Compliance Monster Hunting: The Spreadsheet Eater

Compliance Monster Hunting: The Spreadsheet Eater

Over the years we’ve spent tracking and studying the Compliance Monsters, we’ve seen too many workforce compliance programs and personnel fall victim to one in particular: the Spreadsheet Eater. Maybe it’s because countless organizations continue to use spreadsheets, an obvious food source, breeding ground, and habitat for a creature named after them.

We can no longer sit idly by and watch the Spreadsheet Eater take on the guise of a system error to swallow organizations’ critical compliance data. This week, we’re going to show you how to get rid of him for good.

Step 1: Destroy the Spreadsheet Eater’s Habitat

Fortunately, the first and biggest step in eliminating the Spreadsheet Eater is as straightforward as it gets: wherever you can, stop using spreadsheets. The fewer manual, unsecured data storage locations you have in your compliance management system, the better.

Step 2: Remove the Spreadsheet Eater’s Food Source

See Step 1. Consider how where you workforce compliance data is stored: Do you know where to go for the most up-to-date information about your employees, policies, and training? Are you confident enough in that information to present it to your CEO or an auditor? Uncertainty about the status of your critical information is the first sign of the Spreadsheet Eater’s possible presence.

Step 3: Eliminate the Spreadsheet Eater’s Path to Entry

Again, see Step 1. (In fact, see Step 1 for every step of this plan). The same factors that could lead to a data breach also allow the Spreadsheet Eater to enter your system and wreak havoc. Keep your spreadsheet software updated, and keep your spreadsheet data in a secure location. Better yet, use an automated solution instead.

Step 4: Don’t Let the Spreadsheet Eater Breed

Every time you use a spreadsheet and save a new version as a different file, or create a copy by emailing or uploading the file onto a disk, you’ve provided the Spreadsheet Eater with an opportunity to reproduce. And the odds another Spreadsheet Eater will appear increase in proportion to the time between saves, as well as the importance and size of the file. A massive compliance spreadsheet, first created in 2010, last updated yesterday, and stored among a dozen similarly-named files could be home to thousands of Spreadsheet Eaters—and it’s only a matter of time until one of them ingests an essential string of data and corrupts the whole system.

Download the Poster

The Compliance Monsters are back, and they’re more fearsome than ever. If you’ve felt a chill walking by that abandoned office full of paperwork, or if you’ve been editing a spreadsheet and the lights have suddenly started to flicker, you’d better beware. Mr. Snap, the Obfusticator, Malaise, the Spreadsheet Eater, Tedium, and That Which Shall Not Be Named have returned to their old haunts, and our intel suggests they’re more fearsome this year than ever before.

But so are we. And this time, we’re fighting back. Join Compli’s monster-hunting squad as we track the Compliance Monsters down and drive them away for good. Throughout October, we’ll show you how to eradicate these creatures one by one.

Step 5: Monitor Your CMS to Prevent Infestation

Although he’s known for his favorite food, the Spreadsheet Eater can survive on any data source where human error and technical glitches give him room to exist. Keep an eye on your files and address disorganization or bloat wherever you find it. As you do, consider how you can streamline and unify your CMS. The only way to ensure that the Spreadsheet Monster never returns is to use an automated workforce compliance program fast, secure, and accessible enough to ensure he can’t show up in the first place.

Next Up: Tedium

If you’re eradicating the Spreadsheet Eater, you’ll need to get rid of his symbiotic partner, Tedium, as well. Join us again next week to learn how.

Brett Safford

Brett is a previous member of Compli’s Customer Success team, where she helped clients get the most out of their platform and achieve their unique goals. Brett's love for fabric and quilting means her family suffers from an overabundance of blankets. In the evenings Brett can be found cooking in the kitchen with a glass of red wine and Ella Fitzgerald on the record player.

→ Brett Safford

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