A good records management program is worthless if no one uses it as intended. Worse, there’s more at stake to non-compliance than just running into inefficiencies and increased errors. Non-compliance can also run afoul of legal mandates that govern how certain records and certain kinds of data must be handled. Given how many laws affect records management, there’s a lot of room for legal vulnerability.
Unfortunately, as most records managers know, this is often a constant battle against team members who prefer handling records their way. So, what do you do when your workers won’t follow the rules?
Understand why.
It may be helpful to understand why they’re not complying in order to determine the best response. For example, if their non-compliance is due to misunderstanding the rules, additional training might be helpful. On the other hand, if they’re just willfully flouting the rules, penalties might be necessary. Regardless, you cannot calibrate your response until you understand what went wrong, and that starts with talking to the non-compliant employee.
Make sure you have good, clear policies in place.
Have a well-designed and consistent set of guidelines to govern all records management activities. Ideally, you want your team to be able to comply without supervision, which means policies and procedures need to be easy to understand and follow. When writing them, use plain language, not legalese. Then, organize the policies to give them a logical flow, ideally with some kind of Table of Contents or index that allows readers to quickly find the exact information they need.
Train your employees.
Creating the policies alone is only half the battle. One of the most common causes of records non-compliance is that workers simply don’t know how to do what they need to do. They may not understand how to use required tools or what steps to follow to adhere to generic policies. So, one of the most effective ways to encourage your team members to follow your policies is through training.
It can also be helpful to make sure employees clearly understand the ways in which non-compliance can harm others. In other words, make sure they how their non-compliant “shortcut” creates more work for someone down the line.
Consistently enforce the rules.
You cannot expect people to follow policies if you do not enforce those policies. This doesn’t necessarily mean jumping immediately to penalties; often the first step is just a conversation or gentle nudge. The important thing is to respond to noncompliance rather than letting it pass until it becomes an issue.
That said, sometimes you will need to reprimand employees. That can range from verbal or written warnings to limiting privileges. In extreme cases, it may mean termination. Regardless, make sure you thoroughly document the incidents of non-compliance along with any disciplinary actions taken.
Solve problems that aren’t employees’ fault.
Sometimes the underlying problem isn’t actually employees, at least not directly; it’s the organization. The records management function may be so resource-starved that it can’t enforce its own policies. In these cases, it’s time to look at how the organization is allocating resources.
In other cases, the organization may be enforcing workflows or policies that are actually counter-productive; policies may be poorly written, and different policies may be contradictory; or leaders may issue conflicting instructions to their direct reports. In these cases, the organizational, systemic issues must be dealt with; trying to correct the workers’ conduct will only be treating the symptom, not the underlying cause.
Use the right technologies and tools.
One of the most important factors that users should consider when choosing a records management tool is its ability to automatically enforce policies (e.g., the tool won’t let them perform certain functions if it’s not allowable). This will allow the Electronic Records Manager (ERM) itself to prevent actions that go against the requirements of the policy while ensuring that users follow proper procedures.
A good, user-friendly ERM will also make many records management tasks faster and easier for front-line workers; if it’s easier to comply than not, compliance rates will rise. For more information about selecting a good ERM, read our article “How to Evaluate Electronic Records Management Systems.”
About PSL
PSL is a global outsource provider whose mission is to provide solutions that facilitate the movement of business-critical information between and among government agencies, business enterprises, and their partners. For more information, please visit or email info@penielsolutions.com.