Records management is the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. A record is the information produced or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an institutional or individual activity and that comprises content, context and structure sufficient to provide evidence of the activity.
The scope of records management (RM) typically involves planning the information needs of the organization, then identifying the information that require capture as records. Each of these requires creating, approving, and enforcing policies and practices regarding records, including their organization and disposal. This process includes a records storage plan, which handles the short and long-term housing of physical records and of identifying, classifying, and storing electronic information. The creation of access to records internally and externally of the organization, balancing the requirements of business confidentiality, data privacy, and public access. Finally, these policies are required for retention or disposal of records when they are no longer required. According to the organization’s policies, statutory requirements, and government regulations, this may involve the destruction and/or permanent preservation of records in an archive.
Business value from records management stems primarily from compliance and data privacy. Records management is receiving increased interest among corporations due to new compliance regulations and statutes. While government, legal, and healthcare entities have had a strong historical records management discipline, general business record-keeping has been poorly standardized and implemented. In addition, corporate scandals have renewed interest in corporate records compliance, retention period requirements, litigation preparedness, and related issues. Lastly, one significant internal issue is raising the visibility of records management within corporations. Records management is often seen as an unnecessary or low priority administrative task that can be performed at the lowest levels within an organization. Education and change management activities are needed to raise awareness and change corporate culture with respect to the importance of records management.
Iknow has deep expertise in all aspects of records management from initial requirements gathering, to designing the processes involved in each of the steps in preservation, to system customization and deployment. Iknow has experience in small and large projects, including building records management into customer communications management systems to improve sales and ROI.
The records management product landscape is complex and includes the following products. Iknow can help you evaluate and select the right software product to help you achieve your business objectives.