Practical IT Policies & Procedures provides a proven process to help you develop your own IT policies and procedures. The process helps you identify the policies you need in your company and how to go about developing them.
Every company has unique needs in this area. Practical Policies & Procedures helps you identify the areas that are of real importance and will add value to your business rather than simply writing up a bunch of policies.
Included in the publication are twenty-three sample policies and procedures to help you get started quickly.
Every order receives both the Adobe PDF ebook and a Microsoft WORD document including the 23 samples so you may modify as needed for your unique situation. The list of sample policies and procedures included: IT_01 Email and Instant Messaging IT_02 Internet usage IT_03 Password security IT_04 Intranet usage IT_05 Phone usage IT_06 Building security and access IT_07 Software usage IT_08 PC software standards IT_09 Travel and entertainment IT_10 Employee conduct IT_11 Employee non-compete IT_12 Employee non-solicitation IT_13 Performance plans and reviews IT_14 Training and reimbursement IT_15 Working from home IT_16 Inventory and equipment IT_17 PC standards IT_18 Equipment requests (Adds, Changes, Deletes) IT_19 New employee startup IT_20 Information security IT_21 Remote access IT_22 Privacy IT_23 Service level agreements
- Adobe PDF ebook - MS Word file with the 23 sample policies that can be customized as needed
Sample excerpts
Table of Contents
I. Are policies and procedures necessary ? II. Objectives of policies and procedures III. A quick process for developing policies and procedures IV. Components of a good policy - Policy name - Objective - Applies to - Key guidelines (the policy and/or procedures) - Who to ask for clarification - Last revision date - Samples for clarification V. Keep it simple VI. Pay attention to the targeted audience VII. Implementation tips - Do your homework - Be consistent - Be "net" when writing the introduction - Why format is important - Communication methods VIII. Sample IT Policies and Procedures IT_01 Email and Instant Messaging IT_02 Internet usage IT_03 Password security IT_04 Intranet usage IT_05 Phone usage IT_06 Building security and access IT_07 Software usage IT_08 PC software standards IT_09 Travel and entertainment IT_10 Employee conduct IT_11 Employee non-compete IT_12 Employee non-solicitation IT_13 Performance plans and reviews IT_14 Training and reimbursement IT_15 Working from home IT_16 Inventory and equipment IT_17 PC standards IT_18 Equipment requests (Adds, Changes, Deletes) IT_19 New employee startup IT_20 Information security IT_21 Remote access IT_22 Privacy IT_23 Service level agreements IX. Enforcing your policies X. Policy and Procedure Resources XI. Conclusion Appendix - Terms
Policies and procedures are elements to support your business, they are not the answer. That's why I emphasize taking a practical look at them in terms of:
To what extent do you need policies and procedures? Which policies and procedures make sense? To what level of detail do you need to develop them? What are effective means of communicating them? How do you inspect and enforce them?
Taking a "practical" look at how formal policies and procedures fit into your company means using your best judgment as to whether they provide tangible benefit. Don't spend your time developing them just because the company down the street has them. It's totally irrelevant what others have in place.
If you can't define the value that formal policies and procedures will provide in either mitigating risk or defining behavior you want followed, spend your time on more important issues.
23 sample policies
Putting a policy in place, communicating it, and enforcing it with employees is one way to reduce or eliminate your exposure in such a situation.
Personal note: In a company acquisition, my IT due diligence discovered the fact that the company we were acquiring had considerable software compliance issues. In the Due Diligence Report I wrote, it included this issue as well as my estimated costs of getting the business compliant once the purchase was completed.
Three weeks after we closed the deal, our company was contacted by an outside agency about unauthorized use of software.
Order the book to learn the rest of the story.
Personal Notes are used to add interest and to emphasize key points.
Get new employees off to a fast and productive start with the New Employee Startup policy.
Includes specific steps to take:
- before the first day - on the first day - after the first day
