Uncertain Times Requires Steady Information Governance

Last month the world and our traditional definition of work collapsed around COVID-19. Out of the ashes of a systemic shock has risen the opportunity to rethink how companies keep employees productive to achieve organizational goals using readily available technologies. Respected thought leaders are moving forward by balancing the need for immediacy with sound information governance (IG) practices.

No matter which collaboration tool you’ve selected, employees need to be up and running in days (not months) and appropriate guardrails are required. At the same time, reasonable controls need to be implemented to protect your information assets and satisfy regulatory requirements, while, simultaneously, keeping employees engaged and productive.

Four tips to enable your workforce while protecting your IG principles.  

1.    Enable a collaboration tool, such as Microsoft Teams, to maintain effective teamwork.

• Deploy a tool with a rich capability suite to prevent shadow IT from creeping into your environment.

2.    Social interaction is essential for employees in challenging times, but open communication requires appropriate security boundaries.

• Consider how interactions with those outside your company are approved and enabled. Under what circumstances and with what approvals should guests be invited or admitted into your environment?

• Evaluate mobile access and enable Mobile Device Management, where appropriate.

3.    Set simple, clear and consistent rules to promote shared responsibility and avert bad habits.

• Define the terms of use for new tools based on your legal and regulatory environment.

• Enable broad safety nets, such as retention and deletion policies that can be refined later.

4.    Plan your IG strategy and controls and lay the foundation for future enhancements, even if you need to stagger or delay implementation of IG controls.

• Regularly consult with all members of your IG team to refine minimum guidelines, but also design incremental improvements that can be implemented in the future.

• Remember small governance gains are okay; they can lead to big gains in the future.

Predictable governance is essential in these exceedingly unpredictable times. A clear IG strategy that sets firm ground rules now and allows for refinement and improvement later, is the best path forward.

Karen Ehrlich is a Principal Consultant at Cohasset Associates, one of the nation's foremost management consulting firms specializing in records management and information governance. For additional information, contact Karen at  karen.ehrlich@cohasset.com.