Train for competence – prioritize good practice with process mapping

‘Good practice’ is more than just the best way to get something done. In many industries, the phrase good practice indicates a specific set of rules and regulations that manage the way a business reaches certain goals.

Good practice is more than recommendations or common processes – they are carefully defined protocols and standards that govern the relevant industry and what it does. The overarching acronym used for these is GxP.

GxP describes Good (x) Practices, where (x) is a particular field – product manufacturing, clinical trials, laboratory work, or any one of many other disciplines. These practices are shaped by regulatory requirements and industry standards to create a body of knowledge that determines how outcomes are achieved and ensure quality standards are upheld.

These regulations are especially prevalent in the medical and food industries, where strict federal requirements control both the development and manufacturing of products. In these environments, adherence to established practices is essential to continue doing business.

Safeguard your business with good practice

Staff training and effective, clear processes are a vital part of the culture of any organization engaging in these fields. Without the framework to describe and apply GxPs, it would be too easy for the activities of the business to stray from the required standards, and that could endanger the entire enterprise.

Without training in GxPs, even staff that are capable in their field may miss vital steps or leave out important details in the process. This isn’t because they’re not capable; they just don’t have any framework that identifies the key legislative or industry requirements for a particular task.

While the product or research may be practically effective, the result could be in breach of the codes surrounding such work, which could have significant ramifications.

Paint a clear picture

The Nintex Promapp® training add-on avoids these potential breakdowns by tying staff training to the key processes that will shape how they work.

Most staff are employed for what they are capable of, but even the most knowledgeable team members need to learn the particular procedures and processes of the organization they are part of.

Nintex Promapp takes the very processes that guide the day-to-day activities of various roles and builds training units around them, ensuring that the training delivered is both relevant and targeted to the responsibilities they hold.

Because Nintex Promapp process documentation is developed and managed by the teams, it provides a clear picture of what is required for any procedure. The process maps also connect with the key documentation, policies, and legislative requirements, overseen by key stakeholders, to ensure that they meet the GxP obligations, making them the perfect reference point for inducting new staff and reaffirming existing employees’ understanding of what is required.

Keep tabs on competency levels

One of the features of the Nintex Promapp Training Add-On is the competencies function. It allows a business to identify and train staff to established levels of competency. There are four levels of expertise pre-defined in the platform and these four levels – one through three and SME, or Subject Matter Expert – represent the level of attainment for any employee.

This allows trainers and managers to set clear expectations for roles and responsibilities that line up with the GxP standards, and track where staff stands in relation to these requirements.

Because the competencies link directly to everyday processes, they are both practical and measurable, giving a clear indication of the relevance and required mastery. As staff progress through the training, they can be self-assessed or graded by training facilitators, ensuring that their achievements are captured and the relevant level of competence recorded.

These records also add to the audit trail necessary for GxP. With regulations governing so much of the process for fields like medicine and foodstuffs, being able to track layers of compliance is essential.

Good, clear, up-to-date processes provide much of this, but an easy-to-follow log of training that links directly to these and qualifies levels of competency ensures that auditors can be confident not just in the procedures, but those following them.

The capacity to meet the rigorous standards of GxP allows an organization to move with confidence in highly regulated fields. Ensuring not just the integrity of their processes, but the competence of the staff tasked with carrying them out builds that capacity and contributes to a culture of compliance and effective operation.

 

 

If you’d like to learn more about how Nintex could help your organization implement good practice with process mapping, schedule a personalized demo of the Nintex Process Platform today.