The Value of Records Management-A Brief for Senior Managers

Records management programmes aim to make information timely, accurate, complete, cost-effective, accessible and usable. Better information, at the right time, makes better government. Records and information management is not usually an organisation's primary business. The following list represents the 10 most important reasons why any organisation should embrace and encourage good records and information management.

1 To control the creation and growth of records

Despite using various non-paper storage media, the amount of paper in our offices continues to grow. Good records management helps with creation control (limiting the generation of records or copies not required to operate the organisation's business) and records retention (for destroying useless or inactive records).

2 To reduce operating costs

Keeping records costs money for filing equipment, space etc, and requires staffing to maintain an organised filing system (or to search for missing records when there is no organised system).

3 To improve efficiency and productivity

Time spent searching for records is non-productive. A good records management programme can help to upgrade records keeping systems so that information retrieval is enhanced with corresponding improvements in office efficiency and productivity. A well designed and efficiently operated filing system with an effective index can facilitate retrieval and deliver information to users quickly as and when they need it.

4 To assimilate new records management technology

A good records management programme provides an organisation with the capability to assimilate new technology and take advantage of its benefits. Investments in new IT systems do not solve filing problems unless manual systems are analysed and overhauled first to ensure they are working efficiently.

5 To ensure compliance with the law

The only way to be reasonably sure of compliance with laws and regulations and show accountability is by operating a good records management programme which takes account of the evidential aspect of records and of regulatory compliance.

6 To minimise the risks of litigation

Following on from No 5 is the real risk associated with litigation and potential penalties. A consistently applied records management programme can reduce the liabilities associated with document retention and disposal by providing a systematic and routine appraisal system.

7 To safeguard vital information

Every organisation needs a comprehensive records programme for protecting its vital records and information from catastrophe or disaster, because every organisation is vulnerable to loss. Vital records preserve the integrity and confidentiality of the most important records and safeguard the vital information assets.

8 To support better management decision-making

Good management of records and information can help to ensure that management has the information they need when they need it for current decisions and future business planning purposes.

9 To preserve corporate and national memory

An organisation's files contain its institutional memory, an irreplaceable asset that is often overlooked. Every day, records are created which could become background data for future management decisions, or preserved for posterity as part of the country's heritage in National Archives.

10 To foster professionalism

Offices with files piled untidily on desks or stacked on cabinet tops, and boxes everywhere, creates a poor working environment. The perceptions of visitors and the public and image and morale, though hard to quantify in cost-benefit terms, may be among the best reasons to establish a good records management programme.

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