Feature

posted 31 Oct 2005 in Volume 9 Issue 3

Revitalised EDRM

Auditing and re-inventing records-management perceptions and practices as part of an ongoing strategy at State Records of South Australia. By Greg Hart

State Records of South Australia (SRSA) develops and administers the government’s records-management framework (the framework). It also helps state and local-government agencies interpret and apply the associated strategies, standards, guidelines and policies within it.

From an SRSA perspective, the future of EDRM systems (EDRMS) in government rests with one key element: governance. As the central-agency responsible for leading the EDRM programme in our state, we have taken a holistic approach to the issue and kept our outputs simple and fit for purpose. We have developed a comprehensive support programme for records and information-management practitioners, to ensure their agency has every chance of achieving numerous, ambitious goals that have been set with a 2010 deadline.

SRSA’s mission affirms that it will “champion information-management and deliver a range of archival services for the preservation and access to official records of South Australia”. Our vision states that we will “manage official records to unite people with the rich heritage and history of South Australia and provide evidence of an open and accountable government”.

These statements rely heavily on the effective management of electronic records, so EDRMS implementations are therefore critical to achieving these outcomes.

The records-management services team that I manage provides consultancy services to the agencies. These include advice on the development of:

Information-management strategies;
Records-management strategies;
Record-keeping policy frameworks;
Business-classification schemes for the development of records-disposal schedules and thesauri;
Facilitated online education;
Accredited training.

The team also provides advice on records management, archiving, preservation and conservation to approximately 300 agencies and administers the South Australian government’s panel of EDRMS products. We assist agencies in all phases of their EDRMS projects (this encompasses planning, design, testing, implementation and administration).

The requirement for an EDRMS
The key platforms on which the incumbent state Labor government was elected were improved public-sector governance, transparency of decision-making processes and improved services to the community. SRSA has identified that adequate records-management tools, systems, practices and resources are all significant contributors towards the overall achievement of these objectives.

All agencies and authorities were asked to complete an assessment of their records-management tools, systems and practices in June 2003.

We were underwhelmed by the quality and quantity of responses we received in this process, which in itself was a barometer of government record-keeping. However, the information we did receive supported largely anecdotal evidence that the Government’s record-keeping practices were in a generally poor state. We set out to focus on records-management, governance and services, with an emphasis on new technology, training and education.

A bleak outlook
Generally, if agencies did have any dedicated record-keeping resources, they did not understand even basic principles, such as ‘what is a thesaurus?’, let alone what an EDRMS comprised and could deliver to the workplace.

There was a perception, possibly based on past experiences, that records managers were introverted individuals who shuffled around in a basement compactus shunning people and daylight. Largely invisible, no-one really knew anything about them or what they were doing and only ever spoke to them if they were looking for a hard-copy file. For this reason, the development needs of records-management practitioners were not being addressed and, consequently, they did not have sufficient context, knowledge, confidence or communication skills to implement or engender support for better record-keeping practices within their agency. These people were being asked to work on their agency’s EDRMS strategy, but the projects they were involved in were often being set up for failure.

Projects were being driven largely by IT departments, at least in the few agencies that were implementing systems at the time, and were basically viewed as another piece of software to ‘plonk’ on the desktop. There appeared to be no linkage to the required business outcomes, administrative processes or cultural requirements. Also, agencies didn’t appear to have identified reasons for staff to cooperate with an EDRMS implementation – a critical piece of information that should underpin any planning, design or implementation.

EDRMS project governance within agencies requires some advocacy for behavioural change, through the development and promotion of business rules to support the system and the processes it manages. This element had been widely overlooked. EDRMS business rules include:

Mandatory versus optional record capture;
Defining the appropriate use of e-mail;
Management of an individual’s personal records;
Auto-sentencing of normal administrative-practice records;
Searchability of draft documents;
Retention of versions.

Their development requires a level of maturity from the executive, in making decisions that will impact how users interact with the EDRMS and bring about the best return on investment (ROI). However, the focus appeared to be on getting another icon to the desktop as quickly as possible, to meet government standards. Whether they understood or not, agencies seemed to have taken an approach that reeked of tokenism.

Currently, e-mails function as de facto memos, minutes, reports and briefings and often use what I call a ‘pot pourri’ approach – in that they discuss multiple subjects and topics. This makes it nigh on impossible to determine whether, or how long, the e-mail should be kept by the layperson. At present, the chances are that it will not be kept at all. It is obvious to SRSA that there is a large slice of the government’s electronic records (estimated at 60 per cent by analyst house Gartner) that has potentially been lost or deleted within the past decade.

