Small and medium businesses (SMBs) by definition are "caught in the middle" - too small for huge infrastructure investment, too big for ad hoc decision making. One affordable, extensible, intelligent solution that's available now should be high priority for every SMB. That solution is policy. What kind of policy? Policy governing behavior and process - the better defined, the more it can do. Key policies that every organization should put in place immediately include:

* Usage policy saying exactly what's ok usage and not ok usage of the organization's resources. For example, downloading of pornography using company resources is strictly forbidden.

* Privacy and security policy detailing each employee's responsibility for maintaining security throughout the organization.

* Non-discrimination, non-harassment policy. Although this may seem like stating the obvious, defining and communicating this policy goes a long way to being able to effectively enforce legislation and protect the organization.

Clearly, having policies is not enough. Policies must be enforced and punitive action taken when breached. A policy that's not enforced is worse than no policy at all. But before policy can be enforced, it must be well communicated. Smart companies make communicating and enforcing policy a high priority.

A low-tech solution? Not necessarily. Many organizations find that using a learning system to convey and test policy understanding is a wise investment. A well-designed policy teaches employees appropriate, expected behaviors. Often costly behaviors can be avoided if people know what they're supposed to do and what they're not supposed to do. Moreover, if a company is faced with litigation, having documentation that rules were clearly communicated and that the organization was compliant with legislation goes a long way toward protecting the company.

Certain kinds of policy compliance can be created using software and hosted solutions. The policy must of course be well-defined, or no technical solution will be able to enforce it.

There are many areas where policy can help, and good policy will be refined over time. Most importantly, begin the process of defining policy. In this very process, you'll discover all kinds of misunderstandings, lack of information, and mistakes waiting to happen. Act now. Creating policy cannot wait.

Baroudi Bloor

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