My personal opinion having been a former PA in a previous live and remembering my evidence generated through my research I did for my RIM Thesis:-
Yes when computers arrived on desks over 20 years ago there were people trained to use both the computer and to transfer physical RM to digitised RM - the secretaries and PA's including the administrators - all trained in record keeping principles and practices.
However, when computers became much more cost effective they started to replace the "administration staff", what was forgotten was to also teach these individuals whose PA's etc did it for them, how to do if for themselves.
This has now proliferated and manifested itself through years and years of "RM neglect" and a fostered culture that "don't need that, the computer will find it for me" - this is the net result - hindsight anyone?!!
Danger - if they continue to view RM as "filing" and therefore do not appreciate the importance of RIM which is now more prevelant than it once was than the above scenario will continue to proliferate until one day it could threaten to "paralyse" organisations - the wheels grind to a halt so to speak. Information over-load continues to grow.
Many thanks
Trish
Trish-louise Bailey (MSc)
Information Governance (IG)
(responsible for: Information Sharing & Confidentiality, Informtaion Security, Information Quality & Assurance, Data Protection, Freedom of Information, Records & Information Management)
(views expressed in this email are my personal opinions and not those of my organisation)
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Records Management mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rachel Hardiman
Sent: 05 November 2009 13:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: What does good records management look like?
Lawrence,
I think you hit the nail on the head when you point out that people are given no guidance about how to use their PCs, how to file, etc.
When I started working, back in the age of the dinosaurs, everyone did records management without thinking of it and as part of the way things were done - X sort of document was structured this way (or was a pre-printed form), Y type of file went into a blue folder with a title according to a certain convention, was filed in a certain order and a certain place, and was signed in and out when in use.
What changed was not that the world has abandoned the paper for the digital environment, but that organizations let themselves believe (because it was - or seemed - cheaper) that the digital documents and the procedures for creating and managing them could somehow just organize themselves in a way that would never have been contemplated in the 'old days'.
The digital equivalents of the blue folder, names, filing cabinets etc are templates, desktop 'launch buttons', pre-filled fields, automatic routing of files, etc. But they are generally not provided. Providing the user with a PC and MS Word to create, say, an invoice is the equivalent of saying 'go down to the stationery store and see what paper you fancy using, then make it up as you go along' rather than 'invoices are Form ABC10 - you'll get them in the cupboard by Fred's desk'.
The problem is not even helped by individuals with good RIM skills or instincts; as you say, they use their abilities to organize stuff to suit themselves, and even if they are trying to suit business needs rather than their own, it does not resolve anything because there are as many filing systems as there are people.
We need to get back to a situation where the only way for people to carry out their RIM role is for it to be invisible in the sense of just being part of the way things are done, but this requires a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation and structuring of the way that office and business applications are served to users' desktops, and a proper up-front training programme in not just RIM but general business procedures for new staff instead of a ten-minute induction slot about Freedom of Information or why they shouldn't use rude words in e-mails.
In one way, it's not rocket science; but if there really was the will for good RIM in most organizations, it should have happened already ...
Regards,
Rachel.
Rachel Hardiman, BA (Hons), MSc
Senior Research Assistant
School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences
Northumbria University
Room 247
Pandon Building
Camden Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 1XE
Tel: 0191 243 7650
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
AC+erm Project website: www.northumbria.ac.uk/acerm
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