A Quick Guide to Records Management

Summary

The transcript explains the importance of records, both personal and organizational, highlighting their legal significance. Personal records include documents like birth certificates and tax returns, while organizational records encompass contracts, invoices, and safety certificates. It addresses the transition from hardcopy to electronic records, stressing the need to protect their integrity. The concept of a retention schedule is introduced, which governs how long records must be kept before destruction. The challenges of identifying, filing, and managing records in a structured file plan are also discussed, emphasizing the complexities of electronic record management.

Takeaways

• 📜 Personal records include important documents like birth certificates, tax returns, and medical records.
• 🏢 Organizations keep records as legal evidence, such as contracts, invoices, and corporate tax records.
• 💾 Records used to be in hard copy but are now frequently stored electronically, like emails and PDFs.
• ⏳ Each record has a retention period defined by law or organizational policies.
• 🗑️ After the retention period ends, records become eligible for destruction.
• 🔒 Since records are legal documents, it is crucial to ensure they are not altered, especially in electronic form.
• 📁 Records are organized through a file plan, a classification system that also manages retention schedules.
• 🏭 Industry-specific file plans, like LGCS, exist but tend to be inflexible.
• 🤷‍♂️ It can be difficult for employees to identify what constitutes a record and where to file it.
• 🕒 Determining when a record should be declared is also challenging for individuals in an organization.

Q & A

What are some examples of personal records mentioned in the transcript?

Examples of personal records mentioned include birth certificates, tax returns, planning applications, and medical records.

Why do organizations keep records?

Organizations keep records as evidence in pursuance of legal obligations, such as contracts, invoices, procedure manuals, corporate tax records, safety certificates, and more.

How have organizational records changed in format over time?

Organizational records used to be in printed hardcopy form but are now more frequently found in electronic forms, such as emails and PDFs.

What is a retention schedule?

A retention schedule, also called a disposition schedule, defines the period during which a record must be kept by law or organizational policy before it is eligible for destruction.

Why is it important for records not to be changed?

It is imperative that records are not changed because they serve as legal documents. Altering them could lead to issues of compliance and authenticity, especially in legal contexts.

What is the challenge in ensuring the integrity of electronic records?

Ensuring that electronic records are not altered is more difficult than with hardcopy records due to the ease of modifying digital information.

What is a file plan and what does it do?

A file plan is a classification scheme that organizes records and provides the framework for the retention and disposal schedule of those records.

How are file plans typically structured?

File plans are well-structured, often ready-made for specific industries, such as the LGCS (Local Government Classification Scheme). They are usually inflexible and rarely change.

What is a key challenge for employees regarding record management in organizations?

A key challenge is that it is often difficult for employees to identify the type of record that should be declared, where to file it in a potentially complex file plan, and when they should declare it.

What is the difference between documents and records in the context of the transcript?

Records are structured, legally-bound documents with retention schedules, while documents can originate from various sources and do not necessarily have the same legal requirements as records.