Tuesday 10 September 2019

The Era of Electronic Records Management Part 2

First off:  apologies for so much time passing since the last blog entry.  I would list all of my excuses but you either know them all or have heard them all a hundred times... I'll try to keep up better. :)

In my work several initiatives have taken off where I'm doing actual, honest-to-goodness, dyed-in-the-wool electronic records management.  How long have I been waiting for that?  Pretty much since I started in this industry 18 years ago.  I remember seeing Bruce Miller, the great pioneer in records management software and consulting, stating in 2003 or so that automatic electronic records classification would be commonplace within 2 years.*  Ever since then the golden gleam of RIM for electronic records has taunted me from afar.  Through those years I've a) tackled paper processes while watching electronic processes ignored, b) tried to address overrun email inboxes, while other electronic processes ran unmanaged, and c) created policies and procedures that addressed electronic records, but which never impacted actual practice.

But now I'm doing it!  We are working with stakeholders across the organization to apply records classification and closure to the records in our ECM system.  We are proposing and working through several models to increase automated processes to help tackle email inboxes (that are still overflowing, even after all these years...).  I am meeting with stakeholders to address master data management (MDM) and how our Records Management requirements impact the way we store and use structured data at the organization.

It's busy - really busy - but so excited as well.  It is literally what I have hoped to be doing ever since the beginning.  I feel privileged to be here.

Any others making headway in electronic records management?  Any questions or stories to share?  I'd love to see what else is happening out there.

We don't have another CRM preparation workshop booked in the near future, but let me know if you are interested in the CRA or CRM designation, and I can help you get started or provide some books from our lending library for studying.  In the meantime, all the best in your endeavours.

Wayne Hoff, CRM, IGP
ICRM Liaison, Calgary ARMA
icrmrep.armacalgary@gmail.com      <<<  Please note the new email address.

*(I've spoken about that moment with him since, and he chuckled heartily, saying, "I predicted 'just another two years' for many, many years in a row!").

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