The Art of Managing RIM Programs

 

Editor’s Note:  This article is excerpted from an upcoming book tentatively titled Management Tools for Records and Information Program Managers, to be published this fall by ARMA International. The book will cover all aspects of RIM program management, including leadership, planning, personnel management, advocacy, decision making, applying management tools, and project management.

 

Records and information management (RIM) professionals’ work focuses predominantly on managing records and information, but to accomplish that requires well-managed RIM programs. Ultimately, management’s responsibility is to build programs that work and that provide value for the customers and beneficiaries of RIM services.

 

Bruce W. Dearstyne, Ph.D.

Critical Tasks for Successful RIM Program Managers

 

Managing a RIM program requires attention to several management tasks, including the 10 described below.

 

1. Define Program Mission and Scope

 

The first management challenge is to answer the question: “What business are we in?” The RIM field is broad but a bit ragged along the edges; it intersects or overlaps with IT, chief information officers, archives, library science, knowledge management, and legal discovery. ARMA International’s Records and Information Management
Core Competencies defines "RIM" as the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use, and disposition of records, including processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and form of records.

 

This new definition is expansive, places RIM in the field of management, and confirms the importance of records and information for organizational operations. Management challenges here include:

  • Explaining the “business” of the RIM program in a way that makes sense for a particular organizational setting
  • Asserting RIM’s status as a part of management and make it stick by delivering return on investment
  • Using strategic planning to define program scope
  • Defining the program’s scope in a way that is not so narrow as to close in the program or confine it to one aspect of records management, but not so broad that expectations for what it can do far outrun its resource 
  • Defining program scope strategically so the program can assert its independence and visibility, but at the same time cooperate with other programs that have a stake in records and information management 

2. Manage For Consistency and Change

 

RIM programs seem to be always “in transition” from a simpler past to a more complicated future. The book Built to Change suggests that dynamic programs need to cling to core values but that sustained effectiveness requires more or less constant change: thaw, flow into another form, refreeze, and then prepare to repeat the process.

 

Be fluid and dynamic, its authors advise, and encourage experimentation, expand into new areas when strategically advantageous, craft temporary strategies, hire innovative people, and foster a change-adept culture. Key management challenges include:

  • Develop means to monitor the most important changes in technology, organizational structure, workforce demographics, and other trends that have an impact on the RIM program.
  • Identify the program’s fundamental mission and “core values” as bases for keeping the program consistent and reliable in delivering services but, at the same time, dynamic and evolving.
  • Use the strategic planning process to drop outdated practices, sharpen existing ones, and add new dimensions to the program.
  • Conduct staff development initiatives to introduce new ways of doing things. 

3. Manage in the Information Management Context

 

RIM programs need to fit in organizations that are increasingly interested in making strategic use of their information resources to interact with customers and constituents; control key processes such as research and marketing; secure competitive advantages; and fuel and speed the value-creating work of “knowledge workers.”

 

Information is a much-prized – though not always fully understood or utilized – resource for businesses, governments, educational institutions, and other organizations. Records managers need to work more closely than ever before with IT departments and chief information officers to ensure that records management considerations are considered and addressed as new plans and new information systems are developed. Some management tasks in this area:

  • Consider initiatives to help the organization control, or make more systematic, the creation of records and information.
  • Help the organization find ways to measure the value of information against the costs of organizing and controlling it.
  • Clarify RIM’s often-cited mission of working to get the right information to the right people at the right time in terms of what it means for information overproduction side by side with the need for information for productivity and decision making.
  • Determine the best strategic relationship with the organization’s CIO: cooperation, merger, or some other approach? 

4. Operate in the Legal Context

 

Another issue is the growing centrality of legal considerations in records and information management. Several major trends are driving this development, including: 

  • Government “freedom of information” laws, which require certain records to be publicly accessible
  • A growing body of government laws, rules, and regulations that require retention of tax, employment, payroll
  • Other selected records’ laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley, which tightened corporate accountability and documentation requirements for public companies
  • E-discovery, the process by which opponents in legal actions are required to turn over relevant documentation at the outset of litigation

The range of legal issues and requirements introduces several management needs to:

  • Keep up with changes in laws, regulations, requirements, and court cases that interpret what they mean.
  • Educate the organization’s employees on legal obligations and the consequences of not meeting them.
  • Integrate legal expertise into the program’s capacities and/or cooperate closely with counsel’s office.
  • Carry out or cooperate in risk analyses, one basis for deciding how many resources to invest in records systems with legal significance.
  • Make sure legal requirements are addressed in the development of retention and disposition schedules. 

