Canadian Lawyer InHouse

45 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE SEPTEMBER 2016 D ocument management and fi le retention procedures are critical to Pfi zer Canada's compli- ance team. The department must be able to locate documents at any given time and know that the document they are looking at is the most current. Due to the specialized roles of individu- als in the group, collaboration is a critical component within the process of creating and approving documents. Communication and information sharing across the group is essential to ensure common alignment. Therefore, a year ago, the team initiated a project based on fi nding a document man- agement system that would meet the fol- lowing requirements: • A repository to house all compliance- related documents with relevant security and visibility (permission levels); • A mechanism to support the version his- tory in the creation of documents; • A platform to ensure it complies with archiving and retention requirements; • A means to enable colleagues to quickly and effi ciently locate documents; • A process to support team communica- tion, collaboration and alignment. Working in collaboration with a technology supplier, a document retention interface was developed using the Microsoft SharePoint platform. The resulting document management system implemented for the compliance department was named Compliance Repository or "CoRe." CoRe is a document repository system with enhanced search capability that im- proved team effi ciency by: • Reducing duplication of effort; • Leveraging the use of metadata fi lters to locate documents; • Providing a central hub for team communication; • Providing tailored links to facilitate access to internal and external information; • Allowing for cross-functional visibility managed through permission levels. Although it was designed to meet the needs of the compliance department, it can be adapted to any business unit in the company. Using metadata assignments, Pfi zer separated the site into the following sections: • Policies (local, global, external); • Policy templates; • Job aids; • Leadership documents; • Projects; • Team process and procedures; • Minutes; • Administrative documents. "Given the nature of the business we do in our department, we implemented a sys- tem that would allow us to have commu- nication and a centralized repository to be able to access documentation and help the team send a common message to the business," says Lori Barrett, senior manager, process optimization in the corporate gov- ernance team. The team took the basic repository system of CoRe and enhanced it with customized metadata — project name, author and category. "It's very important that CoRe has the ability to maintain a security and fi le integ- rity of documentation. In compliance, we need to be sure that access to documenta- tion and communication is consistent across the business," says Barrett. One main feature of CoRe is that it has an enhanced search function. "The other very important aspect of CoRe is the fact that the documentations held within it have an authenticity validation," she says. "The version that is used is always maintained. If a user modifi es a document, the original is maintained as well as subsequent modifi ed documents, which is important for audit purposes." THE CORE SYSTEM: 1. Supports aligned guidance and commu- nication; 2. Improved inquiry response time; 3. Facilitates knowledge transfer; 4. Meets the requirements and standards set by the corporate auditors. During the life of a project many documents are created. Some of the documents turn into revised policies, new job aids, new procedures, etc. It is important for audit purposes to be able to retrieve all fi nal deliverables re- lated to a specifi c project. After the launch of CoRe within the compliance department, the company's executive committee supported the rollout to the business to store electronic company records tailored to each functional area. After it received support from Pfi zer Canada's executive committee, it was adopted as a best practice by several business units within Pfi zer Canada and is continuing to be implemented throughout the organization. IH Making document management CoRe to the business By Jennifer Brown in our departm tem that wou nication an to be ab able le and help message t Barrett, optimiza ernance The te system o with custo en CATEGORY: Compliance DEPARTMENT SIZE: Small Departments COMPANY: Pfizer Canada L to R – Gabriela Pedroso, Tania Tretiak and Jonathan Cullen. PIERRECHARBONNEAU

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