From record management to ERMS....insight #2

Dear all...

It is just an insight into what is transpired currently....

Another obstacle when organization plans to implement electronic records management (ERM) and ERM system (ERMS) is; 

People perceive and I understand that many organizations tend to do it (implementing ERMS) without considering the changes and organizational restructuring it needs to do first. Should the process flow or the current workflow does not meet up and not in tandem with the changes that is going to take place once ERMS is in place. It will just become another flaws. Organization needs to understand and redesign the organizational workflow before embarking on ERMS. As a matter of fact, ERMS comes into the picture to efficiently expedite work processes, and the old ways must make way to ERMS. Otherwise, the presence of ERMS is just considered as another organizational effort to increase the burden of the staffs, while otherwise, it is not supposed to be. 

Preliminary investigation and organizational preparedness to implement ERMS must be done first. Awareness of the staff must be instilled. Updated skills and know how in record keeping practices must be exposed to staffs and top management. The initiatives to make informed of what is ERMS, how it is going to change the way things are done and the introduction to the new way organization is operating must be done and made clear to all staffs. This requires clear direction of what organization or top management want to go about in implementing ERMS. This is normally done through change management program, which includes trainings and workshops. Top management must spearhead the initiatives as this will change and affect the whole organizational structure and the way it operates.

To think that it is just simply installing ERMS software, is totally a wrong perception and way of doing proper things. The preliminary investigation is critical to understand the current status of record keeping practices, the loop holes and gap in records management currently in operation and understanding what needs to be corrected first before ERMS come into the picture. The file plan structure, the classification, naming conventions used, the functions of each and every department, the relationship between departments are all critical information for the redesign process of a new workflow.

Think about it!

to be continued....