Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

Personnel Records and Government Functions
Personnel records are part of a government-wide system.
The government usually has offices all over the country, each of which will maintain
personnel records of some sort. Thus the quality of local communications may be
very important in determining what record-keeping strategies are likely to succeed or
fail. For example, where communications are slow, there may be a greater need for
duplicate files because it takes too long for a file to be sent to the user from a central
point.
Personnel records support the business needs. Good personnel records are necessary
to allow the best use of available staff and promote efficiency in the organisation.
The records also help the organisation make good use of scarce resources and help
provide an accurate source of data, which can be used in other information systems
throughout the organisation.
There are strong links between personnel management and other government systems,
notably the management of the payroll and control of pensions expenditures.
Personnel record-keeping systems can be linked to payroll systems. Personnel
records provide the authority for the payment of salaries and benefits to employees.
The linkage between personnel records and payroll systems must be fully understood
before changes to either are implemented. Changes to one system may have a
significant impact upon the functioning of another system. There may be advantages
to creating a combined computerised personnel and payroll system, for example.
However, records managers need to be aware of the electronic records management
issues involved with doing this. It is also important to consult widely with all of the
relevant stakeholders before implementing any changes.
Personnel Records and Staff Management
Personnel records are the primary source of information
about an organisation’s staff.
The head of every organisation needs to know how many people work for him or her,
who they are, where they are, what responsibilities they have and how effective they
are. Human resource planners also need to know the qualifications, competencies,
dates of promotions and retirements of staff. In some countries, record systems have
broken down to such an extent that accurate information on these topics is no longer
available. Without this information it is impossible to deploy and manage staff
effectively.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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