Taking care of business: consistent data management
Business leaders have plenty to think about. The external market demands placed on companies can be enormous. There is always a need to be ahead of the competition, and still be innovating and looking for the next growth and development opportunity.
But what about internal factors? There are a lot of operational areas to consider, and there are many little things that get neglected. Over time, small problems will cost you quite a lot. And institutionalised negligence when it comes to these issues will be hard to stamp out. With data being a massive commodity for many companies, looking after this should be part of your ongoing strategy.
Implementing new strategies across your workforce can save you time and money. Your business will be more efficient, and your information more secure.
Setting the standard
Implementing branding templates across your business will allow uniformed communication with customers and through content and social media. Companies that fail to invest in setting the tone within their information, risk having employees sending out mixed signals. Being 'on brand' is vital to most businesses, as there does always need to be a clear point of difference. Diluting your brand with an unclear message can cause your business to suffer. By utilising branding templates, you will reduce the risk of this happening.
Protecting your data
Data regulations require that all personal information be handled with privacy and security in mind. In business, this applies to data about employees as well as customers. Making sure that any documents that are sent either internally, or to anyone outside of your organisation, are done so with the utmost care, should be a high priority. Often, documents have inconsistencies in their security settings that can mean that the wrong person can easily read them.
Setting a standardised security protocol surrounding all company documents will ensure that you have consistency across your estate. This will prevent accidental leaks, as sharing can be controlled and tracked to a much higher degree.
Using a centralised cloud for storage of all information is another way of ironing out security flaws. Keeping data on local devices puts it at danger of being lost or stolen.
Having levels of access to the cloud is also significant too. Having everyone be allowed to view all of the information available could cause problems. Make sure that sharing of information is relevant, and that tires of access are appropriately managed.
Passwords
Regular company-wide password resets should be standard practice. It might only take one account to become compromised for you to lose important information or put your business at risk of hacking, which could result in substantial financial losses for your business and your customers.
Implementing an automatically prompted, monthly charge across the board can minimise this risk.
Simple things such as making sure employee accounts are removed when they leave the company are essential too.
Getting your business into focused and secure data habits will reduce the chances of your data getting into the wrong hands.
