Acceptable Use Policies; the 'gossamer safety net'

The threat of employment related litigation has led most companies to develop and promulgate Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) as a first-line safety net. The problem with many of these AUPs is that they are gossamer thin, and often left to rot in the corner, unattended, unused and plunging towards obsolescence! These policies are there to protect the organisation (and the employee) and have a very specific risk-management purpose; a purpose that is frequently unfulfilled. The soft underbelly of many AUPs is the inconsistency with which they are applied and enforced. The root cause of this is, I contend, a failure to apply a technology led, business process model to policy management. In short; 'too many ring-binders and not enough intranet'. The paper policy chase is ineffectual, expensive and increasingly likely to incur the wrath of Regulators as requirements for corporate govenance continue to grow.

"It's not the name before the '@ sign' that's going to get in trouble; it's the name after it that will"

Michelle Drolet, president and CEO of ConQwest