Managing records: A biblical and ancient concept

For people to read the bible today in the comfort of their homes, somebody, somewhere, kept custody of the scroll and preserved it, using ancient preservation techniques for maximum protection, so that our generation can have the bible today.
Similarly, institutions preserve records and data through their records and information management divisions. To effectively manage this process, institutions are required to have specific structures or tools in place to ensure an efficient implementation of a sound record management programme.
At an institution such as the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF), tools such as a well-functioning records management unit structure, records management policy, registry process and procedures, service level agreements, file plan, retention, disposal guidelines and lastly, a vital records register, has been put in place to ensure systematic records and information management. Organisations have to make strides towards transforming internal and external physical records into organised, well-structured, and well-managed records.
To achieve this they have to acquire and implement tools to achieve the desired records management programme.
Orderly organisation
In our case, the above-mentioned tools have assisted the fund in ensuring that the functions pertaining to records management are carried out in line with the prevailing regulations and thereby complying with such laws and international standards. During any financial period, internal efforts have to be made towards cleaning up organisational data with a focus on creating awareness and developing and training staff on file plans.
Similarly, training also has to be extended to executives and administrative secretaries as well as compliance officers. Normally records management training is conducted by the records management staff where such expertise exists within the organisation. Additionally, the records and information management team will execute the appraisal (a process of distinguishing records of continuing value from those of no further value so that the latter may be eliminated/ disposed) of documents and implement the record retention schedule and disposal guidelines within any given financial period.