What can your agency or office do to improve your records management processes?

Records management is a massive undertaking for most companies, but the burden of retention and recall of important records is much heavier for government offices and agencies. The raging river full of documents flowing into and being generated by federal, state, and local government agencies requires levels of organization, infrastructure, and manpower that most private companies can’t even begin to imagine. Government agencies are also legally required to follow far more strict and cumbersome legislation, statues, and regulations affecting RIM and e-discovery than private companies. As a result, government agency records management challenges require a different approach.

Records and Information Management Challenges

The challenges of establishing, enacting, and maintaining records and information management (RIM) programs can be daunting. Identifying a qualified records professional to oversee the RIM program for a governmental agency means sifting through existing personnel and perhaps applicants with a wide variety of experiences and qualifications. Finding a RIM professional who is able to adequately oversee the breadth and depth of your agency’s RIM program needs could make a tremendous difference for the future health and stability of your agency.
The vast scope of a records management program within a governmental agency includes challenges such as:

• Extensive records growth with inadequate or costly storage
• Electronic records management and destruction
• Risk identification, assessment and mitigation
• Maintaining security of confidential information
• Adhering to records retention schedules
• Proper preservation for records with historical value
• Ongoing staff training to ensure compliance
• Developing processes to halt records destruction in the event of litigation or audits
• Developing and sticking to budgets to ensure cost-effectiveness

It’s Not Just about the Records Program

If your organization is in the midst of revamping or developing a RIM program, you are very aware of these challenges and many more. You know that a RIM assessment is only the first giant step toward an orderly RIM program. Adhering to your established system is the only way to stay in compliance and avoid issues down the road. Conducting regular audits is necessary to ensure that the program is working correctly. All of these steps require a qualified RIM professional(s) and support from leadership.
It’s vital that everyone within the agency understands the importance of following RIM policies and procedures, and encouragement needs to come from the top down. There could be a lot at stake if your agency does not follow best practices and adhere to RIM policies, laws and regulations. Training, development, implementation, and continued monitoring and enforcement have to be made a top priority throughout the agency.

Learn More at the ARMA Annual Conference

Dr. Tishangi Bennett, PMP, Vice President of Operations and Senior RIM Consultant for The Cadence Group, will be presenting an informational session at ARMA’s 60th Annual Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. Her presentation is entitled “Overcoming RIM Challenges in Governmental Agencies” and will take place on Tuesday, October 6, 2015.
If you are hitting roadblocks during the setup and implementation phases of your organization’s RIM program or want to understand RIM challenges and how to mitigate risks, this session will be of particular interest to you. Visit the ARMA website for more information about this educational and engaging event.

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