If you work in a risk profession, you likely understand the value of a cohesive governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) strategy and the power of GRC automation to support it. But how can you communicate benefits like stronger risk mitigation, improved vendor management and enhanced regulatory compliance to non-technical colleagues? And what should you do when they dig their heels in or don’t understand your vision?
In this article, we’ll break down what GRC automation is, how to get started, and four proven ways operations, cybersecurity, and compliance teams successfully got widespread buy-in for their GRC automation plans.
What is GRC Automation?
GRC automation refers to the use of technology to streamline and simplify governance, risk, and compliance processes. Instead of relying on manual processes, disconnected spreadsheets, and siloed communication, GRC automation connects workflows, centralizes data, and creates real-time visibility across risk and compliance functions.
By automating repeatable tasks such as risk assessments, policy reviews, vendor audits, and regulatory reporting, teams can reduce human error, respond faster to emerging threats, and spend more time on strategic initiatives. GRC automation also improves consistency and accountability, making it easier to demonstrate compliance and manage risk across the entire organization.
How to Automate the GRC Process
Automating GRC does not happen all at once. The most successful teams take a phased, intentional approach that starts with high-impact areas and expands over time.
Start by identifying manual processes that are time-consuming, prone to errors, or difficult to track. Common examples include risk assessments, policy approvals, audit scheduling, and vendor reviews. These tasks are often the best candidates for automation and can deliver quick, visible results. Next, examine how information flows between departments. The goal is to create a connected system where data moves smoothly between risk, compliance requirements, legal, procurement, and other key teams.
Once you have a clear picture of your process, choose a GRC platform that supports both structure and flexibility. Onspring allows you to configure workflows, automate notifications, assign task ownership, and generate real-time reports, all without requiring custom code. This gives your team the ability to evolve and scale your GRC program without relying heavily on IT.
Lastly, make sure people stay at the center of your strategy. Automation should reduce their workload and simplify their tasks. Offer user training, encourage feedback, and celebrate early wins to help users feel supported and confident as the system rolls out.
Listen to the Critics
If you’ve already come up with a solid plan for GRC, it’s tempting to go into battle if people rip it to shreds. But as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.” In other words, there might be a time to fight for what you believe in, but you may not have to if you can understand opposing viewpoints and turn opponents into allies.
This was the tactic GRC Technology Lead John Aaholm pursued when he chose to implement Onspring at American Family Insurance. Early in the planning phase, he realized that third-party risk management (TPRM), compliance, regulatory change, and other GRC activities didn’t just impact his department but also many others across this large company. So he set up meetings with the people who questioned his direction to better grasp their concerns.
“There will always be barriers,” Aaholm told his peers at Connect, the Onspring user conference. “You’re going to have people who don’t buy into the vision initially or think it’s too complicated. Sit down, have conversations, and understand where they’re coming from. Try to understand their perspective and see if there’s a way to incorporate their thoughts into your program design.”
Once Aaholm fully understood where his dissenting colleagues were coming from, he knew what was important to them and how GRC automation tools could benefit their roles and the teams they oversaw. This enabled him to come up with use cases that were tied to their business objectives.
“I recommend finding an example that’s going to resonate internally and help people understand what GRC could be,” Aaholm said. “It doesn’t have to be complex – just whatever is most appropriate for your organization.”
Build Cross-Department Consensus
When an organization decides to move from manual, paper-based processes to digital workflows, the impact is rarely confined to a single team. Procurement, compliance, vendor management, and other functions often have a stake in how governance, risk, and compliance programs are structured and managed.
A common misstep in the early stages of planning is working in isolation. It may seem efficient to gather a small group and start moving quickly, but this approach often backfires. When key stakeholders are left out of the conversation, critical concerns tend to surface later, leading to delays, rework, or a shift in direction that could have been avoided with broader input from the start.
The takeaway is to get everyone involved early. Even if some team members will not be closely involved through the implementation, including them from the start can help uncover blind spots, increase buy-in, and avoid costly delays later on. Collaboration might take more time upfront, but it pays off in the long run.
Translate Jargon into Layman’s Terms
As a GRC professional, you and your team have to understand all the nuances of governance, risk, and compliance. Because it’s the world you operate in daily, you keep up to date with all the latest trends, understand the acronyms, and have deep domain expertise. But you can’t assume that your company’s executive team shares the same level of knowledge or will care about the granular details of your GRC automation process. Instead, they need a high-level overview to see the value it can deliver.
When Tamika Bass, cybersecurity director at Gannett Fleming (now part of TranSystems), realized that manually processing GRC data was unsustainable, she searched for a platform that could reduce user effort, consolidate information, and automate routine tasks. It was clear that Onspring could meet these needs, but to acquire it, she had to show its value to company executives. This meant going back to basics.
“Have a conversation where you talk about what GRC is at a basic 101 level,” Bass said. “Don’t talk from a cybersecurity professional’s perspective, but share basic information about why you need third-party risk, and give them some examples. For our firm, experience is the best teacher, so when we suffered a cyberattack, people’s ears were open because they didn’t want that to happen again. One of the most basic conversations I had to have was about helping senior leadership understand that they should care about the integrity of data.”
Equip GRC Automation Evangelists
It’s all very well for you and your team to beat the GRC automation drum. After all, installing a comprehensive solution will make the most difference in your own day-to-day activities. But you’ll be better able to build and sustain momentum, secure user adoption and buy-in, and demonstrate ongoing value across your entire company if you can also get others to champion your cause.
One of the best ways to do so is to form a multidisciplinary group that meets regularly to share problems, brainstorm solutions, and prioritize the next steps of your GRC strategy. This way, you’ll develop advocates who feel invested in the success of your plan and can communicate how it will benefit the people they lead to get on board.
“We have a cybersecurity working group with people from different business units, and we have a strategic planning session annually to talk through our strategy and goals for the year and get everyone on the same page,” Bass said. “It takes a lot of education with people who don’t really understand cybersecurity, but we make them into champions with their business units and get them behind our strategy and plans. It’s a group effort.”
When people across the business take ownership of the strategy, GRC automation becomes everyone’s success story.
Reduce Manual Efforts and Improve Efficiency with GRC Automation
GRC automation offers numerous benefits for organizations looking to reduce manual efforts, improve efficiency, and strengthen compliance processes. By adopting automation tools that streamline workflows and centralize data, teams can move away from time-consuming compliance tasks and focus on strategic priorities.
From vendor management to audit documentation, compliance automation helps minimize risk, support a proactive compliance strategy, and increase consistency across departments. When automation is aligned with key business initiatives, it ensures GRC teams are contributing to broader organizational goals with consistent approaches that can scale. The most successful GRC initiatives are built on a collaborative approach that brings together stakeholders from across the business.
If you’re ready to modernize your GRC program, reduce manual work, and unlock the full potential of automation, Onspring can help. Book a demo today to see how our platform supports a more efficient and connected approach to risk and compliance.