This article is from the August 2003 issue of Update.
Why is it that records management (RM) is not more prominent on boardrooms’ agendas? It is more than eight years since the Hawley Committee proposed that information management should be a boardroom issue, and two years since Enron and the subsequent trail of events with implications for corporate governance. The need for greater transparency means that RM is mission-critical to both private and public sector organisations.
Boards are often asked to ratify RM policies, but how often do they assure themselves that RM strategies and processes are actually put into operation, so that they deliver real benefits to their respective organisations? Even in organisations that have implanted strategic corporate RM standards and teams, there is a tendency for RM functions to be arbitrarily rationalised when financial pressures increase. Could this be because most board members see records managers as ‘nice to have’ rather than essential to their business strategy? Is RM still seen as an administrative process, rather than an issue of strategic importance?
This paper analyses the new context for RM in both public and private sector organisations, and highlights some of the key drivers for change. It reviews change processes and the impact of that change on RM strategies and approaches. It considers how records managers can get the issues taken seriously in the boardroom, and the roles and skills required for RM in today’s environment.
Public sector
The Modernising Government initiative has set specific targets for government organisations to move from operation in paper to electronic information environments. The Lord Chancellor has emphasised that good RM is a prerequisite to meeting the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 (FOIA).
We also hear from government about policies to:
- support greater interoperability and more effective flows of information across government departments and organisations;
- achieve greater responsiveness to the requirements of the general public.
This has led to considerable activity in the RM arena, and to the recognition that there is a shortage of RM skills. This has resulted in an increased demand for records managers. Despite this activity there is still evidence that executives in public bodies are responding to the FOI imperative by focusing simply on compliance, rather than realising the potential of applying strategic RM. In many government organisations, key players, such as records managers/legal/FOI officers, IT and training officers, are still working in an uncoordinated way to deliver FOI compliance.
Private sector
The high-profile Enron and Andersen cases have highlighted the importance of corporate governance, including the strategic importance of good information governance. This is not to suggest that corporate governance is purely to do with records. Information governance, including RM practices, have been a part of the problem and part of the solution in these and other similar cases. Many companies, in response to corporate governance issues and in anticipation of increased regulation, are reviewing their information governance, although it seems that risk managers rather than records managers are dominating the strategic initiatives on this front.
The trend towards more perfect and competitive market conditions, where communication technologies have provided customers with effective access to a choice of products and vendors, means that companies have to be more flexible in operation and more innovative in order to stay in business. Attempts to defend markets have been made by globalisation, mergers and acquisitions, business collaborations and outsourcing. This has completely changed the organisational landscape, bringing complexity, chaos and change, and in most cases a break up of past records systems and information flows as well as new challenges for RM practices.
Common drivers
For organisations to survive they have to meet their sponsors’/customers’/citizens’ expectations. Most organisations are risk-averse and work towards managing their resources and markets to increase the predictability of outcomes. In this context the role of RM may be seen as critical in a number of areas including:
- avoiding costs of litigation or failure to comply with regulatory bodies;
- preventing the loss of intellectual property or loss of corporate learning/corporate memory;
- preventing loss of information from disasters or theft and ensuring business continuity;
- maximising the efficiency of operation and information use;
- responding in a timely and effective way to customers’/citizens’ requirements;
- protecting executives and their organisations from loss of reputation and credibility with the general public, customers and/or their shareholder community by demonstrating good practice and providing accountability for actions.
These are important drivers for RM but even with these in place RM still does not readily find its place on boardroom agendas.
The new paradigm
In a world of change, information has become a dominant factor in the success of organisations and at the same time organisations have to meet increasing regulatory and legal requirements. The management of information in records, irrespective of form or format, is more vital to organisations than ever before.
There are increasing tensions between market needs, requiring complexity of systems and flexibility of operation, and the need for stability, predictability and controls to provide corporate governance and ensure compliance. Good RM practices thrived in the stable and well-structured organisations of the past that had well-defined management control mechanisms. Such organisations hardly exist today and have been replaced by complex network-based systems, enabled by technology, built around an environment of chaos and freedom to act, and where the only fixed element is the individual. So how can RM respond to this new and dynamic situation?
