5 > IMPLEMENTING THE POLICY

To be successful, a recordkeeping policy must be properly supported and disseminated throughout the organisation.

5.1 > POLICY IS SUPPORTED

Support for the policy needs to come from the highest level of the organisation. This support should be indicated in the document itself, where it is authorised by the signature of the Chief Executive. Such support should flow down through the organisation, and be reflected in management endorsement of the policy and the recordkeeping principles and practices it espouses, and in the allocation of sufficient resources for the maintenance of an effective recordkeeping programme.

The policy also needs to be properly supported by separate strategy documents and procedures. These should be developed as part of an overall recordkeeping programme for the organisation.

As already noted, the policy document outlines the organisation’s recordkeeping aims. How these aims are to be achieved is the focus of separate procedural manuals.

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5.2 > POLICY IS DISSEMINATED

No matter how well formulated, a recordkeeping policy is worthless unless it is properly disseminated to staff throughout the organisation. There are many ways through which the policy can be communicated. These include:

• hard copy to all staff;
• posting on the intranet;
• e-mail messages sent to all staff;
• reminders in staff newsletters;
• discussion at staff meetings;
• training sessions for all staff;
• induction training and manuals for new staff;
• inclusion in section guidelines and procedural manuals;
• inclusion in job descriptions and performance reviews.