ServiceNow comes with a GRC module to enable organizations to automate and to provide broader understanding of all GRC activities in a single window with real time monitoring to handle risk in advance.
ServiceNow GRC allows an organization to create a risk taxonomy based on risks and controls associated with different entities within the company. They can be filtered and grouped using the software, eliminating the need to maintain multiple spreadsheets. This approach comes with plenty of reporting advantages, but risk and compliance teams may have difficulty aligning the foundational data appropriately.
So how can you successfully implement risk management using ServiceNow GRC? Let’s find out!
Steps to Make Your ServiceNow GRC Implementation Successful
1. Determine Your Objectives
Determine what you need to achieve by implementing the service and what you need to make it run effectively. Which insights are important and actionable for your company? ServiceNow’s dashboard contains so much information that it would be excessive for most users. Adding all this data to your dashboard can complicate your processes; include only the information the end-user can understand and apply.
2. Develop a Governance Structure
All GRCs require a governance structure. ServiceNow requires strong governance where you have identified the stakeholders, their roles, and objectives. Check how the stakeholder processes can work together with ServiceNow GRC.
You can then determine the applicable standards for the GRC module implementation by referring to the platform’s entity types and the CMDB.
3. Streamline Your User Interface
Streamlining your GRC is focusing on how the processes are designed and how front-line workers interact with the platform.
When implementing a new GRC process, avoid the complex back-end process (applicable to higher risk managers) to create a smooth, efficient workflow requiring just a few clicks to avoid overwhelming your front-line users who may not be as familiar with the complexities of the service. This will ultimately make your risk and compliance program more effective.
4. Be Candid and Train Workers
Communicate with workers about the adoption of this platform and how it will impact their jobs. Employees in all parts of the organization will likely be impacted in some way and making sure everyone is informed and trained on the ServiceNow tools relevant to their work will streamline the process and prevent confusion.
5. Think Long-Term Growth
Make sure to continuously assess processes to identify ineffective or unnecessary practices. You may want to consider hiring an outside service provider as your demand grows. You may decide to implement more of ServiceNow’s offerings as you move forward.
Guiding Steps for Risk Management ServiceNow Implementation
1. Identify the Risks
Before you begin the process, take a close look at your risk management processes and your organization’s objectives. Document all existing and potential risks and existing controls. Determine a procedure for risk measurement. ServiceNow offers both qualitative and quantitative risk scores.
ServiceNow uses frontline questionnaire responses to identify risk. Then, it offers guidance to map risks and autogenerate controls.
2. Manage the Identified Risks
There are several ways to manage the identified risks. You can avoid, transfer, accept, reduce likelihood or consequence, or retain the risk. Where the risk is high, you can consider retraining your staff or reviewing client engagements.
Risk management processes may include
- Clarifying the engagement terms
- Keeping accurate documentation
- Comparing action timelines with diary systems
- Maintaining a strict selection standard for clients and consultants/agents
- Acquiring appropriate insurance cover and control claims as soon as they occur
- Implementing only where there’s sufficient expertise
3. Analyze and Evaluate Your Risks
Analysis and evaluation of risks should be an ongoing process. ServiceNow’s interactive dashboard offers the user access to advanced reporting and risk trend analysis.
4. Automate and Integrate
Utilize ServiceNow’s indicators to automate risk management. This is one benefit that sets it apart from other risk management tools. The indicators are used to collect data and monitor risks and compliance. You can integrate data from various assessments to save time and boost insight accuracy.
5. Be Proactive
Risk managers usually spend so much time collecting data, analyzing it, and preparing reports that they can’t do much else. Once these processes are automated with ServiceNow, the risk manager is available to assess and measure risks more proactively. They can also assist leaders with risk-based decision-making.
6. Remedy Issues
Use ServiceNow to employ artificial intelligence and machine learning to assign and suggest remediation when performance issues come up. This process used to take days for a risk manager to accomplish, so automating it is another exceptional time-saver.
7. Keep Monitoring for More Risks
You should continuously monitor risk management strategies. With time, new risks spring up, and current risks may decrease, increase, or disappear. The priority of risks or their management may change. ServiceNow’s platform helps to make this process easier.
What does monitoring entail?
- Identifying new risks
- Tracking existing risks
- Identifying troubling areas
- Evaluating the efficacy of your current risk management strategies
Monitoring helps you to keep introducing new measures to counter new risks.
8. Keep Records
It is essential to retain written records of major risks identified, the assessment process, and the measures you took to minimize the impacts of the risks. Documentation provides a framework against which your firm’s operations are conducted, a guide to action, and a constant reference. ServiceNow’s dashboard makes documentation simple and searchable.
ServiceNow’s Guiding Principles of Implementation
- The GRC solution should be straightforward
- The GRC solution should be appropriate for your organization’s needs
- Your GRC solution should be effective
Benefits of Implementing Risk Management
- Increases profitability as a result of improved client, and job controls
- Adds the knowledge and understanding of risks exposure
- Comprehensive and systematic decision-making method
- Keeps your firm in a better position to control costs through enhanced workflows and better client evaluation and engagement methods
- Staff have a clearer understanding of processes
- Reduces litigation risks through contingency plans
- Creates a basis for effective and strategic planning
- Offers a framework for ongoing improvement within your organization
Summary
Before implementing risk management, preparation is critical. Consider your existing risk management processes, clarify your risk standards, and communicate and train all workers as you transition to ServiceNow’s platform.
You’ll need to invest plenty of initial efforts during a ServiceNow GRC implementation, but the payout will be well worth it after establishing a streamlined and actionable solution.
