When it comes to effectively managing compliance, the ongoing pandemic has well and truly thrown a spanner in the mix.
While in March just 12% of Australians worked from home most days, by September, this figure shot up to 31%. With more employees working remotely, the way organisations across the country manage their compliance has changed drastically.
This is an era where the need to cater for remote access and rapid change is paramount – and compliance with legislation and relevant ISO standards is no exception.
It’s generally well understood that requirements can differ between states. As states and territories are impacted to varying degrees, their rules and regulations are ever-changing. It can be difficult to keep up with compliance guidelines in one state, let alone manage a business across multiple states or even countries.
Such complications are almost always there but, in a time when they’re becoming increasingly prevalent, cloud-based systems have become all the more appealing to organisations looking to preserve their continuity.
Cloud-based systems are ideal for managing workers remotely, while also giving you the agility to respond efficiently and effectively in the midst of a crisis. Further, you can securely back up your systems and rapidly communicate with stakeholders. All of this is, of course, critical in improving business continuity.
What is business continuity?
Managing a business is always going to have its challenges. Remote working, as mentioned above, has been just one of them. Now organisations are realising the benefits, such as the fact that effective remote setup has been shown to cost ten times less than an office space, it’s expected many staff will continue working from home – even in the not so near future.
When new challenges come to light and organisations are forced to quickly pivot yet again, how prepared are you to overcome such obstacles?
Business continuity involves the steps you take to proactively manage risks. This is generally done through identifying and preparing for emergency events, which helps organisations respond quickly and effectively to crises.
For many companies, cloud-based systems are a critical component of their business continuity plan. With compliance software, organisations can improve efficiencies and streamline systems so, if disaster strikes, they are more than ready to adjust operations accordingly.
By investing in lean cloud-based systems, you have the opportunity to:
- Respond efficiently and effectively to disasters;
- Communicate directly with employees with ease;
- Readily adjust systems without the administrative burden of paper-based documentation and clunky processes;
- Base business decisions on real-time insights;
- Reduce errors in times of high-pressure;
- Manage employees across various locations.
Through leveraging cloud-based systems, organisations can minimise the short and long-term impacts of a crisis and, subsequently, improve business continuity.
How does cloud-based IMS support business continuity?
1. Removes clunky processes
With clunky, out-dated paper-based systems, there’s far more room for mistakes and human error. When staff are already under pressure and working to respond to a disaster – mistakes are the last thing you need.
During a crisis, inefficient systems could seriously hinder your response efforts and slow down your team. Manual data entry is not only time consuming, but could also lead to important information being lost or incorrectly recorded. Further, out-dated systems can be inconsistent, which may lead to a disjointed and inefficient response.
Lean, streamlined and up-to-date cloud-based systems help organisations confidently take swift action when managing disasters, which can help them minimise the long-term impact such occurrences have on their business.
2. Improved flexibility and scalability of management systems
By investing in compliance software, organisations can also enjoy the flexibility that comes with more adaptable systems. This means they can make changes quickly, rather than being held back by inefficient processes.
In the midst of a crisis, getting bogged down in paperwork and spending time trying to decipher confusing systems is not an effective use of your time. Rather, you want to be focusing on strategically and promptly responding – and cloud-based systems help you do just that.
Moreover, with cloud-based systems, employees can access company information from wherever they’re based. This alleviates the administrative and logistical burden of events, such as the pandemic, that force staff to work from different locations.
3. More time to spend on meaningful tasks
When a crisis strikes, it’s not just the fallout that staff need to manage. In many cases, employees are also under pressure to keep usual business operations going. This is done while managing and adjusting to any changes like working remotely, updated security measures and new health and safety protocols.
However, with cloud-based systems, businesses can automate repetitive tasks involved in implementing changes, which improves productivity, communication capabilities and performance.
This means staff can spend more time completing meaningful work that truly benefits the business, all the while maintaining the quality and timeliness of the organisation’s service or product.
Ask our team about cloud-based IMS
For more information or if this article has raised any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. With consultants across Australia, we can help your business introduce efficient and robust cloud-based systems – so you can start enjoying the benefits sooner.
We also have extensive experience helping organisations achieve compliance with various ISO standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 27001. To find out more about our services, some of which can be provided via remote consulting, contact us today.