Mobile Edition
Print
Get the Mag
Weekly Updates[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Implementing records management (RM) in just one division of an organization is no easy task. Now multiply that across countries, jurisdictions, business practices, cultures, and languages and organizations have the making of an epic task. Increasingly, however, they are looking to implement such a program. In addition, organizations are facing intensifying legal, regulatory, and business pressures to ensure that records across the entire organization are secured, authentic, reliable, and usable.
Almost every major organization does business internationally and, by definition, must generate several types of records that need to be managed across multiple jurisdictions. In the event of litigation, courts are not going to give leeway and lower the threshold just because certain records were produced in a different country and were not managed properly. Therefore, organizations must establish relevant policies, controls, and guidelines to manage and retain all records, regardless of where they were created or reside.
The nature and scope of a global program necessitates a great deal of thought and planning. It may not be out of place to suggest that implementing a global RM program may be one of the most challenging compliance initiatives an organization can undertake. Not only does it have to contend with established and, therefore, hard-to-change local business practices, but it must also deal with organizational and individual resistance. Further compounding the problem are conflicting interpretations of local laws, disparate IT systems, varying levels of management support, and a general lack of appreciation for good RM practices.
A few years ago, the words "global" and "records management" were usually not mentioned in the same sentence. But in today's changing Web x.0-enabled world, information and records cross local, national, and continental boundaries. Organizations are forced to quickly adopt and adapt. While some organizations have taken admirable steps in establishing controls and processes, others are still struggling.
The unique thing about a global program is simply the immensity of the problem at hand. A typical mid-size global organization will have offices in at least 30 to 60 countries, thousands of employees, hundreds of dissimilar business and IT systems, and conflicting legal and regulatory requirements. RM has really picked up steam the past few years as organizations have begun to realize the serious risk posed to their financial well-being, business, and reputation if records are not being managed properly. In addition, obtaining access to relevant records in a timely and efficient manner has become critical to the operational effectiveness of all organizations.
Global RM is not for the fainthearted; it requires solid determination and courage to see the program through. There are many challenges, which require patience and fortitude, on the road to implementing a global RM program.
Program Governance
A strong governance structure is critical for a successful global RM program. The first step in establishing such a governance structure is to solicit and obtain buy-in from the corporate (headquarters) leadership and then from each of the organization's key regional leaders. But this is easier said than done, as some senior-level managers may not want to spend additional monies or even attempt to understand the full benefits of the program. It may require the RM team to get a chief-level executive officer or the board committee to further the interests of the program. Once executive support is established, the RM team can communicate with the regional lines of businesses and ensure there is alignment on the scope, objectives, roles, responsibilities, and timelines of the program.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]
[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]
A typical program governance model would include stakeholders from lines of business, legal, IT, compliance, audit, and operations with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and deliverables. While it may not be practical to have representatives from every country the company operates in, it may be useful to have representation from the larger regions and/or lines of businesses. A key aspect of the governance structure is to have a centralized project management office that manages the different work streams and monitors and tracks the overall program.
Figure 1 highlights how the program governance can be modeled. In the center is the program office, which provides overall governance and monitors all deliverables across the program. Various key program activities and functions, such as program strategy, policy and procedures, and IT implementations, are managed across the various stakeholders, including business, legal, and operations.
Program Staffing Model
A global RM staffing model requires the right mix and level of resources to enable maximum efficiency and effectiveness. A sample model staffing includes:
* Program sponsor (at least a senior vice president or even chief-level executive officer who reports to the board)
* Business sponsor, IT sponsor, general counsel, and other stakeholders working though a joint steering committee
* Global program manager (person responsible for executing global RM)
* Global project management office (coordinates planning, execution, and deliverables)
* Global-level RM team includes:
** Policy and procedure development team
** Retention research teams
** Business team (representation from lines of businesses)
** Technology architecture, design, and development team
** Production support team
** Training team
** Communications team
* Regional-level RM team (coordinates regional activities, i.e., EU or Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
** Regional RM coordinator
** Regional lines of business representation (provide requirements, business process details, testing, user focus groups)
* Country-level RM team (implements RM locally)
** Country records manager
** Policy and procedure development team
** Legal counsel/retention research team
** Local lines of business representation
** Systems implementation team
** Local production support team
** Local training coordinator
** Local communications coordinator
** Offsite storage staff
* Operations teams for operational requirements, organizational change management, and operational processes and procedures
* Audit teams to audit and validate compliance
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Figure 2 highlights a sample global staffing model that creates effective governance, communication, and collaboration.
Program Structure
Structuring the implementation teams can be complex. One approach is to create enterprise-level workstreams to address aspects of the program, such as policy and procedure development, retention research, systems implementation, training, deployment, and support. Each workstream operates at the global/ local level but is connected through touchpoints to the program office. Each workstream's responsibility is to ensure that regions complete their specific tasks and deliverables in accordance with the program timelines.
The touchpoints manage the workstream globally and resolve any cross-border issues. A good example of this is records retention research where almost every region will have distinct statutes and regulations that govern the retention requirements. As an example, the global retention workstream could work with each of the regional retention research touchpoints to complete the retention work and also ensure that a consistent approach to performing the retention work is being undertaken. This approach ensures a consistent methodology to performing the work.
Figure 3 on page 36 illustrates different workstreams that operate regionally but are monitored and controlled at the global program level.
Program Execution
Following are three key areas in the program execution phase.
Policies and Procedures
Developing a RM policy that meets all regional needs may not always be feasible. The program team should consider developing an enterprise-level corporate records management policy that can be tweaked by each of the regions depending upon their unique circumstances. Some regions may choose to apply the corporate policy as-is while others may change sections of it and localize it as appropriate. This approach provides a level of flexibility to the regions while reinforcing the corporate-level objectives.
Systems Implementation
Systems implementation is perhaps the most challenging part of the global RM program. From deciding the technology platform to the architecture, design, coding standards, tools, and utilities to be used, open source or not, and how to deploy the system, each and every step requires deft handling. It is quite possible that each region has its own preference for technology platforms, and while there are vendor packages that do a good job integrating disparate systems, it would be highly complex to attempt to tie all these systems together.
It is better to try to obtain consensus from the key regions and than proceed with the technology design. Once the technology platform is decided, two or three pilots need to be performed within the regions to ensure there are no surprises during implementation and deployment. The key to a successful distributed delivery approach is to ensure that all regional teams report into the same program workstream so challenges, show stoppers, and the inevitable turf wars can be resolved quickly.
Training
FEED