Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

In some cases, confidential files are removed from the series of open files and held in
a separate physical space, which could be a confidential registry or a private
secretary’s office. Often, confidential files are treated as a separate series.
Various levels of security may exist. Files may be classed as open, confidential,
secret, top secret and so on. Appropriate levels of security and access restrictions will
apply. Documents requiring special security in adherence to national security rules,
such as police reports for security vetting, will clearly merit special protection.
It is important to establish standards for what should be filed on confidential files and
what may be placed on open files. Sometimes security in open registries is so poor
that any document of significance is sent to the confidential registry for filing. At the
same time, records may be marked confidential not because they are sensitive but
because the higher marking gives priority treatment in the mail service. As a result,
too many documents may be filed on confidential files. And there may be no system
of declassification, so that once a document has been incorrectly classified it cannot
be easily declassified. The contents of the two types of files need to be clarified, and
the creation of confidential files should be restricted to essential instances only.
All staff dealing with personnel information have a duty of
confidentiality, and some personnel information should not
be placed on open files.
Activity 11
Are personnel files in your organisation classified as confidential? Are all or only
some files confidential? What criteria are used to decide levels of access to personnel
records? Write a brief description of the process of classifying personnel records,
answering each of the questions in this activity.
NUMBERING PERSONAL FILES
It is not uncommon to find that personal files are organised alphabetically, by
individual names. This can create problems because naming conventions may be
applied inconsistently from one ministry and department to another. Optimum
efficiency is achieved by arranging the files in numerical order. Each member of staff
throughout the civil service is assigned a unique number and the names and numbers
are organised in a names index.
Personal files are best kept in numerical order.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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