Electronic Document and Records Management Training

This programme is designed to equip delegates with the skills necessary to understand, plan for and implement an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS).  The course is product-neutral and highlights the key issues required for successful implementations, and how to avoid the pitfalls commonly associated with EDRMS systems.

The Document and Records Management (DRM) Legal Framework 

• Current legislation governing the management of information in organisations:

• Electronic Communications and Transactions Act o National Archives and Records Service of SA Act
• Protection of Personal Information Act
• Promotion of Access to Information Act
• The new Companies Act
• The King IV Code of Corporate Governance
• Other relevant regulations and guidelines in the public and private sector

• Identifying the types and characteristics of information resources to which the legislation applies:

• Records
• Documents
• Defining the steps for developing an EDRMS policy in your organisation:
• Classification
• Appraisal
• Retention
• Disposal management

• Examining and quantifying the potential benefits and business case for designing and implementing a records management framework:

• Accountability and transparency
• Relevance of document retention and data integrity
• Systems efficiency and cost reduction o Integration of data
• Streamlined business processes for accessing and storing data

Development Of Effective DRM Policies And Procedures

• Determine the essential elements of your DRM policies and procedures document:

• Scope and aims of the policy o Records management principles and approach
• Responsibilities of record management
• Resources and systems
• Records retention and disposal
• Classification design
• Protection and access of data
• Disaster recovery
• Monitoring and measurement o Standard procedures

• Evaluate the management of different types of documents:

• Paper records
• “Born-digital" Electronic documents
• Images
• e-mail

• Determine the infrastructure and technology resources required to actively manage your records management system:

• Assess the needs of each department
• Evaluate the appropriate technology to capture and preserve all electronic and business documents
• Analyse your current Information systems and technology 

• Examine the criteria for identifying and selecting an appropriate DRM system:

• Functionality of the system
• Alignment with your organisation’s infrastructure
• Upgrading current systems

• Analyse effective roll-out methods and adoption for efficient application by all users:

• Deployment of policies
• Security considerations
• Communication policy to promote your policies

Change Management requirements and planning

• Identifying what needs to change in your organisation in order to ensure the highest level of success in managing your business documents and records:

• People
• Processes
• Systems

• Planning your change management strategy:

• Consulting the Customer and Employee
• Stakeholder analysis
• Regular information sessions
• Promoting participation in the process
• Gather feedback to ensure continuous improvement

• Defining the appropriate mechanisms for driving forward a change management process that will overcome the fears of implementing a records management programme and systems and get buy-in at all levels by using a:

• top-down approach to create a culture of leadership and ownership of the process
• bottom-up approach to sustain the readiness and capacity for the change in adopting your DRM initiative

• Aligning the goals of each business unit with your overall business objectives in order to drive your DRM and business performance

• Promoting an awareness among your internal and external users by effectively communicating the benefits of your DRM system

• Creating and communicating a shared vision, mission and core values to drive forward your DRM process and improve overall information and records management compliance and performance

• Successfully overcoming the internal resistance obstacles to your DRM policy by cascading your DRM system down to all your business units

• Applying the appropriate reporting processes for effectively implementing and maintaining your DRM system

Roles And Responsibilities 

• Analysing the capabilities, functions and responsibilities of your managers and users who are required to plan, implement and manage your DRM system:

• Ensure that the DRM policies and procedures and internal controls are executed responsibly
• Maintain effective, efficient and economic utilisation of all resources to ensure sound records management
• Safeguard business records against loss and damage o Promote the effective capture and storage of all records

• Understanding the general responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and IT department in assessing potential risks and achieving efficient records management practice

• Evaluating the appropriate training and support programmes for all stakeholders in optimising the effective functionality of your DRM system

• Obtaining buy-in from all staff and overcoming communication barriers to ensure an efficient DRM system

• Ensuring that your  DRM policies are aligned to your organisational polices and procedures

• Creating a culture of ownership and compliance with your DRM polices among your personnel

Classification Processes and plans

• Determining the classification and role of various records and documents as prescribed by the relevant legislation and regulations:

