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
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