Records management policy, programme, and review
To ensure compliance with the Government's records management policy, which requires the establishment in each B/D of a comprehensive departmental records management programme for effective and efficient management of government records as well as for identification and preservation of archival records, it is incumbent on B/Ds to develop and establish departmental records management policies in their organisations taking their unique business and records management needs into account. A departmental records management policy demonstrates a B/D's commitment to adopting and practising good records management, serves as guidelines on records management for its staff and is an effective way of cultivating and communicating records management culture within the organisation.
A departmental records management policy is a statement which offers an overview of how the B/D should create and manage its records to meet operational, policy, legal and financial purposes. The key components of a departmental records management policy should comprise :
- Purpose;
- Objectives;
- Scope;
- Regulatory environment;
- Roles and responsibilities for records management;
- Recordkeeping system;
- Protecting vital records;
- Monitoring and auditing; and
- Training.
With a clear departmental records management policy in place guiding the strategic direction, B/Ds should implement the policy through a comprehensive and effective records management programme together with proper records management processes, practices and procedures, so as to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, government regulations and directives, and departmental policy.
To ensure that their records management programme is functioning effectively, B/Ds should review their records management practices at least once every two years. The review should include assessment of compliance with the requirements set out in relevant records management circulars and guidelines, and identification of areas requiring improvement.
To complement B/Ds' reviews mentioned above, GRS will also conduct departmental reviews for individual B/Ds with a view to evaluating B/Ds' compliance with the records management requirements and adoption of records management good practices, and identifying improvement areas as well as good practices and consolidating the insight for making service-wide recommendations where applicable.
