InContext May 2007

Top 10 tips…planning for effective records management

Emma Hyland, EDRM Consultant, TOWER Software

Information governance, closely related to corporate governance, is a high profile topic in most large organisations and particularly in the public sector and in the highly regulated industries.  The requirement for information governance is partly driven by the need to comply with ever-increasing legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II and the Freedom of Information act to name but a few.  Good information governance will not only help your organisation comply with regulatory requirements, so reducing your risk of litigation, it will also help improve your corporate decision making. 

A cornerstone of effective information governance is effective records management - a record can be evidence of an activity or decision and demonstrates accountability and regulatory compliance.  Yet implementing an effective records management strategy can be a daunting task.  Where does one begin and what are the necessary steps to ensure you develop the most appropriate strategy for your organisation? 

Here are TOWER Software’s top ten tips for planning for effective records management:

1. Create a records management committee. Ensure this committee includes decision-making representatives from all stakeholder groups within your organisation such as IT, legal, information professionals and end users.  Begin by analysing your organisation's understanding of records management and how it could be applied to the organisation and to specific parts of the business.  If necessary bring in records management experts to help you understand what your requirements are, how they might be met and what else might be achievable.
2. Define your current information usage. Meet with your users to identify the information they currently use and how they manage.  Together, identify possible best practice enhancements that could be introduced along with formal records management processes and systems.
3. Identify unusual records management processes. There may be areas of your business that do not follow a standard records management process of create, edit and retrieve. This may mean a different records management requirement compared to other parts of the business.
4. Define a business classification scheme.  This is a conceptual representation of the business activities performed by your organisation.  A business classification scheme will help you with decisions on how records should be managed over their entire lifecycle.
5. Define your security and access control requirements. Ensure that you understand your organisation's security and access control requirements and communicate them effectively to all stakeholders.
6. Develop and publish key corporate information documentation. This should include management policies, procedures, principles and practices.  Each document should address the various stakeholder groups using terminology relevant to their function.
7. Develop your corporate retention and disposal schedules.  Don't just consider your physical records when drafting your retention and disposal schedules - these schedules are independent of format.  It's just as important to capture electronic records and email alongside physical records.  Finally, get the schedules signed off by the appropriate decision-makers.
8. Develop your change management strategy.  Identify what the impact of the proposed records management strategy will be on all parts of the organisation. How will these changes be communicated, agreed and managed?  Act on this information using all available resource.
9. Define your stakeholders’ educational needs. Determine the gaps in your stakeholders’ knowledge of records management functions and processes.  Deliver an awareness/training methodology suited to your organisation's size and budget.
10. Develop the records management business case. Mistakenly, the development of a business case is often considered the starting point for records management planning.  The reality is that the validity, accuracy and acceptance of a business case depends on addressing most, if not all, of steps 1 to 9 before it is written.

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