Task

The Water Safety Corporation (WSC) has called you in as a records management consultant. The executive of the company have finally decided that something must be done to bring their recordkeeping standards up to the appropriate level.

Your appointment is for three months and you are required to review existing arrangements and prepare a report to the Managing Director making recommendations for improvements to the records management practices. 

Your report should include an overview of good practice and any supporting documentation you think relevant.

Using the Water Safety Corporation Case study,  you are required to:

1. Conduct a brief recordkeeping analysis of WSC (1000 words). The DIRKS (State Records of NSW) analytical tool can be used to guide the analysis, or any other tool of your choice.

A recordkeeping analysis consists of:

1. Organisational Background (DIRKS step A and B)

• An overview of the organisation, including its likely business strategy and any aspects that will impact on recordkeeping (e.g. organisational change)
• A review of the key legislative and regulatory environment
• The key stakeholders that will influence recordkeeping practices (e.g. government departments)
• The key functions of the organisation?

1. Recordkeeping needs and requirements (DIRKS step C)

• Thinking about the overview above, what are the key drivers for records management?
• What are some of the key legislative and regulatory requirements that dictate recordkeeping at WSRC?
• What are some of the business and staff requirements?
• Do the needs vary across different functions?

1. Analysis of key strengths and gaps in records management at WSRC

• What are the issues that WSRC are facing in records management?
• What are those that are highest risk to the organisation?
• What are your recommendations for addressing these issues?

You are free to use any assessment tools or guidelines to frame your analysis.

• The DIRKS manual, particularly steps A to D is particularly useful – see http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/recordkeeping/advice/designing-implementing-and-managing-systems/dirks-manual/dirks-manual
• Also useful is the State Records NSW Records Management Assessment tool– see http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/recordkeeping/advice/monitoring/records-management-assessment-tool
• Victorian Auditor Generals Office records management checklist– see http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports__publications/reports_by_year/2008/20080730_records_checklist.aspx

Any of these tools could be useful in providing a starting point for understanding the background of organisations and their recordkeeping needs.

1. Create a records management strategy for WSC (2000 words).

You have undertaken a study and analysis of the organisation and are now ready to prepare a records management strategy covering records management at WSRC for the next 5years.

When developing the strategy, keep in mind the five components required in a framework (as described in Topic2)

1. Strategy
2. Policy & processes
3. People and resources
4. Recordkeeping systems
5. Monitoring and performance review

You are working on Component 1, the strategy, which should contain objectives related to policy and processes, people and resources, systems and monitoring and performance.

Your strategy should be based on your analysis from part A and should be made up of the following components:

• Introduction and scope (scope covers what’s in and what’s out e.g. applies to all information created by the organisation)
• Key underpinning principles (e.g. mandatory for all staff)
• Key risks or issues identified
• Executive endorsement (e.g. supported and endorsed by the CEO)
• Strategy components (e.g. principles; deliverables; timeline to implement; who implements)
• How the strategy will be implemented (e.g. via a 3-year project) – this may also include any significant resourcing and budgetary considerations
• Strategy outcomes (e.g. that the organisation will have a compliant recordkeeping system by 2020 with all staff knowledgeable in recordkeeping and undertaking it as a part of core business)
• How the strategy will be monitored and evaluated

Important note:

Your strategy outline is about providing a strategic direction and high-level overview for records management.For example,you are not required to provide cost breakdowns but rather to make general strategic statements suchas ‘it is recommended an EDRMS system be implemented at WSC at a likely cost of $’ or ‘it is recommended WSC continue to manage records using network drives and not go to the expense of implementing a costly EDRMS system’. Make sure to justify your recommendations based on the research you have done. For example: ‘it is recommended to upgrade the media server because this technology is out of date and it is vital that marketing have access to these images and their contextual information’.

The WSC Managing Director is making records management a top priority and has allocated a $1.5million budget over 3 years. The Managing Director wants to push the organisation into being known for its technological innovation and is very keen on cloud based technologies. You will need to ascertain what is suitable and sufficient for what you have identified as required.

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