The repercussions of this loss in our corporate history are yet to be fully realised, but we do know that this legacy has the potential to negatively impact service levels to the community (for example, time and cost associated with discovering records).

Consequently, SRSA decided it needed to provide some much needed direction and assistance to the agencies, which resulted in the introduction of the Across-Government Records Management Strategy, in 2004. The strategy details six goals. Each has a number of actions that all agencies and SRSA are expected to address over the next five years. Goal number four requires that all agencies must have installed a compliant EDRMS by 2009.

The SRSA Support Programme
Continuous Improvement
At a minimum, all agencies need to undertake an independent assessment of their record-keeping practices using the ARM Standard’s Self-Assessment Matrix, which consists of ten record-keeping outcomes. Agencies score their tools, systems, practices and resourcing out of five (five being best practice). This provides a gap analysis highlighting the risks to be mitigated.

SRSA has also developed an ARM Self-Assessment Evidence Toolkit, which clearly identifies the evidentiary elements that agencies need to have in place to achieve a credible score in each outcome – for example, agencies need a records-management strategy that is linked to:

An information-management strategy;
A records-management plan;
Records-management policies and procedures;
Accredited records-management practitioners;
A compliant EDRMS.

They also require access to relevant record-keeping tools, such as thesauri, a records-disposal schedule (RDS), a vital records register and a records-disposal programme.

SRSA is now using these independent self-assessment reports as the basis of each agency’s records-management audit. The audits will be conducted annually to measure incremental improvement from this baseline.

The panel
In 2004, SRSA established a panel of EDRMS products to address the agencies’ desire for more than one choice of solution. The government’s previous records-management system mandate had proven to be unpopular with some agencies that did not endorse the ‘one size fits all’ approach. Procurement from the panel, which is mandatory, is expected to facilitate improved interoperability and communication across all layers of government. SRSA is committed to continually ‘raising the bar’ for its EDRMS panellists and now requires system accreditation – according to the Victorian Electronic Record-keeping Standard (Schedules 1-3). The principle outputs for the panel project were:

To develop an Across-Government Functional Specification (to ensure ownership of the final outcome);
Ensure solutions meet the Government’s standards;
Remove the need for agencies to tender and conduct costly, individual evaluation and negotiation processes;
Establish a common-deed agreement between the State Supply Board and all EDRMS providers;
Negotiate a common-supply contract to prescribe maintenance service levels;
Reduce costs for licences and implementation services, as well as warranties and Escrow agreements.

An EDRMS procurement and pre-implementation guideline, including a pre-procurement checklist, was prepared to assist agencies. This document requires a commitment to the development of fundamental records-management documentation along with other business and technical outputs to support an EDRMS project (for example, training strategy, communication strategy, risk analysis and optimum network topology). Most importantly, the document must be signed by the agency’s chief executive. They commit, before the EDRMS progresses from prototype to production, that all checklist elements have been addressed and implemented. SRSA monitors service-provider outputs through agreed key performance indicators, while providing advice to agencies regarding their EDRMS projects and brokering outcomes in the event of conflict.

Training and education
SRSA is not advocating the introduction of 65,000 records managers in South Australian government. We believe this is a specialist task and the challenge for agencies is to design the EDRMS to deliver record-keeping outcomes, without asking public servants to practice anything other than good document and file management.

We have developed short courses, which will be made available through our online learning mechanism (known as ERNI), to basically re-induct public servants into the principles of records management, freedom of information (FOI) and information privacy. This should ensure they are aware of their legislative responsibilities, the need for and benefits of record-keeping and the consequences for inadequate practices (punitive measures in the State Records Act 1997, relating to illegal destruction of records).

We believe records-management practitioners need to undertake accredited training that is commensurate with their roles, in order for agencies to achieve incremental improvements to their strategic and operational record-keeping programmes. SRSA, through an auspicing arrangement with Adelaide TAFE, currently delivers certificates three and four in Business Record-keeping and will be delivering the Diploma and Advanced Diploma from 2006. We are also investing in the development of a University Chair in partnership with the University of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia and Fuji Xerox. This will deliver a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees that incorporate the following elements:

Records and document management;
EDRMS design, delivery, administration;
Data warehousing;
Library management;
Archival management;
Workflow management;
Content and knowledge management;
Information management;
Digital-content management;
Security and privacy;
Conservation and preservation;
IT.

