Records Management
Records Management is about the processes and technology around the retention of the information your people have created or received. Most of the information created or received are in relation to business transactions (records) and as such are required (by legislation) to be kept for a set period of time (retention). A Records Management System allows you to manage these records in accordance with applicable business rules and prevent people from changing the information.
Depending on your organisation, guidelines or rules may have been defined by other organisations like Archives New Zealand, IRD, banks, etc.
People
Records Management is typically an area that most people in your organisation don’t seem to know about. This is mainly because people think documents and not records. They may know that some documents need to be kept, but often don’t realise the importance they may have to an organisation.
When implementing a Document and Records Management System it is very important to have good Change Management in place that will not only communicate and educate the people in your organisation but also guide them through the transformation to a new way of thinking.
Processes
Processes around Records Management concentrate around the retention and protection of your information. Typical processes related to Records Management are:
- What is a business transaction, i.e. what do I need to save?
- The use of a Business Classification Structure
- Retention and Disposal schedules
Technology
Technology to support Records Management can be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet to manage your physical assets (information) or as efficient as an integrated Document and Records Management System. A Records Management system typically caters for functionality like:
- Long-term storage of information
- Retention and Disposal Management
- Transfer of records to people and/or locations
- Reporting
- Audit logging
- Security and Permissions