My Experience of IT Procedures and Policies in a large company

by ellouise1997hotmailcom (student)

During the summer I completed a six week internship at BP. During this time I worked in a supportive roles as an Information and Data Management Analyst in the Global Wells (GWO) department. During the six weeks I adopted many procedures and policies that helped me complete my work easier.

I adopted a range of internal policies whilst at BP that are relevant to support roles. There are lots of organisational policies and procedures. Firstly I adopted their storage and archiving procedures. BP archives and stores their data electronically. This was done on SharePoint and the information could be stored on there and can be accessed whenever it will be needed. By adopting these policies it make work easier as I could go back to files that I or my colleagues has saved to complete my work. Storing them on SharePoint made getting to files easier as they were stored in an organised way which helped when looking for specific files. Lastly, it also meant that other could gain access to my files in which could help them with their work.

But, this information needs to be secure so I also adopted security and confidentiality procedures to ensure that the data is kept safe. SharePoint requires a password in order to gain access to the data and I had to sign a confidentiality contract to ensure I didn’t pass any of the information to other people outside the business. I also was advised by my team to always lock my computer when I left it and to not leave papers on desks that someone could easily read and see confidential information. Additionally, to increase security, all members of staff must have a pass that allows them to access the buildings and visitors must sign in with reception and obtain a visitors pass. This is all in order for staff to feel safe in the workplace. It was important that I put passwords on SharePoint and on my computer because they held confidential information that shouldn’t be accessed by anyone apart from me. Also knowing that everyone in the building has access due to the access cards can help with work because it can put you on ease that no unauthorised people are walking around in the building. Being relaxed then consequently leads to good work.

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At BP many problems occurred and it was important to get them fixed in order to complete the work. If there was a problem with IT then it would be best suited to speak to the IT department for them to fix it. If it was a problem with the work then the best person to talk to would be my line manager and if I had a problem with another staff member then Human Recourses would be the best department for the issues to be resolved. For example, whist at BP the emails were down and my account got locked, so I had to contact IT for these issues to be fixed. Communicating with teams amongst the company will help with work as they can resolve any issues that you have that could be preventing you from working. When I was at BP, speaking to the IT team then allowed me to log in onto my computer which I couldn’t do prior and allow me to complete the work that I was unable to do without IT’s help. It made it easier to talk to IT because I would have been searching for hours trying to find a solution due to my lack of knowledge when they could do it straight away.

Furthermore, its important organisations hold an induction for their staff. At BP we had an induction where handouts were given and we were shown videos of important information about the company and team. Other important information that needs to be brought up to the team will be done in meetings where they can inform the specific people for the job. Having an induction allowed me to complete my work easier because I had learnt knowledge about BP in the induction which I could then apply to my work.

Additionally, it’s important to provide feedback. This may be done within team meetings or questionnaires and has an aim to improve the quality of work and environment. Giving feedback can be very helpful and can improve the quality of the work produced. Whilst I was at BP I gained feedback on my work which was very useful as I could make changes to make it correct or improve it which led to a better quality project.

The last internal policy and procedure I adopted at BP is employment responsibilities and rights. When getting the job the employee will get a job description which will tell you the duties and responsibilities that are expected of you during the time you are at work. In addition, the employee will only sign if they are happy with the expectations of them and if they are not they can get them changed. Also, all employees must sign a confidentiality contract and receive the code of conduct to understand the behaviours they are expected to show whilst at the workplace. Lastly, all employees have rights in which they need to be aware of. This includes pay rights, not being discriminated and being part of a trade union. Reading through a job description allowed me to complete my work easier as I had already gained an understanding of what I was expected to do whilst on the internship. This meant I could just get on with the work and didn’t have to ask lots of questions on what I would be doing during the six weeks. Also reading the code of conduct made it easier to follow the behaviours that were expected of me rather than being directly told when I didn’t follow them.

Unit 33 M3