What Is A Policy Management System?

Do you struggle to keep track of policies and procedures in your organization? Policies can quickly become a mess. Today, we’re going to introduce you to a tool that can simplify the management of these policies: the Policy Management System. We’ll explain what it is, its key features and how it works in real-world scenarios. We’ll look at examples from various industries, including banking, healthcare, and manufacturing. Lets get started!

The basics of a Policy Management System

Managing policies without the right tools can be a real challenge. A Policy Management System can simplify everything and help you out in these ways: 

• Organize policies in one place to keep everything easy to find. 

• Keep everyone on the same page with the latest policy versions. 

• Update policies quickly with a streamlined process. 

• Automatically notify your team about policy updates. 

• Secure your documents with controlled access and safe storage. 

• Track who has read and agreed to policies for better compliance.  

In the next section, we’ll talk about some of the key features of Policy Management Systems. 

Key features of a Policy Management System

A Policy Management System offers some great tools and features to help you manage policies and stay on top of compliance. Let’s explore what these features are and how they can make your job easier.  

Easy policy creation and collaboration

• Provides simple tools and templates to help you write and organize policies without needing expert skills.
• User-friendly design makes it accessible for all team members.
• Supports collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on policies together in one central location.
• Tracks and displays changes made to policies, showing who made each change and when.
• Maintains a complete version history for transparency and accountability.

Smooth and simple approvals

• Guides you through the entire policy approval process from start to finish.
• Allows designated reviewers to review, comment on, and approve policies before they are finalized.
• Automatically sends alerts and reminders to ensure that reviewers do not miss their approval tasks.

Effortless policy distribution

• Automatically distributes approved policies to the appropriate individuals or groups.
• Sends out reminders to ensure that everyone stays informed about new or updated policies.
• Ensures that all team members are aware of and understand the latest policies and expectations.

Keep track of changes with ease

• Maintains a detailed record of every change made to policies, including updates, additions, and deletions.
• Allows users to view and compare different policy versions to see what has changed over time.

Secure and controlled access

• Manages access to policies based on user roles and permissions.
• Controls who can view, edit, or approve policies to ensure sensitive information is protected.
• Ensures that team members only access the information relevant to their role and responsibilities.

Now that we've covered the key features, lets move on to how different industries use Policy Management Systems. 

How Policy Management Systems work across industries 

Let’s look at how Policy Management Systems are used in different fields like banking, healthcare, and manufacturing. These systems aren’t just one-size-fits-all, they’re flexible tools that can be customized to fit the needs of various industries. Here’s how they make a difference in each one: 

Policy Management Systems in banking 

A Policy Management System serves as a central tool for organizing and maintaining various bank policies and procedures to ensure compliance and effectiveness. Here’s how a PMS supports banks:

• Organizes Anti-Money laundering policies: Stores and manages AML policies, ensuring they are up-to-date and communicated to the team.
• Supports GDPR compliance: Assists in managing GDPR-related documents and tracking consent forms for customer data protection.
• Documents fraud detection procedures: Helps organize and update procedures for detecting and responding to fraud.
• Tracks financial regulations: Maintains records of financial regulations and helps ensure they are current and accessible.
• Facilitates internal audits: Organizes documentation and supports the internal audit process for compliance checks.
• Updates customer complaint policies: Keeps records of complaint handling policies and ensures they are current.
• Manages security policy documentation: Helps organize and communicate security policies for both physical and digital assets.

Policy management systems in healthcare 

A Policy Management System can significantly enhance how you manage regulations in healthcare, helping you stay compliant and focus on patient care. Here’s how a PMS benefits healthcare providers: 

• Handling patient privacy and legal compliance: Helps you keep privacy policies and consent forms in line with privacy laws and regulations. 
• Tracking staff training and certifications: Helps maintain records of staff training and certifications, supporting compliance with qualifications for various roles.
• Organizing documents for audits: Provides a centralized location for storing and organizing documents, making audits more efficient.
• Streamlining incident reporting procedures: Supports the documentation and organization of incident reporting processes for quicker and more effective resolution.
• Maintaining infection control policies: Helps document and manage policies related to infection control best practices for patient safety.
• Managing medical equipment policies: Organizes policies for maintaining medical equipment and making sure it meets regulations.

