It is human nature—people aiming for a goal typically look for the path of least resistance. And when staffing cutbacks and slashed budgets redefine “normal” modes of operation, it is only natural that employees are looking more fervently for efficiencies and ways to circumvent any process that slows them down.

Under these circumstances you have to be realistic. If your quality management system (QMS) is based on archaic, manual processes for managing and organizing critical information and processes, you cannot expect 100-percent cooperation from your employees. And how do you introduce oversight capabilities in a highly manual environment where there is a tendency to silo expertise and information? How can you know if quality policies are being followed?

Many enterprise content management (ECM) solution vendors are striving to tackle these quality management challenges with automated document control, oversight, and workflow management capabilities. An ECM framework can put regulated organizations on a course to achieve the required levels of accountability and compliance.

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