Benefits of formalizing and digitizing the management system

The term “management system” is often used synonymously with software. However, software is only one step towards digitizing the management system. A key term in the definition of management systems is “all.” In an organization, there are many moving parts that all with each other synchronized must be in order to achieve the best result. Only certain departments of an organization formalize and digitize parts of the system, form silos and company-wide coordination and communication break down. The merging of Environmental, quality, safety and energy management systems leads to the formation of a Integrated management system.

An extremely important part of management systems is the People within an organization. A system lives and dies through the active application of formalized and digitized game rules, principles and processes by all employees. interaction is the key to a successful management system.

A interactive integrated management system can therefore be regarded as a documentation and communication hub for an organization. It is a central point of contact for information seekers, communicators and knowledge carriers within the organization. Formalizing, digitizing and promoting engagement with a management system is an ongoing process.

Five benefits of interactive integrated management systems

Efforts to create an interactive integrated management system are rewarded with numerous benefits:

1. Increased transparency

Formalizing and digitizing a management system brings clarity to an organization. Role management, organization charts, goals, visions and mission statements represent important aspects of a company. The preparation and documentation of this information in an easily consumable form contributes to transparency within the organization. Understanding who is responsible for what goes a long way in avoiding confusion and conflict. When the top line has Objectives and visions are transparent Does, does this promote the communications and the Knowledge sharing in the company.

When documenting game rules, processes and principles, it is also important that they comply with the Drill-down principle is done. This means that the documentation should become more and more detailed at deeper levels from a rough overview. In this way, you create orientation and every employee within the organization is able to find the information they need for their tasks. This comprehensive compilation is called demand-oriented documentation. This level of transparency promotes the exchange of knowledge between employees and enables all colleagues to complete tasks efficiently and reliably.

2. Happy, engaged employees

Have you ever heard of the “great resignation”? It is also known as “The Big Quit” and means the trend of frequent layoffs by employees since 2021. The reasons for these cancellations vary. They range from a sense of lack of appreciation in the workplace, a lack of motivation and a toxic work culture, to a lack of purpose and purpose. In short, employees are dissatisfied. Increasing transparency can go a long way to solving this problem — and much more can be done.

For example, you can document processes and tasks decentralize. Transfer responsibility for certain sections of the management system to real knowledge experts and thus promote participation within the organization. When you give your employees the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience first-hand, you have the best possible, realistic documentation and you strengthen your employees' sense of belonging at the same time. Knowledge carriers take on more responsibility and feel part of the whole with a firm place in the company.

3. Efficient onboarding

An employment relationship is a two-way street, and employers are currently struggling to fill vacant positions and retain new hires. One way to achieve this is to have a successful Onboarding process. This is particularly important for companies in a growth phase. When new employees feel welcome, all IT requirements are met and they are equipped with all resources, this goes a long way in establishing a lasting employment relationship.

4. The right information, in the right place, at the right time

Who doesn't know it? You search on a local file server for the latest version of a document, such as an export declaration for a specific country, and the files might look like this:

06_05_2022_Export_Indien_final_final.docx
02_03_2022_Export_Indien_final.docx
06_05_2022_Export_Indien_final_neu.docx

One of the “final” versions is certainly the right one, but this is barely noticeable, especially for new employees. Two of the three files in this example were even saved on the same day. It then turns out that the final export declaration files are not in the “Export Declaration” folder, but in the “Final” folder. If only a handful of people know this and it is not documented, there is a risk that the newly hired employee, for example, uses an incorrect form.

Although the file server is an example of “digitization,” it is a long way from an integrated interactive management system. Implementing a software program allows old files to be automatically versioned and archived and ensures that all members of the organization follow the correct processes and use the right files in daily business operations. Most importantly, a well-structured and up-to-date digitized administration system reduces search times.

5. Audit and certification preparation

Do you also regularly experience stress before audits? Or have you invested many hours preparing an organization for ISO 27001 or ISO 9001 certification? Stress and a sense of poor preparation before an audit or certification are symptoms of a poor management system. All too often, there are discrepancies between documentation and reality. Because of these discrepancies, the management system is rarely used and system updates are declining. If an audit or recertification is pending, these discrepancies must be adjusted. This is usually time-consuming, stressful, and frustrating.

All too often, processes and work instructions are documented in accordance with standards, but ignore the reality of the process and operational practice. A better solution is to document existing processes and rules as realistically as possible in an interactive system and to create a correlation matrix between processes and standard or audit requirements. This makes it possible to identify discrepancies and adjust processes in real time. Decentralizing this task to process experts and allowing the entire team to have discussions about an existing process keeps documentation up to date and automatically prepares the organization for the next audit or recertification.

conclusion

The above benefits can be realized with an interactive integrated management system. Therefore, in addition to formalization, the aspect of digitization is an important key to success. Important: Software is only the vehicle. Employees must get behind the wheel to set up and successfully implement a lively and truly practical interactive management system. Gone are the days of dusty manuals. It is time to create a participatory culture and bring management systems to life.