Investing in a GRC system is a critical decision for an organization. Nevertheless, selecting the right GRC system that fits your organization is complex. It will be a disaster if you implement a GRC system without understanding the GRC requirements of the organization and having an operational framework.
Above all, getting the buy-in from the stakeholders, delivering up to their expectations, and successfully implementing the GRC system can be arduous.
To implement the GRC processes and system effectively, you must first analyze the organization’s compliance, risk, and governance requirements. First, analyze the existing compliance and risk management framework, and understand the gaps before choosing the GRC system for your organization.
Selection Process For GRC Software
The market offers a variety of GRC software for you to choose from. It would help if you understood first what you want from the system. Before choosing the system, ask the vendor for a demo. Plan and speak to multiple vendors, attend the demo, and analyze the price and features.
Specifically, ask for support and the product roadmap. You should know whether the product can scale based on your requirements. Consider the following factors before you make a choice:
User Experience
User experience and accessibility are such variables that, while seemingly secondary to the main functionality of a software solution, significantly impact its value and effectiveness.
As software solutions evolve, accessibility and a robust user interface have taken on increasing importance in the value proposition for a given solution.
Accessibility
Accessibility is important because it facilitates adoption and consistency. There is also accessibility built into the applicability of the product, as legacy systems operate on less functional mechanisms, which can present barriers to accessibility.
Poor user experience can be the downfall of many new project implementations, and those abandoned projects translate into wasted time and resources in finding an effective solution.
Key Areas To Check When Considering Accessibility
Several key notes to keep in mind while considering accessibility within a user interface include but are not limited to:
- Navigation
- Visual Clarity
- Consistency
- Error Prevention
Navigation and visual clarity are key facilitators of productivity. Allowing users to understand where to find things and intuitively know where to proceed. Visual clarity helps intuition and removes hesitation when indicators are easily readable and understood.
A vital functionality that companies should intentionally build into the system is error prevention. A good measure of this feature is the quality of the system’s feedback when those errors appear and how easily understood and actionable that information is.
The Importance of Consistency
Consistency is important for confidence in interacting with the system. When the system’s various functions operate uniformly, it is simpler for users to have confidence in how the system will respond to their input. Uniformity reduces the complexity of the system’s individual parts without sacrificing functionality.
Several big-picture components should be examined by organizations when they select modern software solutions. The centralization and isolation of any software solution is the most important concern, as how various elements either facilitate or hinder widespread adoption.
Could-based software solutions offer lightweight and robust capabilities with a much smaller footprint. Implementing and maintaining? A cloud-based solution is much simpler and offers consistency between sites.
On-site solutions require many more resources to implement and maintain and are vulnerable to variations from site to site, hindering constancy in both usability and reliability across the organization.
Integration
The third aspect to consider is the ease at which the software can integrate and address your needs. Risk management covers many organizational tasks, processes, and other considerations.
Legacy systems often address a single area or specific problem. These systems may be highly functional in that task. However, they are prone to the same shortcomings as previously mentioned, high variability and added weight as multiple solutions are needed to achieve the same goal. This can lead to isolated systems, irregular processes, and increased overall weight.
Modern platform solutions offer an advantage in their applicability and consistency across many circumstances. Additionally, integration is also key to adding to the consistency and uniformity of the solution.
Conclusion
It is crucial to choose a GRC platform that will set your organization up for success by reducing the silos, making it easy to adopt, and improving the organization’s confidence.
Once you select the GRC solution, you must allocate enough resources to administer and manage GRC management. Define key roles and responsibilities for defining a mature GRC program. Encourage your employees to support GRC initiatives positively.
Another important aspect is good communication. Communication is vital for the successful implementation of the GRC system. Communication throughout the implementation phase and clarify any doubts.
Work with your vendor and request your vendor to help you with a checklist for implementation.
Make sure the management, vendors, stakeholders, and adopters are on the same page with the organization’s requirements. Bring transparency into the scope of processes, controls, and the platform’s capabilities to accommodate them.