The degree programme will also focus on the development of administrative skills such as:

Marketing;
Customer service;
People management;
Culture change;
Business analysis;
Financial management;
Contract management;
Project management;
Risk management;
Statistical benchmarking;
Process management;
Policy interpretation and application.

This is to ensure South Australia has a new generation of highly skilled records, library and information-management practitioners for the future.

Governance and strategic forums
SRSA has established the Across Government Information and Records Management Strategy Group, which includes a high-level representative from all 15 ministerial portfolios. The representative reviews and endorses all new elements of the framework before seeking official approval from the State Records Council, which is appointed by the minister for Administrative Services. The agency also submits quarterly reports to parliament. These detail the status of EDRMS implementations in government and the achievement of actions and goals detailed in the records-management strategy.

We are also establishing a panel of accredited records-management consultants to ensure that agencies are getting value for money on their records-management investment – this tender will be released in September 2005.

We anticipate that there will be an exponential increase in the number of agencies seeking records-management consultancies from the private sector, due to the public sector’s current skills shortage. These consultants and contractors are needed to support agencies’ EDRMS implementations and SRSA needs to mitigate the risk that opportunists won’t ‘stick a shingle above their office’ and potentially fleece agencies.

Change management
The recording of evidence to support ethical decision making and protect the public interest is a noble goal, but to some it is a big yawn. Myself and many other records-management practitioners are often asked to make our processes ‘sexy’, which is difficult considering everyone’s definition is likely to be different. Let’s face it, the only reason accountants have managed to make financial management ‘sexy’ is because it invariably deals with money, which has the ability to seduce many people.

Agencies need to identify and highlight the risks to the business if the status quo is maintained and focus on the need for incremental change. The real selling point for change is to establish exactly ‘what’s in it for me’ (WIFFM). One such WIFFM factor is to keep our leaders employed and their names out of the press – there have been many high-profile casualties, in both the public and private sector, who have lost their jobs due to poor record-keeping practices.

The FOI and records-management relationship is like a marriage and at the moment it is not a good one. FOI officers are often frustrated that their [records-management] spouse generally lives in slovenly conditions, is often disorganised and has difficulty communicating effectively. Employees in our agencies need to understand and acknowledge that their record-keeping duties are not unlike their other responsibilities and financial-management delegations.

The carrot? SRSA believes that agencies’ EDRM solutions are able to deliver their staff more time as they do not have to re-invent the wheel, undertake often fruitless searches for records and their multiple versions, or participate in fit for purpose information processing. The stick is that if agencies and their staff continue to ignore the risks, it will most likely be parliament that will determine the consequences.

We are also raising the issue of ‘battered-culture syndrome’ with agencies – we are now working in an environment that is becoming increasingly influenced by a US governance model. As a result our society is:

Far more litigious – as a consequence, government is much more risk-averse;
We have adopted an economic and rationalist dogma. We must be able to justify any investment, establish substantive baselines and measure improvement;
Globalisation and heavier workloads have increased the influence of the media in our lives, as people become increasingly disconnected with their community and government;
The deregulation of our industries has opened the door for more mavericks to operate and exploit people in all levels of society.

As a consequence, our organisations are being governed by new and/or revised legislation to ensure our way of life, our country – its natural resources, people and economy – are not compromised.

It is important to ask ‘why should our staff trust us?’, as we lead them through an EDRMS implementation that could potentially be running parallel with one or more of the following processes:

Organisational re-structure;
Downsizing;
Outsourcing;
Functional review;
Shared services;
Privatisation;
Public sector reform;
OHS&W audit;
Records-management audit;
Customer service review;
Process re-engineering;
Ombudsman investigation;
Attorney general review;
Parliamentary review;
Industrial relations amendments.

All the while, we are asking staff to do more with less. This has bought about a significant increase in cynicism and decreased trust in the workplace. Generally, people are working longer hours at the expense of their health, relationships, communities and environment.

An EDRMS project facilitates IT, behavioural and process-changes in the workplace. It is important for the project’s sponsor to clearly articulate exactly what type of culture the EDRMS is expected to deliver and uphold. Importantly, if you are asking people to share their intellectual property (the one commodity that keeps them competitive in the workplace) then you need to have an answer for the question ‘what is going to happen to me if I become superfluous to a process I am currently involved in?’ Lifelong learning is only part of the answer and requires an investment commitment from both the organisation and staff, before you commence an EDRMS project. In the pursuit of developing improved processes to deliver greater business efficiency, the economic rationalists will probably state these employees will eventually be dispensed with (I am certainly not advocating a no retrenchment policy).

