Six Benefits of using a Document Management System for Policies

Document management system (DMS) have long been a mainstay in industries where sensitive information is stored. These systems protect documents and produce a trail every time the document is accessed or edited. This ensures the integrity of the documents and makes it easier to audit and resolve any issue that occurs. Document management systems used to be complicated and expensive, but cloud based systems have changed the scenario. These systems are now easily accessible and affordable for small businesses.

DMS are also an integral part of good policy and procedure management. Many people have the perception that DMS only help in the storage of documents, and thus think that DMS are required only if an organization has a lot of confidential documents that need to be managed. DMS do help in storage but that is their basic functionality, not their main purpose. They also help organizations write, manage, review, protect, and verify the integrity of documents. The impact of a DMS on policy and procedure becomes clear once we look at how a DMS functions when used for policy and procedure management.

1. Reviewing and approving policies

Document management systems allows organizations to efficiently review and approve policies. Approvals and reviews are disorganized when done through emails when multiple people are working together. Under a DMS there is only one copy of the file and everyone can see what has been edited and by who. It also makes it easy to distinguish between policies that have been finalized and the policies that are still being reviewed.

2. Identifying and tracking changes

Policies and procedures need to be updated to keep up with the changing business culture and dynamics. DMS ensure that all changes that have been made are tracked. This is invaluable in audits – resolving issues becomes easier when auditors can quickly locate the person who made the change that caused the issue.

3. Sharing documents

DMS don’t just protect documents, they also allow documents to be shared in a safe manner. DMS make it easy to access documents, provided you have the authority to do so. Every employee of the organization can easily find policies and procedures related to their job whenever needed. There is no need to ask someone to email documents.

4. Controlling documents

A DMS allows management to control documents and keeps confidential information safe. Organizations open themselves up to risk every time an employee sends a confidential document in an email. Once a document has been sent to someone in an email, they may share it with anyone else they want without needing permission. Document management systems remove the need of attaching documents to emails. In place of an attachment the recipient gets a link to the document within the DMS. They can only access the document if they have been given access to it. They can only share the document with someone else if they have the privileges to. The date and time they access the document is also noted. This level of control and monitoring is impossible without a DMS. A DMS is also vital for any organization that wants to adhere to document control standards.

5. The Document Lifecycle

Document lifecycle management is very important for policies and procedures. No policy or procedure will be relevant forever which means that every document created has an expiration date. DMS track these dates and notifies management when they are near. Many organizations suffer because of contradictory statements in legacy policies and procedures. DMS ensure that all documents are updated and useful.

6. Preventing the use of outdated policies

Outdated policy documents are a major cause of concern. Someone may use a policy document that was in their email inbox, unaware that the policy has now been updated. DMS have version control functionality which ensure that only the latest and the correct version of policies are available for everyone.

Any organization that is concerned about managing policies and procedures thus needs to procure document management systems. There are policy and procedure management solution available as well – like our Predict360 Policy and Procedure module. The difference between a normal document management solution and a solution like ours is that our solution has been specially designed to be used in policy and procedure management. The core functionality is the same as a document management solution but there are many added functionalities for policies and procedures.

Get in touch with our team if you want to see what our policy and procedure management solution can accomplish for your organization.

About the company

360factors, Inc. (Austin, TX) helps companies improve business performance by reducing risk and ensuring compliance. Predict360, its flagship software product, vertically integrates regulations and requirements, policies and procedures management, risks and controls, audit management and inspections, and on-line training and qualifications, in a single cloud-based platform based on artificial intelligence.

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