Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

? The timetables and the budget for delivering the database project may be too tight
to allow time to restructure the paper records so that they are usable.
? There may be difficulties in accessing files for individuals working in more
remote regions, even if the files have been kept.
? Records tend not to be available for non-established staff.
? Other data sources, such as nominal rolls, databases and surveys, appear at first to
be more suitable and more convenient for data entry, even though they may not be
as accurate as the central personnel files.
These other data sources, described below, are not sufficiently reliable to provide the
basis for an efficient electronic personnel records system. Building a system that does
not make use of paper records as a verifiable source of data can lead to a high degree
of error. Certainly the data cannot be used to guarantee personal entitlements. As a
result, the ‘source data trap’ is sprung. The new electronic database cannot be used
for the personnel management functions it was designed to fulfil because the data
cannot be trusted. The paper records are no longer maintained, which means they
become out of date and unusable. The process of managing personnel information
breaks down, at a high cost to the institution or the government.
Finding a way out of the ‘source data trap’ by creating a link between well managed
paper and electronic systems is thus the key to improving the usefulness of
computerised personnel information management systems and supporting the
macro-policy objectives of improved human resource management and sustainable
economic development.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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