Electronic LIbrary
Creating an Electronic Library
Compliance professionals should ideally work with information technology to create an electronic library of resources, including policies and procedures, diagrams, information presented in stories, and educational materials.
Compliance Benefits
There are many compliance benefits to having an online resource of materials, with the greatest benefit being that individuals will be able to quickly look questions up that pertain to their day to day job function, which gives them the sense of being able to do their job without friction and in an independent manner. An online resource can also be used by individuals to quickly answer questions by phone to assist others in upholding compliance principles. Online resources that are organized well can be used by individuals to search key terms and to find an answer quickly themselves during their work day, or even for guidance on resolving a debate during meetings. Well organized polices and procedures and compliance materials that are within an electronic library of some kind can also help provide at least some type of guidance in emergency situations.
Intranet and Public Resource
The electronic library can include both an intranet of items that only internal individuals can see, as well as a public site of compliance information.
Version Control
It is extremely important to consolidate all policies and procedures to a combination of Intranet and online sites, as well as retaining several printed master copies, because this will eliminate the possibility of administrators not knowing where the policies and procedures are located. These materials should be used and quoted in their day to day work. It is of the highest importance that applicable individuals within an organization all know and can point to where the most current policies and procedures are located to avoid the submission of the incorrect policies to government auditors and accreditation agencies. Further, it is important to maintain this database with strict version control and keep updates consistent.
