, automated system can be challenging. A policy management tool not only serves as that hub, but also has automated tracking, which can be especially useful for audits and inspections.

Reputational Damage

Customer and partner trust can be negatively impacted when companies encounter policy failures. For example, when making our follow-up call to the client, they say, “I spoke with your counterpart yesterday and he assured me that we would have the deliverables by 5:00 pm.” We dread having to give an answer like, “I apologize. He must have been going off of our old policy. Our new policy guarantees no later than 6:00 pm.”

Unclear or poorly communicated policies can create frustration and disengagement within an organization and that can, through interactions, spread to clientele. Additionally, businesses can face public backlash due to compliance failures. A policy management tool is an effective way to ensure that the “left hand knows what the right hand is doing,” to make sure that client and vendor experiences are consistent.

How a Policy Management Tool Solves These Challenges

Without a policy management tool, you face financial, operational, and reputational risks. A policy management tool is a critical component for success in policy management. With the right one in place, you’ll find greater efficiencies in policy updates and distribution and increased employee awareness of policies, leading to smoother operations, less time wasted, less potential for legal issues due to non-compliance, protected reputation and most importantly a better bottom line.

Some of its features include: 

• Collaborative creation
• Automated distribution
• Automated policy acknowledgement and attestation 
• Real-time reporting 
• Audit trails 

Do more with your policies with ComplianceBridge! Strong policies and procedures need a potent management platform. With the ability to provide comprehensive and relevant training, offer rewards and recognition, solicit employee feedback, and communicate policies and procedures effectively, ComplianceBridge can bridge the gap between what your policies say and what your employees do.

ComplianceBridge provides a tailor-made solution to guide you through the entire process of creating, distributing, and tracking policies. With automated reminders, notifications, and reports, you will have better insight into your employee’s compliance with company policies and procedures. By ensuring that your employees have the knowledge and skills they need to comply with your organization’s policies, you can mitigate compliance risks and create a culture that prioritizes integrity and accountability.

Choosing ComplianceBridge means being able to rely on the ongoing support and resources you need to promote a culture of continuous improvement. It makes no sense to do otherwise.

Request a demo of ComplianceBridge today!