WHITE PAPERReducing Audit Fatigue in Five Steps

Reducing Audit Fatigue in Five StepsRizePoint | White Paper

TO SUCCEED IN TODAY’S HYPER-COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, ORGANIZATIONS NEED AUDITS. AUDITS PROVIDE CRITICAL INFORMATION ABOUT HOW ORGANIZATIONS CAN IMPROVE EVERYTHING FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE TO REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH AUDITING IS CRUCIAL TO ORGANIZATIONS’ SUCCESS, MANY ORGANIZATIONS STILL USE OUTDATED AUDITING PROCESSES.

Antiquated manual auditing processes such as paper data-collection forms and electronic spreadsheets have a number of negative effects: They can delay action that, if more timely, could improve organizations’ reputations and increase their bottom lines. Moreover, they can cause auditing fatigue, which adversely affects auditors’ morale—and sometimes the morale of audited employees as well. Auditing fatigue can also affect the quality of information auditors gather, which then limits the information organizations can use to maintain brand integrity, improve business practices, and stay compliant withregulations.

To reduce auditing fatigue and improve overall audit quality, organizations can take the following five steps:

1. STREAMLINE ANTIQUATEDDATA-GATHERING METHODSBeing involved in an audit can be extremelyfrustrating because data needs can changein an instant. Whether changes result froma government body introducing a newregulation or an internal department changinga process or policy, changes in data needscause corresponding audit changes. Manualdata-gathering processes just can’t keep upwith this level of change.

With manual processes, auditors run the risk of using outdated forms because they haven’t yet received updates. When thishappens, they have to conduct the audits again using the correct forms. Such occurrences exhaust auditors and negatively impact their morale. Repeating audits also increases organizations’ auditing expenses.

What’s more, the paper forms organizations give their auditors are often several pages long and contain hundreds of questions, many of which don’t apply to every location the auditors must visit. Therefore, auditors have to sort through countless questions to find the ones that are relevant to the location they are auditing.

Even when organizations have auditing software in place, most auditing solutions include complex forms, provide limitedmobile access and require extra steps that increase auditors’ workloads. For example, with most auditing software, when data needs change, auditors themselves must update and produce new forms. Although such auditing solutions improve upon manual auditing processes, their complexity makes them less than ideal vehicles for reducing auditing fatigue. Further, because most solutions don’t automatically populate forms with information organizations’ networks can provide, employees (who have their own deadlines and responsibilities) must spend time answering

questions that a more efficient solution would answer for them. Hence, audited employees also become frustrated and wearied by constant changes in auditing forms.

With RizePoint’s mobile-friendly software, auditors won’t feel exhausted or overwhelmed by the amount of information they have to document and report. RizePoint software solutions offer an efficient and easy auditing method that provides a highly customizable administrative tool and mobile friendly auditing forms.ir organizations’ performance, they simply access and update the forms in the online portal. RizePoint software then automatically synchronizes the new forms with RizePoint Mobile Auditor, the mobile application from which auditors retrieve the most recent forms.

The administrative tool makes it easy for managers to update auditing forms. If managers need new metrics for measuringtheir organizatons’ performance, they simply access and update the forms in the online portal. RizePoint software then automatically sychronizes the new forms with RizePoint Mobile Auditor, the mobile application from which auditors retrieve the most recent forms.

Organizations can customize auditing forms to make audits as simple as possible. RizePoint supports virtually any type of form

in any format and offers 15 different methods of presenting questions and answers, including drop-down, button, narrative, numeric, combo, spinner, and counter. Managers can create predefined responses so all auditors need to do is tap a button to select a response. (See Figure 1) This greatly reduces the amount of time and effort it takes to complete audits.

RizePoint software also gives auditors the information they need to ensure that the data they collect is as accurate as possible. For example, less experienced auditors may need to carry policy manuals for reference during their audits, but carrying about physical tomes can be cumbersome. With RizePoint software, managers can upload policy manuals to the mobile app for easy reference. They can also include pictures with the policy manuals, such as images that show how uniforms should be properly worn. And if auditors need to add an explanation that relates to the questions on the form, they can do so easily with the RizePoint mobile app. Instead of hurriedly writing or typing notes, auditors can use their devices’ microphones to create voice-to-text memos and include them with responses in the audit. (See Figure 2) The software also supports image attachments. These features save time and make recording essential information as quick and simple as possible.

Figure 1: Predefined Answers Reduce Auditing TimeFigure 2: RizePoint Software Incorporates Voice-to-Text Memos

2. REDUCE AUDIT-RELATED TRAVELWhen organizations have more than onelocation, auditors must travel from locationto location to perform their audits. Thetravel itself is hard enough on auditors. Butinefficient manual methods that extend thelength of time auditors must spend in eachlocation make it harder still. As previouslymentioned, auditors who use manualprocesses must deal with long paper formscontaining hundreds of questions—not all ofwhich apply to the location they are visiting.Such forms are difficult to navigate andtime-consuming to complete, thus extendingauditors’ time away from home. And shouldauditors inadvertently skip a question or two,they must return to the location to properlycomplete the audit.

