Records & Document Management
Overview
Lost files, duplicate copies and slow retrieval cost organisations time every day, and expose them to legal and audit risk. Many offices still rely on paper archives that are hard to search, alongside shared drives and email folders with no clear structure. When a document is needed for a decision, an audit or a legal case, nobody is sure which version is official.
This records and document management course shows how to bring order to paper and electronic records. Participants learn to build a classification scheme, set retention periods, store and protect sensitive information and dispose of records securely. They also plan the move from scattered files to a controlled electronic records system, with clear roles, simple rules and practical steps for staff.
Who should attend
Records managers, archivists, administrative officers, office managers, document controllers, and staff in ministries, municipalities and public bodies responsible for official records.
Training methodology
Interactive presentations, practical exercises, case studies, group discussions, role-plays where relevant, and a personal action plan that participants apply in their own work.
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the principles of records and information management
- Build a file classification scheme and a retention schedule
- Manage paper and electronic records consistently
- Protect sensitive information and control access
- Plan the move to an electronic records system
Course outline
Day 1Principles of Records Management
- Records, documents and information: the key differences
- The records life cycle from creation to disposal
- Legal and evidential value of official records
- Records standards such as ISO 15489
- Roles and responsibilities for records in organisations
- Review: your current records practice
Day 2Classification and Filing
- Building a business classification scheme
- Consistent file naming and numbering conventions
- Registers, indexes and finding aids
- Managing incoming and outgoing correspondence
- Metadata basics for paper and electronic records
- Exercise: build a classification scheme
Day 3Retention and Disposal
- Designing a records retention schedule
- Setting legal and operational retention periods
- Archiving, transfer and long-term storage
- Secure destruction of paper and digital records
- Protecting vital records and planning disaster recovery
- Workshop: draft a retention schedule
Day 4Electronic Records
- Shared drives versus a managed records system
- Choosing an electronic document management system
- Planning scanning and digitisation projects
- Managing email as an official record
- Digital preservation and file format risks
- Exercise: plan a digitisation project
Day 5Security, Access and Implementation
- Confidentiality levels and access control rules
- Information security basics for records staff
- Records audits and compliance checks
- Managing change when introducing new systems
- Measuring the success of records programmes
- Build your records management action plan
