From Records Management to ERMS #3

Dear all.....

Assalamualaikum wrt wbt......and "Salam Sejahtera"!

Change is difficult to occur in organization with long history of establishment. It is cumbersome to change working culture and work processes when practice becomes habits. Old style is difficult to make way to the new one. However, for some reasons, old ways remains because they have already proven meaningful and effective even though it may not be efficient. Then, technology comes in. Like or not, we need to embrace it. It changes and paves the way how people do their work, how things should work, how organizational objective, vision, mission and work processes need to be achieved and how things are managed.

This occurrence takes place everywhere. The same goes to records management. Manually done, the work process in managing records were proven effective. However today, communication technology and information technology have changed the 'modus operandi' of how things work. Communication is rampant, therefore, transaction is also rampant. Business to business transactions, business to people, business to government, government to people transaction or vice versa becomes the main concern. People begin to talk about service delivery. People want high standard of service delivery more than before. Slow response, overdue and "red tapes" no longer the order of the day with the coming of information communication technology (ICT).

The above factors and recent development put stress and tighten burden to information professionals and records professionals. Accountability and efficiency remain the utmost concern. Service delivery need to be efficient, effective and fast while at the same time concern on the 'recordness' of the record remain critical. It was before the choice of procedures and work process that determined the effective ways of keeping the records while maintaining its integrity. Today, that same objectives remain with added priority; the choice of integrated electronic records management system that complied with all work processes, national acts, records and archive acts, fulfilling technology requirement and maintaining the integrity of the records which is created more in digital @ electronic format rather than paper format.

This new trend; the so called digital records or electronic records are born in that manner as compared to previous way where records were born in printed format. It is a huge challenge to people, staffs, employees to handle such 'born digital records'....

It is easier to create electronic records or electronic document, but difficult to manage it. The fact that we can create any document and records using ICT easily than before does not mean that it is easier to manage it. New challenge arises, 'on how to maintain integrity of the records on the basis of evidential value, its authenticity, accountability and integrity of electronic records. A major question arises "how are we going to manage electronic records similarly with its predecessor-paper records, while maintaining its authenticity, validity and integrity?" This is the major concern in managing digitally born records of today.

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....