Records management

Records management is the systematic management of all records during their entire lifecycle: from the origins up to the final removal. ‘Final removal’ can be record destruction or transfer to an historical archive.
  

What is a record?

In this context a record is: registered information (in whatever form) relating to an activity and containing sufficient content so it can also function as proof for this activity. A record often differs little from a document. What matters is that it is valuable to an organisation (for more information: National Archive). 
 

What is Records Management?

Records Management is the systematic management of all records, for the duration of the entire lifecycle of this piece of information: from the origins up to the final removal (transfer to historical archive or destruction), observing any applicable rules and legislation.

An organisation that wants to implement records management must follow these eight steps:

1. preliminary survey into the role and purpose of an organisation, its structure and legislative scope; 
2. analysis of the tasks and activities leading to a classification chart and an overview of the various working processes and process steps; 
3. identification of the record requirements per task or activity; 
4. evaluation of the available archive systems based on the requirements; 
5. identification of strategies to meet the requirements; 
6. design of a records management system; 
7. implementation of the records management system; 
8. evaluation of the performance and any adjustments of the system.