However, if we are really serious about creating an innovative environment based on greater efficiency, then perhaps it is prudent to examine whether a proportion of the time saved through more efficient processes should be assigned to the development and realisation of new and improved processes, products and services. Perhaps this would enable people to balance work and family commitments more effectively, while improving customer responses and relationships. Considering the well-known business cost of managing a largely transient workforce, there is likely to be ROI from the development of loyalty amongst your staff.

Technology
There are other linked projects that require considerable business analysis in order to develop an enterprise-wide information- management system, including workflow management, data warehousing, and customer-relationship management. Somewhat of a chicken and egg scenario, it is SRSA’s view that an EDRMS is the foundation tool to build and integrate an enterprise-content-management solution.

From our perspective, an EDRMS implementation is a process-management project to facilitate behavioural change, which requires resources to administer, re-engineer and develop new processes.

EDRMS implementations will also be a powerful measure of the success of records management in moving from a largely operational, to a strategic focus in organisations. Metadata capture is the key. We have designed metadata-compliant templates for the Microsoft Office suite to ensure all documents are appropriately captured and transferable between agencies. This is particularly useful for agencies that are not procuring an EDRMS in the next two or three years, as they can ensure the electronic records they create now can be easily migrated to the EDRMS, which facilitates improved business continuity.

The government’s EDRMS design standard is, basically, a specification of mandatory metadata elements. We believe that if the records-management backend is consistent in each agency’s EDRMS, then it is largely irrelevant how these systems are configured.

Looking ahead
SRSA is currently developing the following tools and services for the South Australian government:

A standard for management of web content. This is one element of government business that, for some reason, has largely escaped peoples’ attention – specifically, each web page and internet publication is a record in its own right;
A web-based solution that will enable documents and files captured in compliant EDRM systems to seamlessly transfer between agencies, without requiring the receiver to manually recreate the record. The record will automatically inherit the respective workflow in the receiving agency’s EDRMS. The e-Intercept project (as it is known) will ensure that there is only one version of the truth – the latest version – and eliminate a number of low-end, high-cost applications that currently route records around government;
Contributing to the National Digital Record-keeping Initiative, to further develop EDRMS solutions that enable records to be encapsulated at the point of creation. This could also help ensure that provider’s products are accordingly VERS accredited. This is a key component of SRSAs’ approach to digital record-keeping;
Establish a virtual archive where agencies can transfer their EDRM’s ‘permanently’ sentenced, electronically-generated records for the community and other agencies to access;
Piloting the digitisation of legacy records to negate the need for agencies or the community to view hardcopy records. This will ensure these historical records are no longer a preservation risk;
Implementing an awards program to acknowledge the achievements of records-management practitioners and agencies that invest in strategic record-keeping programs, particularly EDRMS projects.
Reviewing our State Records Act to ensure it meets the series of challenges before us. SRSA is also looking at the development of privacy legislation and examining the need to amend the State’s Evidence Act with regard to electronic records, particularly electronic signatures.
The development of a standard that requires new or legacy-information systems to include a records-management backend as they are replaced or significantly upgraded. This should enable records managed in these systems to be easily interrogated by the agency’s EDRMS;
Dispel the myth of the paperless office within our lifetime. At least, from a government perspective, this is about resetting expectations. The reality is that people like paper (the barometer for me is that when

I see bookshops closing down and newspapers no longer being delivered to people’s front lawns, we will know we are getting closer to a paperless world).

A final thought
For SRSA, maintaining success is about communicating our goals for government, ensuring agencies are in a position to make informed decisions and ensuring that, despite our auditing role, we are not perceived as the records-management police.

Demand for the more effective management of digital records places an obligation on our agencies to invest in their strategic and operational record-keeping programmes, of which EDRM solutions are the foundation stone.EDRMS implementations should be viewed as a business-improvement project, with a focus on culture change and process-management not new technology, which merely enables the planned changes. Engaging people is pivotal to an EDRM project’s success and no one is more important in forming sound relationships than the project manager. They will need a duck’s back, a clairvoyant’s intuition, Churchill’s leadership skills and, above all, the ability to engender commitment to a sometimes changing vision. n

Greg Hart is a manager within the Department for Administrative and Information Services, at State Records of South Australia.