5. Proceed Consistently with Standards

 

RIM programs need to operate in a manner consistent with widely recognized standards. They describe best practices, provide the program with authority, and help it gain visibility and recognition.

 

Eugenia K. Brumm and Diane K. Carlisle note in an article from The Information Management Journal that standards “can add credibility to RIM professionals’ efforts to enhance their programs and contribute to the organization because these standards are developed in an objective and broad-based manner. RIM standards identify both requirements and actions or activities appropriate to achieve the stated goal of the standard.” Managers can use standards in several ways:

  • Consult the standards as partial guidance for developing or refining the RIM program.
  • Cite adherence to standards as a means of showing the program’s expertise, competence, and authority.
  • Implement the standards by developing guidelines and educational material that provide more detail on how to meet their requirements.
  • When appropriate, be selective – decide which standards to follow and which details to adhere to 
  • Decide when to exceed the standards to achieve a higher level of quality or develop dimensions to the program that are beyond their limits.           

6. Operate Effectively in the Program’s Administrative Setting

 

The makeup and management of a RIM program depends to some degree on its administrative setting. The RIM program manager needs to ensure that the program’s work supports the work of the office of which it is a part but also serves the broader needs of the parent agency. RIM needs the full support and understanding of the director of the office of which it is a part, particularly at budget time.

 

7. Make Optimal Use of Modest Resources

 

Making the best use of available resources is a constant challenge, particularly if those resources are static (or declining) at the same time that expectations for service are increasing. Some useful management approaches: 

  • Use education and advice rather than coercion and penalties. RIM programs should proceed as mentors and partners, emphasizing the benefits of good records management and showing people how to do the work.
  • Operate through records officers or records management coordinators in various offices and departments. This magnifies the program’s reach but also requires well-developed communication and persuasion skills, concise and convincing program materials, and, occasionally, interpretation of complicated notions so the department liaisons can convey them to the people in their offices.
  • Provide general advice and guidance to groups rather than individuals. Most programs need well-developed, one-to-many delivery modes such as publications and workshops (making optimal use of web-delivery). This also increases the time for one-on-one consultation when needed.
  • Work through informal networks. RIM staff can often develop informal relationships with their peers in the budget office; administrative oversight office; and audit, counsel, and other offices that are interested in good records management. This informal approach dovetails with more formal cooperative ventures, outlined in no. 8, below. 

8. Work Through Cooperative Approaches

 

This theme is implicit in a number of the strategies outlined earlier. One of the tasks of a RIM manager is to figure out ways of working with and through other offices in the organization on projects and initiatives and, in effect, to extend the RIM program’s reach and influence.

 

A proactive cooperation strategy helps mark the RIM program as part of the organization’s team; companies expect programs within them to cooperate to help streamline work and make the company more competitive. Counsel, the access officer, the chief information officer, IT, accounting, audit and others are all potential allies. Cooperative approaches need to have these traits:

  • The RIM program and its partnering office (or offices) can identify a clear, common goal that will help satisfy both offices’ responsibilities and at the same time contribute to the mission of the parent organization.
  • The goal is concrete and measurable; both the RIM office and the cooperating office will know when it has been reached.
  • There is little likelihood that either office could accomplish the goal on its own because of resource constraints or other factors.
  • Working together makes efficient use of available resources, particularly staff whose expertise areas are a good fit to get the work done.
  • Both programs (and, all the participating programs if there are more than two) are likely to receive recognition from higher-level executives for cooperating.
  • There are good prospects for the effort being a learning experience, laying the basis for additional cooperation. 

