The rules of records management — what an organisation is expected to do
Registration journals, unbroken numbering, resolutions, a file nomenclature and retention periods — what is expected of an organisation, and how it can be automated.
What records management means
Records management is the organised rule for registering, moving and keeping a document. It answers four questions: under what number the document was registered, who it went to, by when it must be dealt with, and in which case — and for how long — it must be kept.
For public bodies these rules are set down in regulation. For private companies they are not compulsory, but the same logic still holds — simply because the alternative is chaos.
Four elements that have to exist
The rules are worded in different ways, but in practice they always come down to four elements:
- Registration journals — a separate journal for incoming, for outgoing, for orders and for internal documents, with unbroken numbering.
- The resolution — a manager’s instruction with a named person and a deadline, attached to the document rather than living apart from it.
- The file nomenclature — the list of which document belongs to which case.
- Retention periods — how many years each case is kept, and what happens when that time is up.
Where the rule breaks most often
The weak point of a journal kept by hand is the numbering. When a person issues the number, sooner or later there is a gap, a number issued twice, or an entry added "with an earlier date". That is exactly what is hardest to explain during an inspection.
The second weak point is the resolution. An instruction given out loud or by email cannot be measured: you cannot say how many were issued, how many were done on time, and how many were lost.
What the system changes
In electronic records management the number is issued automatically, and it cannot be skipped or repeated. A resolution becomes one person’s task with a deadline, so delivery can be measured. A document is filed under a case in the nomenclature and its retention period comes from there — nothing is counted by hand.
Most important of all, the journal never needs "reconstructing": it is always complete, because there is no other way to fill it in.
Frequently asked questions
Can we carry on our existing numbering in a new system?
Yes. Each journal has its own number format and starting point, so the new system carries on from the number the old one stopped at.
How long must a contract be kept?
The retention period depends on the type of document and on the organisation’s nomenclature, and usually runs from a few years to permanent. The exact period should be written in your own nomenclature — which is why the nomenclature is the first thing to draw up.