CSU RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
RECORDS MANAGEMENT SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL[1]
IntroductionPurpose: The purpose of self-assessment is to measure how well your business unit is managing its records and to identify areas for improvement which can feed into your Records Management Plan. Additionally, it assists the University Records Manager to identifying common areas for improvement which can be used to develop strategies to help improve records management practices on a University-wide basis.
Responsibility: Business units are required to complete this self-assessment in line with the self-assessment schedule, and incorporate any identified areas for improvement into their Records Management Plan.
Instructions
Step 1: Complete this coversheet.
Step 2: Respond to the questions in the following sections. Answers must accurately reflect the situation in your business unit. This will help identify what is being done well and areas for improvement. Complete all questions. N/A options are only available for some questions.
Step 3: Your response to a question may indicate that action is required. Remedial action should be fed into your Records Management Plan. Proposed remedial actions are listed as part of each question and further advice on suitable actions can also be sought from the University Records Manager.
Step 4: A copy of the completed assessment is to be emailed to the University Records Manager for their information ().
business unit details
Date of self-assessment
Name of business unit
Name of Faculty (if applicable)
In completing and lodging this assessment, the business unit acknowledges that the assessment is an accurate reflection of the records management practices in their business unit
Head of Area / Name: / Ext:
Details of person completing the self-assessment / Name: / Ext:
Email:
Position:
University Records and Compliance 2015 Page 1 of 19
Division of Information Technology – Enterprise Architecture
Records Management Self-Assessment Tool ENTER SCHOOL/DIVISION NAME
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /1 Responsibilities and Delegations
1.1 / All staff must be aware of their responsibilities to manage records, your recordkeeping system and recordkeeping procedures, including how to create and manage files, and retention and destruction responsibilities. / Are ALL staff within your business unit aware of their recordkeeping responsibilities, your recordkeeping system, and records procedures? / Yes
No (action required) / - Brief staff in local staff meetings and remind them of their responsibilities.
- Ensure all new staff are advised of their records management responsibilities.
- Include records management requirements in local procedures.
- Requirements for staff awareness needs to be included in the Communication Plan component of your business unit’s Records Management Plan (see section 2).
1.2 / Records management responsibilities need to be formally assigned to staff to ensure records activities are undertaken. / Have your staff been formally delegated records responsibilities? / Yes
No (action required) / - Include delegations in the Work Plans or PD’s of staff.
1.3 / Business units are required to review staff responsibilities and provide details of training as part of this self-assessment. / Complete Section A of Attachment One.
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
2. Planning
2.1 / All business units must develop a Records Management Plan (or be covered by a broader Plan at a Faculty or Unit level). This plan includes:
- areas for improvement identified in self-assessments and risk assessments.
- regular actions such as archiving, destruction, training, and self-assessment.
- new records management projects. / Does your business unit have a CURRENT Records Management Plan? / Yes
No (action required) / - Create a Records Management Plan by completing this Self-assessment Tool and the Records Storage Risk Assessment Tool (see also section 6).
- Remedial actions included in these tools and the Records Management Plan template can assist in the development of your Records Management Plan.
2.2 / To ensure staff awareness of their recordkeeping responsibilities, business units must include a Communication Plan as part of their business unit’s Records Management Plan. This will detail strategies for communicating requirements to staff and maintaining their awareness. / Does your business unit have a CURRENT Communication Plan for records management, either separate or as part of your Records Management Plan? / Yes
No (action required) / - Include a Communications Plan as part of your Records Management Plan (see section 2.1).
- The University’s Records Management Plan template can assist in the development of your Records Management Plan.
2.3 / Business units are required to identify records that relate to their business processes and provide a summary as part of this self-assessment. / Complete Section B of Attachment One.
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
3 Creation of Corporate Files
** Note: network / shared drives and email accounts are NOT compliant recordkeeping systems.
Please enter name of system/s used by your business unit:
3.1 / Corporate files must be created to document the business activities:
- of your business unit,
- you undertake on behalf of another business unit, and/or
- you undertake on behalf of the University as a whole.
Note: Corporate files may not need to be kept by your business unit if they are already created and kept officially by another business unit. / Are corporate files created to hold the documents relating to the activities of your business unit? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Identify any records held by your business unit and assess whether they should be corporate files.
- Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities regarding file creation and that they are trained to facilitate file creation (see section 1).
- Include the requirement for corporate file creation in local procedures as appropriate..
3.2 / Files must be created as close to the commencement of an activity as practicable. It is not appropriate to leave file creation until the end of an activity .This prevents the ability to manage and locate records and can result in forgetting to put records into the system. / Are ALL corporate files created at, or closely following, the commencement of a new issue or business activity? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities regarding file creation and that they are trained to facilitate file creation (see section 1).
- Include the requirement for corporate file creation in local procedures as appropriate.
3.3 / To create a corporate file it must be registered in an approved digital recordkeeping system accurately and in a consistent manner. This facilitates file management and retrieval. It assists in identifying a file’s location, who can access it, and future archiving and records destruction activities. / Are ALL corporate files (and individual file parts, where required) registered consistently and accurately? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities for file creation and that they are trained to facilitate file creation (see section 1).
