Automating policy management with modern tech: How and why

As ever, policies are the rulebooks that keep organizations running smoothly. Think of them as the playbook for making sure everyone’s on the same page and not going rogue. By setting standard processes and rules for conduct, policies ensure that employees’ work stays compliant and consistent. Businesses capture these policies in writing, from guidelines to principles and compliance standards—basically, anything employees look to for direction on how to get things done right.

Policies can include, for example:

• Codes of conduct  
• Work council agreements  
• Documents on workplace safety
• Work instructions  
• Safety information (e.g. IT security)
• User guides (e.g. manuals for operating equipment)
• Process descriptions and/or workflows
• Travel policies  
• Work time directives

In order for employees to be able to read the policies, the policies have to be accessible centrally – so that every employee knows where to find the information. This is the role that policy management plays in an organization.

Policy management includes all activities related to policies – developing, reviewing, publishing, communicating and monitoring them. Rarely is one department responsible specifically for policy management. Depending on the policy, safety officers, the works council or the employer are responsible for managing the relevant policy.

Policy management is a crucial part of a company’s security framework. It makes sure businesses aren’t just ticking boxes for legal and regulatory requirements—it also plays a key role in reducing risks. Take the Work Time Directive 2003, for example, which ensures employees don’t burn out by exceeding legally allowed hours. Or consider security notices for IT systems, which help fend off cyber-attacks before they become a serious threat. In short, smart policy management keeps your business safe and compliant, all while reducing the chances of something going wrong.

Policy management can cover topics such as:

• Meeting legal, regulatory, and compliance requirements
• Harmonizing and updating standards
• Ensuring more efficient processes
• Minimizing risks

Policy managers, such as IT security officers, manage policies throughout their entire lifecycle. The workflow for policy management looks like the following:

Step 1: Developing the policy

When new laws come into play, business processes evolve, or compliance risks are spotted, companies need to update or create new policies. Policy managers take the lead, drafting the initial version in collaboration with key stakeholders, specialist departments or relevant teams. These policies outline clear guidelines and objectives, leaving no room for ambiguity. They also make it clear who’s responsible for ensuring those policies are followed, so there’s always accountability from the start.

Step 2: Reviewing the policy

Once a policy is drafted, policy management steps in for a thorough review. They consider key questions: Does it meet all legal requirements? Is it practical to implement? Are the guidelines clear and comprehensive? This process ensures that policies aren’t just ideas on paper but actionable and compliant. For example, policy management checks if a new data protection policy aligns with GDPR or if the latest work instructions can realistically be put into practice.

Step 3: Publishing the policy

The policy manager makes approved policies accessible to all authorized employees – ideally digitally via a policy management system. It’s important for the content of the policy to be presented clearly and understandably in a user-friendly format, and employees should be able to access the policy easily and without confusion.

Step 4: Explaining the policy to employees

It's not enough for employees to simply have access to a policy. They need to truly understand it. Training sessions and informational events can help with that. These sessions can demonstrate why, for example, the travel policy exists to protect employees and how it directly relates to their work. This approach makes policies more than just rules, but rather practical tools employees can apply in their daily tasks.

But first, employees need to formally acknowledge these policies. If the policy is digital, a simple “Accept” button can be tracked, making it easy to monitor who’s complied. To go a step further, knowledge tests can be used to ensure that employees haven’t just skimmed the policy but have actually understood and absorbed it.

Step 5: Monitoring the policy

In the long term, businesses monitor policies through audits, reports and analytics. These demonstrate whether:

• Employees are consistently complying with the policy,
• The policy is still current,
• The policy is efficient, and
• What risks arise from the policy.

In the event of risks or violations, policy management develops measures. These are intended to improve compliance and minimize the risk of failure. If the policy needs to be updated, the workflow starts over.

Policy and compliance management can sometimes be a challenge for businesses. As the dimensions and degree of internationalization increase, policy management is becoming more complex. After all, it’s not enough to set up policies once. Laws, regulations and internal processes change – and so do policies. It’s important to stay up to date, as outdated policies may be inefficient or even impossible to implement in a digital business world.

Even if policies are always kept up to date, it’s not guaranteed they’re being applied consistently across the business. Monitoring and audits can reveal how well-informed employees are, whether they’re following policies correctly, and if they can easily access them when needed. This insight allows businesses to take corrective action and ensure policies are not just in place, but actively guiding decisions and operations—driving policy-based management forward.

However, too many policies can be detrimental. Viewing processes only in a standardized manner deprives a business of the flexibility needed to remain competitive on the market. Finding a balance here is often difficult, but digital systems designed to streamline policy management (policy management software) can help businesses better manage this balancing act.

With a document management system (DMS), policies can be managed seamlessly throughout their lifecycle—from drafting to archiving. Every step of the process is handled directly within the platform, streamlining policy management. Take Doxis, for example, which goes a step further, automating workflows to make managing policies easier and more efficient.

How does policy management work in Doxis?

If there’s one thing this article makes clear, it’s that compliance and risk management are non-negotiable, and that policies can't just be a formality tucked away in a binder. They need to be dynamic, actionable and seamlessly integrated into everyday business operations. And as we’ve explored, ECM means that police management finally goes modern. It finally becomes an automated, transparent and adaptable process that cuts back on manual effort and reclaims so much lost time. And with those reclaimed hours, businesses can finally invest more effort in higher-valued tasks, knowing that policy management is running smarter, safer and with greater control. This is the new gold standard, and the days of fumbling with outdated, manual—and shudder to think—paper-based processes might finally be coming to an end.

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FAQs about policy management