Archive for category Management

The Principles of Good Records Management

Posted by in Management on September 22, 2011

By Tom Hardwick

The principles of records management are intended to ensure that an organisations critical business information is available those allowed to use / view it, when and where they need to access it, in a logically well structured, organised and efficient way, securely stored in a well-maintained and administered environment.

Records are created or received and used when conducting organisational business activities. To support the continuing conduct of business, customer and client care, act in accordance with the regulatory requirements, as well as providing necessary accountability, organisations have to create maintain and preserve authentic, reliable and usable records, and protect the integrity of those records for as long as their retention schedule requires. To do this, organisations should institute and carry out a comprehensive records management programme.

Organisations are required to make sure that their records:

Authenticity

… are created and stored and, are able to prove beyond doubt that the record is ‘what it claims to be’ and identifies the individual who created it, by maintaining a record of its management through time. If information is subsequently modified to an existing document within a record, these modifications of information must be tracked, signed and dated. Changes and additions to electronic records have got to be identifiable through strict logging audit trails.

Accuracy

… have to accurately reflect the transactions they document.

Accessibility

… must be readily available as and when required.

Complete

… must be adequate in content, context and structure to recreate the pertinent activities and transactions they document.

Comprehensive

… must document the entire range of the organisation’s business.

Compliant

… must act in accordance with any record keeping requirements from legislation, audit rules and other applicable regulations.

Effective

… should be maintained for the specific purposes for which it was gathered, and the information contained must meet those purposes.

Secure

… have got to be securely stored and maintained preventing unauthorised access, modification, damage or removal. They have to be stored in an administered, secure environment, the degree of security relevant to the sensitivity and significance of the content. If records are migrated across changes in technology, the evidence preserved must retain and demonstrate authenticity and accuracy.

In Conclusion

Records created by organisations are extremely valuable assets because of the business critical data they contain. The information held within these records is only useful if it is quickly and easily accessible and usable maintained correctly and legibly recorded in the first instance and is then kept up to date, and monitored in accordance with their retention and disposal schedule.

My name is Tom Hardwick. I’m a Documents and Records Management Consultant with several years experience, research and investigation into this interesting, and fascinating field.

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Top Business Management Skill – Managing Up

Posted by in Management on September 22, 2011

By Michael Duncan Moore

One area of management skill that is not talked about at the level of importance it deserves is “managing-up.” What is this concept about and why is it so important to career development?

For the vast majority of managers and executives, there is at least one or more management levels above their current position. A new manager will have multiple levels above them, and even the CEO has a Board of Directors to answer to let alone powerful shareholders. So, building your credibility by managing your reputation, credibility, visibility and influence with your direct manager and key people several layers above is managing up. It is a career advancement, must have, skill set.

Any manager who aspires to move up in their company, or even in their industry, must take charge of their career development. Managing up is one of the most important keys to affect a managers career. It needs to be purposeful, credible and skill based. You need a regular and consistent plan. You can move in and out of it. You must manage-up as a regular part of who you are within your organization.

It is important not to confuse blatant self promotion with managing up. When effectively managing-up, you will very often get others above your level to do the promoting for you. This result is almost a natural outcome of managing-up correctly. It can be compared to positioning yourself successfully. Managing how you are looked. It is about managing and controlling how you are perceived by people in positions of importance at management levels above yours. This positioning is at the center of managing your advancement.

When promotions are available, when another division or line of business needs a manager, you want to be among the first considered. The higher the level of management, say executive vice presidents for example, the fewer the number of managers exist at that level. These managers know each other to varying degrees. They likely see each other at senior manager meetings or company functions. It is almost like a “club” in a positive sense. If you are at that level, you have peers that are known to you at the same level.

When positions come available in one area, other managers will know about. The may even be consulted about the opening. Who do you want them to talk about when they are thinking about potential candidates? That won’t happen unless you have managed up with people at that level. Most aspiring managers do not take absolute charge of their own career development. They miss the advancement boat often times, not because they are not qualified, but because they are not known as “someone of interest.”

There are a number of techniques for managing up. For the purpose of this article there are three to consider.

1. Build a Career Development Plan. Think about where you want to be within your company and industry. where are your best opportunities? What are the trends and strategic directions of your organization? Read everything you can written and communicated by senior management that will shed light on the future direction. Ask questions of those at higher levels.

2. Pinpoint your Skill Set. What skills do you possess that could be value added to those above you. this is not about what you do now, necessarily. This skill assessment should be broader. Every manager has things that they bring to the table whether they use them now or not. We are looking for things that you could offer to do/share with senior people above you when the opportunity arises.

3. Net work, net work, net work. You have to identify senior people above you that could be approached to build a sincere relationship with as part of your development. Perhaps there are senior people that you could visit with to discuss ‘how best to develop your career.’ You can usually spot those that are open and approachable. In other situations, you can find someone to be a “mentor.” Perhaps you career development plan calls for a certain skill set to be expanded. Find a senior person known for that skill and meet about mentoring. You will often be surprised how open they may be to the idea.

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Top 10 Questions Businesses Should Ask About Their Equipment Maintenance

Posted by in Management on September 22, 2011

By Jennifer Daugherty

The proper repair and maintenance of electronic equipment is essential to getting daily tasks completed. A broken computer, telephone, or fax machine can cause hours of lost productivity. If a piece of healthcare equipment, such as a CT or MRI, is down for any extended amount of time, it can cost a business thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Every year, millions of dollars are erroneously spent on costly equipment maintenance contracts. Given today’s economic environment, it is more important than ever for businesses to understand exactly how their electronic equipment maintenance budget dollars are being spent.

Below are the Top 10 Questions businesses of any size and nature should be asking regarding their electronic equipment maintenance expenditures:

1. Has a complete contract analysis been conducted to ensure the business is receiving the best service options for each piece of equipment?

2. Was a detailed proposal, that includes an equipment schedule specifying types of equipment, current expenditures compared to the proposed reduced cost structure, levels of coverage, cancellation terms, and eligibility dates for equipment to be included in the program presented to the business?

3. Does the business have ONE contract with a universal expiration date that encompasses the maintenance of various pieces of electronic equipment?

4. Does the business have access to highly skilled engineers that are available 24×7 to help answer technical questions?

5. Does the business receive administrative and program support, which relieves staff of the administrative burden associated with tracking service events and invoice processing?

6. Does the business have access to real-time online reporting that manages equipment schedules, service provider performance, and claim status just to name a few?

7. Is the business satisfied with the level of service received from Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Independent Service Organizations (ISO)?

8. If the business is unhappy, is there an option to change service providers without being penalized?

9. If an alternative service provider is desired, does the business have access to a vendor database that includes thousands of service providers to choose from at their disposal?

10. Is the business certain the service provider’s charges are appropriate to the repair or maintenance received or that warranty work is credited?

If you answered “NO” to any of the Top 10 Questions above, there is an alternative to the costly and restrictive OEM or ISO service contracts. Please contact The Remi Group for a free analysis of your existing electronic equipment service contracts and receive a quote for our Equipment Maintenance Management Program (EMMP) that guarantees a savings of 15-22%, as well as numerous benefits at no additional cost.

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