We've always had sensible operational practices in place, like access approvals, change reviews, and incident handling, but now that we're facing formal audits, everything suddenly needs to be documented, tracked, and evidenced. It's frustrating because the work itself hasn't changed much, but the overhead has increased significantly. I'm looking for advice on how to transition from our informal but effective practices to something more auditable.
3 Answers
This is just part of working with larger companies. While being nimble is great, larger businesses need everything documented: policies, audit logs, you name it. Just make sure to inform management that this shift might reduce productivity unless you also increase staffing.
You'll need to get used to the overhead that comes with formal audits. Try to sit with the processes and assess what exactly needs to be produced and how it impacts your workload. This will help you figure out what parts can be automated or streamlined. It's definitely an iterative process and it can feel overwhelming at first, but it gets easier!
For sure! Just take it one step at a time and you'll find a rhythm.
The first step is to start documenting your processes. Since you're already following them informally, it shouldn't be too tough to write them down. Consider using a checklist format to simplify things. The sooner you begin, the better!
That's a great idea! I find that checklists really help in making sure nothing gets missed.
Totally agree! Just make it a part of your routine.
I've been there! It really helps to break it down into smaller tasks.