• File plan
• Paper-based records
• Electronic records
• Audio-visual records

• Assessing the characteristics of a classification system:

• Index requirements
• Naming conventions
• Metadata
• Categories of documents

Project planning for Electronic DRM Systems (EDRM)

• Mapping out a pilot phase for designing your EDRM system
• Identifying the potential obstacles, challenges and pitfalls that you can avoid in ensuring that your implementation process in on track
• Setting up your EDRM project team and developing a project management approach for creating your EDRM system
• Determining the external and internal resources required to successfully implement your EDRM
• Setting targets and objectives for achieving a successful roll-out of your EDRM system
• Pinpointing the appropriate methods for tracking and measuring the success of your EDRM process
• The role and implementation of electronic (digital signatures)

Appraisal, Retention and Disposal

• Define the meaning and various features of a sound document appraisal system:

• Primary documents
• End value of the document

• Determine the characteristics of a solid document retention process:

• Reasons for retaining records
• Legislation governing the retention of documents and records and penalties for non-compliance
• Types of records to be retained
• Retention schedules
• Accurate access of documents with effective searching tools o Evidentiary considerations

• Establish the various elements of a document disposal management system:

• Regulations governing disposal of records and documents
• Disposal schedules
• Authority to dispose of documents
• Other considerations for disposing of records

• Identify the appropriate systems for storage and disposal of your organisations records and documents:

• Scanning and Imaging
• On-site versus off-site storage
• Back-up strategy

• Assess the tried and tested steps for migrating documents to storage without losing critical information:

• File plan
• Control mechanisms
• Which documents remain live and which records are archived
• Document life-cycle management
• Long term preservation issues

Disaster Recovery and business continuity Planning

• Understand and plan for vital records

• Understand the benefits of implementing best practice information disaster recovery plans for ensuring continuity of business operations  in the event of a disaster

• Analyse the effectiveness of your business continuity infrastructure to reduce the risks of a disaster in your EDRM process

• Implement strict monitoring and tracking systems for improving the corrective and prevention action in order to detect failures quickly and efficiently within your EDRM programme

• Assess the appropriate technologies for ensuring an uninterrupted flow of business operation and data retrieval

• Identify the critical records that are required to continue business operations in the event of a disaster

• Create a disaster recovery team who is well prepared in implementing and managing your disaster recovery programme

Quality, Integrity And Security Measures 

• Determining the reliability and quality of your EDRM infrastructure and system

• Defining the link between various business units to support the efficiency of your records management process

• Examining the various South African National (SANS) and international (ISO) standards ,to achieve best practice in reliability, integrity and authenticity of electronically stored information

• Creating internal versus external benchmarks as effective measurement mechanisms to accurately track the progress of your records management system

• Identifying where the potential risks exist in your EDRM system

• Undertaking the appropriate steps to preserving the integrity and protection of all documents

• Adopting compliance monitoring and inspections for effectively managing the lifecycle of your documents

• Conducting regular policy reviews and assessments of your EDRM system to establish the effectiveness of the process in line with changes in legislation or business processes

COR Concepts facilitators are all specialists in the field of Document, Records and Information Management. Most of our Records Management facilitators have worked at one of the Provincial or National Archives and Records Services and are carefully selected to deliver the most value to assist you in applying the course content to your organisations.  Our EDRMS facilitators all have extensive experience in the design and/or implementation of these systems.

At the end of this workshop, delegates will: 

• Understand the legal environment surrounding electronic documents and records
• Understand the policy and procedures which need to be created and implemented
• Understand the core components that make up an EDRMS system and how to evaluate which components are required in their organisations
• Be able to plan for and compose the team who are needed to conduct the implementation
• Develop a classification scheme
• Have a working knowledge of the applicability of digital signatures
• Be able to implement a records retention schedule
• Create an inventory of records in the organisation
• Determine the current maturity and readiness of the organisation to implement EDRMS.

• Records Managers
• IT Staff responsible for selecting and implementing EDRMS and ECM systems
• Business unit representatives responsible for implementing DRMS systems
• Business and systems analysts on the EDRMS project
• Departmental managers responsible for Records Management