Records managers are aware of the need for change and to research and implement new approaches to meet the needs of today’s organisations. One such change over the past years has been the focus on business process-driven RM. However, business processes are becoming ever more complex in both public and private organisations as illustrated in Diagram 1.
The diagram shows that organisations have many simultaneous and dynamic business processes, often organised within a matrix or network structure, normally on a project basis. In many cases business processes extend beyond the enterprise with business partners and suppliers of goods and services, becoming an integrated part of the business process. Today the value chain also extends into the external consumer world, where information flow has become a two-way process, with information on products and services going out and customer information coming back in to feed and change internal business processes. Business processes from beginning to end require information inputs and produce information outputs that require capturing as records. The interface between the organisation and the outside world remains an unexplored world both in business and in RM terms. With regards to records much of the information at the organisation/customer/citizen interface is in electronic, not written, form. The importance of this information is often not recognised, so that its capture in records systems is neglected. The consequence is the inability to feed this valuable customer/citizen information into the value chain of the organisation. Ensuring appropriate records are captured and maintained as part of the organisation’s memory may also be problematic in the area of interface between an organisation and its partners. As well as supporting business processes, the management of records continues to be essential to an organisation in ensuring that it meets its legal, regulatory needs, its internal quality processes and in demonstrating to the public its ethical business practices.
The focus of RM in the past has essentially been on space and physical objects (documents), and their processing and management as collections, usually in central repositories. Today, records managers must embrace technology. Technology affects everything we do in the RM arena, creating both important opportunities and major problems. It has taken a long time for IT managers to become sensitive to the implications of managing records in technology and systems applications and for IT vendors to include RM functionality in their products.
Diagram 1
Granular elements
With today’s technology the emphasis has shifted from managing space and physical objects to the design of systems for the support of the individual at their desktop. Building RM requirements into systems and creating smarter documents may be crucial, although even the concept of the document(s), for which records are constructed, is under threat. The use of XML and content management technologies is removing the need to keep information in the form of documents as we know them. The prospect of applying RM to granular elements of information will bring its own challenges! The business requirement is, however, plain to see.
Take for instance the challenge of meeting FOI requirements to provide information access and protect exempt sensitive information. At present both categories of information are often held in the same document, thus creating a problem when meeting a request for information. Should the information be held in granular form but linked together this would facilitate full access to relevant information while protecting sensitive information.
Given that the individual is probably the only constant in an organisation and that the individual is the ultimate creator and user of information, perhaps there is a greater need for records managers to give their attention to human-based RM. Is there a new paradigm whereby systems can be designed for managing records based on and serving the individual while also meeting the needs of the organisation?
When working in an environment of complexity and chaos, where individualism rules, to what extent can RM disciplines be applied? Of course the importance of corporate governance demonstrates that controls are not dead but these are now imposed by technology and systems rather than managers or organisational structures. The importance of tacit knowledge and empowerment of individuals creates a challenging environment in which to apply RM practices that both fit the culture of the organisation and meet the needs of corporate governance.
Securing boardroom support
Why should records managers concern themselves with gaining boardroom support? The reason is that progress is difficult to achieve without the leadership, authority and resources which the board can deliver. However, there are many people competing for such attention and resources. IT, for example, also has legitimate claims over information strategy. Although there are notable exceptions, few records managers in our experience have yet managed to place RM firmly on the agenda as a strategic issue. How should this be achieved?
During client work, TFPL has managed to get boardroom recognition of:
- RM as a major building block for realising knowledge management objectives;
- the degree of waste of organisational resources due to poor RM;
- the financial impact of knowledge loss and inability to re-use information;
- the place of RM in supporting the learning organisation;
- the risks of non-compliance with legal or regulatory requirements.
In our experience tactics for gaining boardroom attention include:
Intelligence gathering: it is critical to understand the main concerns of board members and what it is that keeps them awake at night. This is not always obvious, may be different in degree between board members, and change over relatively short periods of time.
Dealing with board members: this starts by realising that board members are human beings like the rest of us and as such will be motivated by activities that reduce the risk of failure for themselves and for their organisation. Linking RM to the avoidance of failure is the key to success. Failure can be presented in terms of loss of reputation, the risk of a prison sentence, financial loss, etc.