- Ensure staff are trained in the use of the digital recordkeeping system.
- Include the requirement for corporate file creation in local procedures as appropriate.
- Register any un-registered corporate files
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
4. Filing Documents
** Note: network / shared drives and email accounts are NOT compliant digital recordkeeping systems.
4.1 / Documents that relate to business activities and are required to explain what happened, or provide evidence of decisions, advice, etc, must be filed onto corporate files, and not kept loose in desks, draws or on unofficial files. / Are all relevant corporate documents in your business unit filed onto official file in a consistent and timely manner? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities for filing documents on corporate files (see section 1).
- Include the requirement for capture of documents onto corporate files in local procedures as appropriate (this may detail what documents are required to be created and captured).
- Ensure corporate files are created in a timely manner (see section 2).
4.2 / Not all corporate records are hard-copy/paper documents. Some are “born digital” such as emails, Word and Excel documents etc.
Email folders, hard drives, and shared network drives are NOT recordkeeping systems. Any emails and other electronic documents relating to activities and explain what happened, or provide evidence of decisions, advice, etc. must be filed into a compliant recordkeeping system. / Are all relevant official electronic documents, including email, must be captured into a compliant recordkeeping system? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities for capturing relevant electronic documents and email into compliant recordkeeping systems (see section 1).
- Establish protocols for the use and management of local hard drives and network drives to better manage locally stored information and recordkeeping requirements.
4.3 / Areas should be maintaining full and accurate records of their business activities. Sometimes this necessitates the creation of records to document verbal advice and decision making processes.
Verbal decisions may be documented through minutes and file notes (hand-written or typed), or via email confirmations / Does your business unit capture all relevant decisions and advice provided or received verbally for capture into a compliant recordkeeping system? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities for documenting verbal decision-making activities (see section 1).
- Include the requirement for capture of verbal decisions relating to specific business activities and processes in local procedures as appropriate (this may detail what decisions need to be documented).
- Provide staff with file note templates to encourage capture of verbal decisions.
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
5. Managing Physical Files
* A N/A response to the questions in section 5 can only apply if your business unit uses a compliant digital recordkeeping system to capture and manage ALL official records in a digital environment. If some physical / hard-copy records exist, a Yes or No response is required.
Note: network / shared drives and email accounts are NOT compliant digital recordkeeping systems.
5.1 / It is important that business units know where their official records are located to ensure:
- files can be accessed quickly,
- files are accessed by the appropriate people, and
- files are not lost. / Are the locations of your files recorded appropriately when they move between staff or storage areas? / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Put in place a local procedure for tracking file locations.
- Ensure file locations are accurate and up-to-date.
5.2 / Even where file locations are tracked, care needs to be taken to ensure files are not lost in the process of their use and that they are returned when no longer required. / Are records regularly being lost or misplaced when borrowed by staff? / Yes (action required)
No
N/A* / - See remedial actions section under 5.1.
- Follow up with staff who have borrowed files and not returned them within an agreed timeframe.
- Check on the location of files on a yearly basis to ensure locations are up-to-date.
- Mark any file that can’t be located as “missing”.
- Where staff are leaving the employment of your business unit, ensure all files are returned before they leave.
5.3 / Your records should be considered in relation to any relocation plans. This includes:
- file storage in your new location,
- preliminary archive work,
- managing the transfer during the move, and
- updating of file locations in the recordkeeping system where required. / Are parts of, or your entire business unit, moving before your next scheduled self-assessment? / Yes (action required)
No / - Plan the management of your records during the move.
- Ensure official records are not thrown out as part of the pre-move cleanup without the appropriate records destruction authorisation.
- Keep a record of which boxes contain official files and check immediately upon relocation that boxes have not been lost.
- Update file location details in the recordkeeping system after a move.
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
6 Storage of Records
6.1 / It is important that locations used for records storage are appropriate for that purpose.
As part of the University’s Risk Management and Disaster Recovery Plan for Records and Recordkeeping Systems, business units are required to complete the Records Storage Risk Assessment Tool.
Risks can change over time. It is necessary to undertake your risk assessment in line with your self-assessments. / Has your business unit completed a risk assessment on the location used to store your current records in line with your business unit’s self-assessment schedule?
Note: this refers to those records which are still in use by your area and which may be kept in your office. A separate question will cover local archival storage. / Yes
No (action required) / - Complete the Records Storage Risk Assessment Tool for the area you store your current records (one assessment can be completed to cover your whole office area where files are stored in one larger business unit location).
6.2 / Where a business unit uses a local or other storage location for storage of closed / archived files:
- a risk assessment of the location must be completed using the Records Storage Risk Assessment Tool; and
- the location must be approved by the University Records Manager. / Has your business unit completed a records storage risk assessment on each separate local or remote location used to store your archived records?
*If you have no such locations, select N/A.
Note: this does not include the use of University Archives Centre. / Yes
No (action required)
N/A* / - Complete the Records Storage Risk Assessment Tool for each separate storage location.
6.3 / Business units are required to identify the storage areas used to store their records. / If yes to Q.6.3, complete Section C in Attachment One.
No. / Requirement / Question / response / Possible remedial actions /
7. Security – Access and Confidentiality