The Review Magazine: July/August 2023

4. Adopt new record keeping habits • Toss drafts, duplicates, and transitory documents, so they don’t waste space and increase legal liability • Create shared filing systems to be used by all employees who have the same work responsibilities • Develop business rules for filing systems, so records are managed consistently • Establish naming conventions for folders and documents, so employees can easily find what they are looking for • Create check out and check in procedures, so records are not lost • Take a day-forward approach to change. Wait 6-12 months to organize and toss the existing records. This will give everyone time to adopt new record keeping habits first. 5. Avoid individual record keeping • Store all records of a business process together, so employees only have to look one place for a document, or to answer a question • Ensure records can be found, regardless of who is in the office on a particular day. If records are stored in an email account or text messages, they may not be accessible. • Prevent the loss of essential records when an employee retires or moves to another job Better records management will not happen overnight. It is a process that takes time. It is important that employees have a sense of ownership over the changes that are taking place. Give employees an opportunity to share their opinions and experience, and to contribute to the solutions. It will be worth the effort. Organized and clean files feel good, increase efficiency and quality, and improve employee morale. Please visit the Records Management Services’ website for more information at www.michigan.gov/records management.

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Caryn Wojcik is a senior records analyst in Records Management Services for the State of Michigan. You may contact her at 517-335-8222 or wojcikc@michigan.gov.

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30 THE REVIEW

JULY / AUGUST 2023