9. Explain RIM’s Return-On-Investment Value

 

Managers need to demonstrate the value of their programs, particularly when executives are unaware of what records management is or budget officers are looking for programs to cut. There are at least five useful approaches to doing this:

 

The first strategy is to show that RIM delivers value through cost reduction.  William Saffady, in his book The Value of Records Management, notes that this argument has multiple dimensions, for instance: through ensuring legal compliance, RIM helps companies avoid fines and penalties; through advising on records management, it reduces the cost of labor for creating, organizing, retrieving, and disseminating records and information; and by promoting systematic disposition, it cuts down on storage costs.

 

The second argument is to show RIM’s contribution to the “value chain.” This means it can add value to business operations by indirectly increasing an organization’s revenues. Saffady notes: “….value chain concepts view the creation of a product or service as a series of interdependent activities, each of which adds value and costs to the final offering.” Information is a critical supporting feature, for instance, in product scheduling and marketing; monitoring and controlling inventory and, production; and tracking customers and maintaining customer relations.

 

Another theme is reducing the risk that can come from inaction. Out-of-control information can clog decision-making channels and lead to serious problems. Stories from other organizations can help here: a disaster wiped out records and crippled operations because there was no disaster policy; an embarrassing e-mail surfaced during litigation because disposition policies were not applied; an employee inadvertently revealed a trade secret in a blog because the company had no guidelines.

 

A fourth testament to RIM’s value is its role in ensuring conformance to legal requirements and protecting the organization in case of litigation.  RIM keeps the organization on the right side of the law, helps demonstrate that it is operating responsibly and in the open, and helps it avoid losing court cases.

 

The fifth value-proving model, the most challenging but also the most promising, is identifying, customizing, and blending a number of performance indicators related to output and impact. These will vary from one program to the next and needs to be customized; identifying them is one of the top responsibilities of management.

 

This approach moves away from the notion that value must always be quantified and instead offers multiple means of judging it. Jim Collins, in Good to Great and the Social Sectors, recommends that programs practice “calibrating success without business metrics” by identifying key indicators – outputs and impacts – even if they can’t quantify them, in three areas:

  1. Give superior performance: results delivered measured against what was promised and what the recipient – in this case, the program’s customers – wanted
  2. Make a distinctive impact: the program “makes … a unique contribution to the communities it touches and does its work with … unadulterated excellence.”
  3. Achieve lasting endurance: delivers exceptional results over a long period of time, beyond the tenure of any single leader; bounces back stronger than ever from setbacks.

Collins emphasizes that it is up to the manager to develop a system for doing this. He explains: It doesn’t really matter whether you can quantify your results. What matters is that you rigorously assemble evidence – quantitative or qualitative – to track your progress. If the evidence is primarily qualitative, think like a trial lawyer assembling the combined body of evidence. If the evidence is primarily quantitative, then think of yourself as a laboratory scientist assembling and assessing the data.

 

Some primarily qualitative, impressionistic, anecdotal, but also cumulative evidence might include:

  • The program’s work satisfies requirements of highly respected professional standards, e.g., ISO15489-1 Information and Documentation - Records Management - Part I: General (the international records management standard) or Sedona Guidelines for Managing Information and Records in the Information Age.
  • The work is also in accordance with authoritative canons of good practice such as Saffady’s Records and Information Management: Fundamentals of Professional Practice and David Stephens’ Records Management: Making the Transition from Paper to Electronic.
  • Individual office managers praise the program and testify to its impact because of what they observe directly and what they hear from their staff members.
  • Offices with which it works on a sustained basis, such as counsel, CIO or IT, administrative services, or security services, attest to its willingness to partner, effectiveness, and results-focused approaches.
  • The program can cite examples of successfully solving unexpected records and information management problems problems.
  • It can cite examples of resolving legitimate complaints from customers about its service or other issues.
  • It achieves a measure of professional recognition, e.g., by receiving a professional award, its staff members achieving leadership positions in professional associations, or by being cited by other programs as a model in the field.