Policy management systems in manufacturing 

A Policy Management System is essential for the manufacturing industry. It helps you keep things running smoothly and stay on top of all the important rules and regulations. Here’s how a PMS makes manufacturing easier: 

• Setting up and managing safety protocols: Helps you organize and track safety measures to ensure they are followed for a safe workplace.
• Overseeing product inspections and quality control: Assists in documenting inspections and maintaining high standards for the products you make.
• Managing environmental regulations: Supports you in keeping track of rules for waste management and pollution control to stay compliant with environmental regulations.
• Coordinating staff training and certification: Helps you maintain records of who needs training and certifications to make sure everyone is up-to-date on procedures and equipment.
• Maintaining strong supplier relationships: Assists in documenting and managing information to help ensure that suppliers meet quality and ethical standards.
• Scheduling regular machine maintenance: Helps you keep track of maintenance schedules to keep your equipment in good shape and avoid production delays.
• Documenting incidents for effective audits: Helps you organize incident records to ensure audits are efficient and issues are properly addressed.

Benefits of a Policy Management System 

A Policy Management System is more than just a tool, it’s your go-to helper for keeping everything running smoothly in your organization. Here’s how a PMS can make a big difference: 

Compliance made simple

A PMS makes managing compliance straightforward and stress-free. It ensures that your policies are always up-to-date and that your team knows what’s required to stay compliant. No more scrambling to meet deadlines or worrying about regulatory changes, you’ll have all your compliance needs handled efficiently. 

Make policy management a breeze

Forget about manual updates and lost documents. With a PMS, policy management becomes much easier. Automated reminders and notifications mean less work for you, saving time and helping your team focus on what really matters. Plus, you can go paperless, which is great for both your budget and the environment. 

Keep everyone in the loop  

With a PMS, everyone gets the latest policy updates right when they need them. Regular updates and easy access to information make sure everyone knows what’s expected, which helps build a strong, rule-following culture. 

Boost employee engagement 

By sending out policies and tracking who’s read them, a PMS helps employees stay engaged and accountable. It’s easy for them to acknowledge and understand policies which support a positive work environment. 

Protect your brand’s reputation

A PMS helps safeguard your organization from legal trouble by ensuring data privacy and security. This not only keeps you compliant but also builds trust with your customers, showing that you’re committed to protecting their information. 

Recommended policies and free templates  

Starting your policy management journey can be simple and effective with the right tools and resources. Here are three essential policies we recommend for any organization, along with free templates to help you get started: 

IT security policy

This policy outlines your IT security goals and procedures to keep your tech systems safe. It’s essential for protecting your data from cyber threats. Get the free template to start drafting your policy and check out our blog post for easy-to-follow tips on how to implement IT security measures, from setting up firewalls to managing access controls. 

Acceptable use policy

Define what’s okay and what’s not when using your company’s IT resources. This policy helps maintain a secure and productive work environment by setting clear rules for everyone. Download the free template to create your own Acceptable Use Policy and read our blog post for best practices on enforcing these guidelines, including how to handle violations and communicate expectations.

Password policy

Create strong, effective passwords to keep your accounts and data secure. A solid Password Policy is key to preventing unauthorized access and data breaches. Grab the free template to get started, and discover more about password strategies in this blog post.

Policy Management and IT security 

We hope you enjoyed learning about how a Policy Management System can make managing your organization’s policies easier and more effective. 

We have a range of free resources designed to help you strengthen your security culture and keep your team informed. Start with 4 of our FREE awareness training courses to give your team a solid start in cybersecurity. And check out our phishing simulations for detecting and responding to threats.  

And don’t miss out on our free cybersecurity posters for quick reminders around the office and listen to Coffee and Cybersecurity, our podcast where we talk about the latest IT security trends while sipping coffee. 

We hope you find these tools helpful as you take your policy management and IT security practices to the next level.