Records Management Program

Tom Reding, CRM, is a principal in EMC’s Information Governance Practice and is a recognized authority on knowledge, content, document and records management, data governance, litigation support, and privacy. He has received industry-wide recognition as an author, presenter, and contributor to industry standards and guidelines.

Reding can be contacted at tom.reding@emc.com.

 

Questions:

1. Where and how should I begin with my records management program?

2. What are some of the most common reasons records management program implementations fail?

3. What can I do to help ensure the success of my organization’s records management program deployment?

4. Submit your own question to Tom Reding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Where and how should I begin with my records management program?

Start by conducting a program self-assessment based upon ARMA International’s Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles® (GARP®) and the GARP® Information Governance Maturity Model. (See www.arma.org/garp.) In parallel, assess the information stored in your various repositories and file shares “behind your firewalls.” This act will have two immediate records management program foundational benefits: 1) It will aid you in building a retention/disposition schedule and 2) It will help to define your taxonomy.

2. What are some of the most common reasons records management program implementations fail?

Organizations:

• Fail to conduct a program self-assessment before beginning
• Lack executive-level support and sponsorship
• Lack well-defined roles and responsibilities
• Over-promise items in the information governance program
• Do not define success measurements
• Fail to audit and refine the program as necessary
• Lack appropriate technology to facilitate information governance-defined commitments

3. What can I do to help ensure the success of my organization’s records management program deployment?

In addition to avoiding the problems identified above:

• Ensure you have well-defined near-term tactical goals and three- to five-year strategic goals and objectives.
• Offer to base your program’s expenses upon a management-accepted measure for return on investment and total cost of ownership.
• Prototype and benchmark each phase of your program roll-out plan.

4. Submit your question to Tom Reding below.

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