After spending long days filling out paper forms, auditors who are using manual rocesses must spend their evenings inputting audit data into electronic spreadsheets, which does little to allay the wearying effects of travel. RizePoint software eases the burden of travel for auditors—and reduces travel expenses for organizations—in several ways.

Using trigger questions that catalyze follow-up questions, RizePoint forms make isolating relevant questions for individual locations easy. For example, suppose a hotel auditing form contains a trigger question about the presence of a pool. To answer this question, the auditor must select a “no” or “yes” button during the inspection. If the location does have a pool and the auditor selects “yes,” the form automatically displays follow-up questions that relate to pools. Conversely, if the location does not have a pool and the auditor selects “no,” the form does not display pool-related follow-up questions, and the auditor can move on to other areas of the hotel.

Because auditors needn’t flip through pages of irrelevant questions, trigger questions

reduce the time it takes to complete audits by 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the circumstances. This time savings may even allow auditors to visit more than one location in a single day. Trigger questions also help reduce the risk of inadvertently skipping required questions and prevent incomplete audit submissions.

3. REPLACE OUTDATED DATA

MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS TOOLS With manual auditing processes and tools, auditors have a significant amount of work to do after the data-gathering portion of the audit. As previously mentioned, many auditors must spend hours manually entering results into vast spreadsheets. After updating the spreadsheets, they must then spend time translating the raw data into a series of reports. Most software solutions aren’t much better than manual methods when it comes to reporting because their forms can make data difficult to adapt and analyze, offering little value to the organizations that implement them.

RizePoint software makes uploading and analyzing results extremely simple, accomplishing in a matter of minutes what it takes hours to accomplish using manual methods. After completing an audit using RizePoint Mobile Auditor, auditors simply upload the results from their mobile deviceto a cloud-based platform, where the data becomes instantly available for analysis and reporting. Managers can configure RizePoint software to base calculations on key metrics, and to immediately alert points-of-contact (POCs) when reported conditions require corrective actions. For example, the software might alert frozen-food warehouse operators that freezer temperatures are too low ortoo high. The software can also track recommended actions. And it enables organizations to generate easily a series of reports, each of which is tailored to the needs of the person who receives it.

4. SOLVE COMMUNICATION PROBLEMSCommunication between auditors andorganizations can also be difficult and time-consuming without the right tools. Withmanual processes, auditors mustcommunicate their findings through email orsome other distribution method. Emailingreports to a large list of POCs can take time,and there is a chance that the auditor couldmiss someone on the list. Plus, if anorganization distributes reports hierarchically,employees in the trenches, such asfield service personnel, may not receivecritical data for some time. Multinationalorganizations have the additional challengeof translating results into multiple languages,which takes time and can be costly.

RizePoint solutions save auditors the time and effort required to email every POC, and they ensure that all of the people who need information instantly receive it in their inboxes. With RizePoint software’s clear and consistent communication features,organizations can create recipient-specific reports that ensure both business leaders and field personnel quickly get the information they need, and only the information they need. POCs can subscribe to email reports and automatically receive audit results when the results become available, or they can specify time intervals for receiving reports. Additionally, RizePoint software’s multiple language options curtail the expense and inconvenience of manually translating results.

5. INCREASE AUDIT VISIBILITY ANDIMPLEMENT CHANGESPoor communication leads to another issue:poor visibility of audit results, which frustratesbusiness leaders as well as auditors. Whatgood are audit results if the right people can’taccess them and use them to make changes?

Because RizePoint software instantly shares data via the cloud, business leaders can access the audit results in real-time and

immediately start implementing changes. To keep everyone accountable, managers can also set up corrective actions and produce action plans for the needed improvements. (See Figure 3) After taking an action or making an improvement, responsible parties can check off the RizePoint-generated action plan, which makes keeping track of multiple corrective actions simple. With RizePoint software, audit results become concrete steps to improve business, accomplish goals, and maintain compliance.

DISCOVER RIZEPOINT SOLUTIONS

Experienced auditors accumulate a vast amount of organizational knowledge, which makes them difficult to replace. Since 1997, RizePoint has been helping organizations keep their valuable auditors by preventing auditing fatigue.

Our cloud-based, mobile solutions simplify audits and automatically share audit results with POCs throughout the organization. In addition to easing auditors’ workloads and limiting the time they must spend away from home, our streamlined auditing processes can reduce audit-related expenses and help organizations make timely improvements that keep them competitive.

Figure 3: RizePoint Software Helps Organizations Track Audit-Related Action Items

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