Changing perceptions of RM: this is an absolute necessity although it can take a long time. If, as in many cases, board members perceive RM as a purely administrative process, building the case for the strategic importance of RM requires time and persistence. Records managers should not be afraid to seek help from chosen sponsors and to ‘piggy back’ on others who already have the appropriate credibility with the board.
Presenting your case: this should be preceded by a high level of education and lobbying of individual board members, and consideration of their views. The time you will be allocated to present your case is likely to be minimal. The language used and the pitch of your presentation and your participation in discussions are critical. Consistency of language and style may eventually win through. Avoid RM technical language at all costs; use language that is familiar to the boardroom members.
Breaking organisational etiquette: this may sometimes be necessary to get heard and it can pay dividends. This is not to suggest breaking into a board meeting but it may for instance mean going to someone other than your immediate manager if they are blocking your progress.
The ultimate key to securing boardroom support is to get out of the office and network, network, network!
Records managers cannot live in a vacuum. They need to work in an integrated way with the key players responsible for the delivery of the organisation’s overall information strategy and the development of a coherent ‘infra’ and ‘info’ structure. Building partnerships and developing your networks both inside and outside your organisation is the key to success.
The process begins with asking two questions, which are:
1 What do you as a records manager need to influence?
This could be a whole range of things, such as IT strategy and systems applications, performance management, training programmes, business process changes, business continuity planning, quality programme, regulatory reviews and so on.
2 Who do you need to engage with to achieve your objectives?
As with other business processes many parts of information and RM can be outsourced, such as offsite storage facilities. In global or networked companies there may be a number of RM functions located across the enterprise. There are also IT vendors, other suppliers and regulatory bodies that will have an impact on how you implement RM in your organisation. Developing partnerships and good relations with external partners is just as important as with internal partners. Contacts with appropriate professional associations and networking with records managers in other organisations can also keep you and your organisation in touch with what is happening in the outside world.
Diagram 2: Partners in the development of an information strategy
Shortage of records managers and key skills
While the board may remain unconvinced, there is a growing awareness in both the public and private sectors of the need for and benefits of good RM practices. The market for records managers and RM skills is growing at a considerable pace, particularly in the public sector. A shortage in the number of professional records managers, and of records managers who have the skills and experience of working at a strategic level, is a major concern today.
Meeting the demand for professional records managers in the long term must come from growth in the number of students coming from RM courses run by the various universities across the UK. Universities offer full-time and part-time courses at different levels as well as opportunities for distance learning. Given the anticipated employment market growth in RM there is a real opportunity for career transfers from people in other related information professions.
Current records managers need to continually update their learning and skills, especially to support their work at a strategic level. Strategic RM requires, for example, good marketing and management skills, influencing and networking skills, and excellent communication skills. There is also a need for them to develop their understanding of technology and systems design as well as business process management. The very future of RM may depend on the availability of RM courses which provide these new skills, together with increasing complex technical and professional skills. Universities must develop and market courses at appropriate levels to enable their graduates and postgraduates to move into complex environments at a management level.
Opportunities for professional updating are also essential. The future impact of records managers equally depends on the RM profession recognising its potential strategic role and conveying that message to employers and potential records managers. Records in many formats will continue to be created wherever there are organisations and individuals interacting with each other. The uncertainties surrounding them are to do with their future form, content, use and regulation. It is for that very reason that records managers need to be wedded to continuous learning and the management of change. The opportunity is here now — and if the RM profession doesn’t take it, others will.
The future for records management
There is a growing recognition of the usefulness of the skills of records managers and their value as partners in the delivery of information strategies. This recognition needs to get into the boardroom. Changes in society (litigiousness and the demand for openness and the need for speedy operation and innovation) and the consequent changes in organisations will continue to have an impact on RM and records managers. RM must be integrated with business processes. As organisations change, the effect on business records must be assessed and resolved. And RM processes must be focused on meeting both corporate needs and the requirements of individuals.
To remain relevant and of increasing value to organisations, records managers must be prepared to welcome and lead change and to embrace new technologies. The need for continued learning and research into new methods and approaches is essential, as is the readiness to innovate. The next five years could prove to be the golden years for the RM profession.
Martin Sanderson (martin.sanderson@tfpl.com) is Strategic Adviser in Records Management, and Sandra Ward (sandra.ward@tfpl.com), Director and Strategic Adviser in Information and Knowledge Management, for TFPL.