Why Rogue Policies Are a Growing Liability

Is your organization finding it difficult to combat rogue policies popping up throughout the business? Any given manager could potentially write a document, start calling it a policy, and begin communicating it to other employees throughout your organization.

The problem is that many organizations do not have complete control of their policies and organization at large. It is reminiscent of Chicago during the crime wave of the 1920’s where everyone seemed to make their own rules – absent of order and with pandemonium all but assure, similar to every department and manager writing their own policies.

So how can your organization fight against rogue policies popping up throughout the extended enterprise? Here is what you have to do:

• Easy Accessibility - Official policies should be easily accessible and recognizable by the template they are in and how they are indexed and numbered.
• Set Core Procedures and Policies - Each organization should have an established set of core policies and procedures on the writing and drafting of policies. This creates the overarching framework for policy management, how policies should be written and approved, and how policies are maintained and updated within your organization.
• Utilize Technology to Audit Policies - Your organization must leverage technology to scan files and servers to find rogue and out-of-date policies that should be deleted.
• Communicate to Employees - Proper communication to employees regarding how policies can be found and proper training and communication on what policies are and what they entail. Develop internal channels and a single, unified portal that can allow them to find any policy and report on it through the portal.

Rogue policies are a growing concern for organizations everywhere and require an agile, modern, continuous, and structured process to manage and mitigate the risk of liability for the organization. These are not static issues to manage but are very dynamic and challenging to effectively monitor.