Many federal agencies struggle with records management
Some fall short on basic infrastructure
and training, survey finds.

In 2006, a document and records management task force led by the CIO made several recommendations about improving agency practices, including beefing up mandatory training programs. More recently, Moses says the EPA has rolled out an enterprise content management system based on the EMC Documentum platform. E-mail records can now be stored in an electronic repository and can follow the NARA-approved retention schedule.

“The Documentum platform enables the development of tools linked to the workflow of specific groups within the agency to streamline and maintain records management,” Moses says.

“Looking forward, we have a content management task force examining knowledge management issues at a higher level, including how to better leverage electronic and paper records and Web content.”

Leaders at other agencies are working to develop the kind of systems and culture the EPA already has in place. Speaking at the AIIM Expo + Conference in April, Ken Matthews laid out some of the challenges he and other federal records managers face. The program manager for e-records at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Matthews noted that besides the need to comply with NARA initiatives, he must deal with the increasing use of cloud computing, smart phones, telecommuting and Web 2.0 tools by users stationed worldwide.

With the volume of electronic records increasing by 30 percent per year, Matthews says, it is important to recognize that much of it is repetitive. “Thirty to 60 percent of e-records are duplicative copies,” he says. “There is an irony that there is so much information, but so much of it is not reliable.”

With a need for improved authentication and searchability, there is an increasing sense of urgency to implement an electronic records management solution across the agency and to beef up training efforts, Matthews says. His team is piloting a Documentum solution that he hopes will address the need to manage the various forms of electronic records, including those records created, produced, generated and stored on various electronic infrastructures throughout the agency.

Despite the importance of electronic repositories, Brewer insists that it is not necessarily the technology or tools that make the big difference between agencies doing well and poorly on records management. “It is having enough staff and money,” he says. Plus, an experienced and talented records manager can make a huge difference.