Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

PERSONNEL INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND
PERSONNEL RECORD-KEEPING SYSTEMS
Most senior managers now recognise that computerisation can make an important
contribution to human resource management. The capacity to analyse, compare,
monitor and plan can be greatly enhanced. However, computerisation tends to be
seen as wholly the realm of information technologists, and personnel records tend to
be seen as the realm of the filing clerks and records managers.
Records managers need to explain that it is not simply the medium that is at issue.
Important records issues must be addressed, whether the system is electronic or
paper-based. Unless this issue is addressed, records managers are locked into a
subordinate position with little opportunity to influence events. If records managers
are responsible only for an ‘outdated’ low-technology system that is not an investment
priority, why should they be involved in planning new systems?
Senior managers need to understand that if the computerised systems are intended to
generate accurate and reliable information – such as to calculate personal entitlements
or protect national liability –records management controls are needed. If the systems
are only to be used for broad statistical analysis, then a much higher level of
inaccuracy can be tolerated.
If the computerised systems are expected to meet record-keeping requirements, then
the records manager must be involved. He or she will bring a vital contribution to
? systems design, including an evaluation of whether the system is capable of
capturing the necessary contextual information
? the management of the inputs and outputs, including the nature and quality of the
source data available
? the long-term preservation of and access to electronic records.
Senior managers also need to understand that if records systems are to be effective
over time, all of the records concerned must be subject to retention schedules. Unless
the schedules are systematically applied, the build-up of redundant paper and of
electronic records, which must be migrated from one hardware and software
environment to another, will result in considerable unnecessary expense and in
retrieval problems.
See Appendix 1 for an excerpt from a sample
retention schedule for personnel records.
There also needs to be a clearly defined link between the paper-based personnel
information system and the payroll. Establishing a clear audit trail between personal
files and the payroll is a key factor in reducing ‘ghost workers’ and gaining control of
the payroll. By linking the information held in the payroll database, the computerised
personnel information system and the personal files, it will be possible to ensure
better control of the payroll and to generate more accurate personnel information.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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