10. Advocate for the Program

 

Advocacy requires identifying allies, articulating key themes, and customizing the message to the audience and the situation. The best RIM programs are not quiet and shy. They are assertive and visible. Their managers seek to be involved with significant information policies and programs that have recordkeeping implications. The managers seek opportunities to make presentations to offices in the organization they serve, to issue reports, to publicize their programs’ accomplishments, and to get advisory committees and satisfied customers to provide endorsements. A few themes for managers to emphasize in their advocacy work: 

 

RIM supports and reinforces good business practice. Managing records and information should be built into the fabric of good management practices. Proctor & Gamble CEO A.J. Lafley, a leader whose public pronouncements indicate he really understands the importance of records management. In “Records Management at Proctor & Gamble: A Commitment to Good Governance,” he said “records management is important at P&G … it’s part of P&G’s commitment to good governance ... it helps ensure that we have the right information available at the right time in the right place to make smart business decisions ... it makes us more efficient and helps keep costs low – and lower costs ensure P&G brands provide superior customer value.”

 

RIM gives business a competitive edge. RIM is a competitive tool because it helps make records and information more readily available and more economically managed. An ARMA International’s promotional poster shows a hand on a computer mouse and says: “BETTER BUSINESS STARTS HERE. At your desktop – with every e-mail message received, document saved, and report filed. How well we manage our information can be the difference between success and failure ... BETTER BUSINESS DEMANDS BETTER RECORDS & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT.”

 

RIM assists with IT management and the work of CIOs. The RIM program has an important role to play in cooperating with the chief information officer on strategic information management topics – basically, putting information to work for the enterprise.

 

RIM helps make information available for decision making and for knowledge workers. Depending on how it is defined, RIM is a central factor in ensuring the orderly, systematic creation, organization, and availability of information. In turn, information is essential for knowledge workers or “information workers” (people who use information technology and work with information to do their jobs – the most important and productive employees in most companies), and for the enterprise itself.

 

RIM is essential for protection in litigation. The connection between a good records management program and defense in litigation is an essential, convincing advocacy theme.

 

RIM provides a framework for managing overabundant information resources such as e-mail. Overuse and inappropriate use of e-mail is becoming a management concern in many organizations. Organizations can effectively manage their e-mail and can integrate e-mail management with a comprehensive records management program.

 

RIM saves money and space. Through education and guidelines on the creation and management of records, and through records scheduling, which fosters the disposal of obsolete records, RIM cuts down on information-creation costs, saves storage space and costs, and saves time and effort by eliminating the need for employees to search through volumes of outdated records.

 

RIM ensures preservation of essential documents. RIM identifies and ensures the continuing availability documents of transcending value for administrative, legal, fiscal, historical, and other purposes. RIM professionals work closely with archivists in this area.

 

RIM contributes to disaster preparedness. Terrorism and natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes are much in the news these days. Having a systematic preparedness plan is essential. Businesses need proof of assets, liabilities, contracts, and other legal documents. Governments need documentation of decisions, regulations, and precedents. Individuals need proof of identity, medical records, and documentation of assets.

 

Management: An Art, Not a Mystery

 

Managing RIM programs effectively requires a well-developed set of talents, including understanding of RIM principles and practices, vision, leadership, communication, advocacy, and, perhaps most important, “people” skills such as empowerment and coaching that bring out individuals’ best and, at the same time, foster team approaches.

 

Management may be something of an art, but it is not a mystery. It can be learned, refined, developed, and applied. Finding the “right” approach depends on personal traits and skills, on the setting and circumstances of the program, and on the versatility and inventiveness employed to keep a dynamic RIM program moving ahead.

 

 

Sidebar: The 5 Elements of Management 

  1. Planning. Developing a vision and goals for the program, setting the right course, identifying objectives intermediate to the goals, and aligning the program with the parent organization’s priorities.
  2. Organizing. Arranging the elements or assets of a program according to a plan or strategy, including aligning units with specific functions but also including such things as cross-functional teams, communities of practice, and other ad hoc, cooperative arrangements.
  3. Leading. Giving direction and guidance, motivating, fostering progress, and ensuring that there is an element of “aspiration” or “stretch” so that the program keeps moving and making progress.
  4. Coordinating. Ensuring that the diverse elements of a program are integrated into a harmonious operation, that everything meshes, and that there is consistency of purpose across the program.
  5. Managing People. Developing performance plans, supervising and monitoring employee work, coaching, evaluating, empowering, rewarding, and encouraging employee growth.

 

Bruce Dearstyne may be contacted at Dearstyne@verizon.net.

 

From July - August 2008