Trends of Commercial Records Centre and Training for Records Professionals

Trends of Commercial Records Centre and Training for Records Professionals

Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA

Mahyuddin Hafiz Bin Mohamad

2014230402

mahyuddinhafizmohd@gmail.com

Abstract

With advanced development in technological sector has contributed to the evolution of commercial records center. Back then, traditional methods are used to store, retrieve and manage paper based records. Now, with technological advancement, commercial records are automated in most of the process. In order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of a records professionals, they must undergo training and education program. By doing so, it can help to increase and enhance their skills and also knowledge of their profession. The purpose of this study is to identify the trends of 21^st century commercial records center and discussing the opinions of training for records professional according to experts. Both points discussed are interrelated to each other somehow.

Keywords: Commercial records center, records professionals, training and education

1.0 Introduction

A record is something that represents the evidence of an existence that can be used to identify or recreate a state of existence, regardless of form, medium or characteristics. The ISO 15489-1: 2001 standard ("ISO 15489-1:2001") defines records management as "[the] field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records".

Apart from that, ISO 15489-1:2001 defines records as "information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business”. While there are many purposes of and benefits to records management, as both these definitions highlight, a key feature of records is their ability to serve as evidence of an event. Proper records management can help preserve this feature of records.

In this paper, the topic that are going to be discussed are commercial records centre, and training for records professionals.

1.1 Definition of Commercial Record Center

The term commercial can be defined as something which is concerned or relating to earning money. Hence, a commercial records center is an institution that provides a record keeping and storing services to other agencies as a business.

Among the earliest commercial record center known is in the year 1950 in America. According to Mike Faber (2001) in his article mentions that During the 1950s and ‘60s, the CRC industry continued to develop, primarily in the northeastern United States (New York City and Philadelphia) and in other large metropolitan areas around the country (e.g., Chicago and Los Angeles). During the 25 years following World War II, the economy of the United States grew steadily but slowly when compared with the exponential growth of the 1970s and 1980s. Until now, the number of commercial records center continues to grow in numbers globally.

According to Commercial Record Centre (2013) a Westerberg Company, a commercial record centre is an institution that assists clients with developing a storage and retention system for all their records management needs. Most commercial records centres specialises in records retention and information management, secure off-site records storage, certified document destruction, carton pick-up and delivery.  Business Records Management (BRM) (2013) further asserts that commercial records centers are businesses that exist in almost every community that generally provide three levels of service to governmental, non-profit, and corporate or firm organizational clients; storage, retrieval, and other professional records management services.

Over the past decades, many transformation has occurred in the face of record management field. Embedded with high-end technologies, record keeping services now is at their advantages. Micheal J. Saber (2013) mentions that “For approximately 50 years, the commercial records center has evolved from what began as a epository of mostly inactive or, as some have said, “dead”, records into a much more interactive, high-tech relationship with its clients.”

1.2 Benefits of Commercial Record Center

According to Allen Podraza (2014), The commercial records center industry has been assisting organizations in the management of their records for over 60 years. Record Centers offer low cost storage and are designed and equipped to store an organization records in a more efficient and economical manner, provide environmentally controlled security for records, and employs procedures that ensures that when you need your record, it can be easily located, retrieved, and delivered to you.

Space Cost Savings: Expensive office real estate space is saved, without having to lose access to your records, when you transfer semi-current or inactive paper records to a lower-cost off-site commercial Records Centre. By storing records at a commercial Records Centre you may be able to eliminate real estate leased and costs, or the space saved might be used to meet other space requirements your organization may have. Sometimes the space gained by sending records off-site can even replace planned office construction projects.

Reduced Operating Costs: The organization will not need to purchase and maintain additional filing equipment and software to store and manage inactive records in the office. Records Centres have efficient equipment that can store many more records per square foot than in the office. They also usually provide you access to an online database to manage your organization’s records inventory.

Climate Controlled Environment: Some information requires special climate controls that can be costly and difficult to implement. Records Centers offer special climate-controlled environments providing complete protection for long-term preservation of records, saving you time, money and aggravation.

Authorized and Secure Destruction: Records Centres have procedures in place ensuring that records are systematically destroyed and only with appropriate authorization reducing the chance of reckless, selective or personally motivated destruction of records. They provide confidential and secure records and computer media shredding, pulverizing, and recycling services for records in accordance with your organization’s records retention and destruction policy. They ensure your organization’s records will not be destroyed prematurely or retained longer than needed and proper destruction procedures ensure compliance with state and federal privacy statutes.

Vital Records Protection: If a fire or disaster strikes, your company documents must be protected. Duplicating your company’s paper vital records and storing them at the Records Centres provides insurance if a catastrophe occurs. Vital records essential to your organization’s existence are protected, eliminating the costly time and effort required to reconstruct mission critical information in the event of disaster. G.J. C.M.P., Vol. 2(3) 2013:106-120 ISSN: 2319 – 7285 109

ECM System / Digital Archives: Some Records Centers offer online content management systems that can manage your entire enterprises records or they can create digital archives for just a particular group of records. You will not need to invest in the hardware and software and your records will be available to you all the time from anywhere you are located.

Security: Commercial Records Centers understand how important and confidential your information is and provide safe and environmentally controlled security for your records. They have established procedures in place to maintain intellectual and physical control of your records at all times. They ensure your organizations records remain safe through confidential handling, secure storage, and controlled monitoring and access.

2. Trends of commercial records centre   

The term paperless are now applied to most organizations globally. It is derived from the new technological challenge, which is “creating conducive and also paperless environment”.  Back then, records repository center’s main specialty is processing paper based material. Now, in order to fulfill the demand, record center have to make electronic documents storing as part of their branches. Michael J Faber (2001) in his journal stated that the paperless office remains an elusive target at best for most companies and organizations, although technological advances will make that goal easier to attain in the future.

Apart from that, the arrival of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) barcodes system influences the services in commercial records center as tracing and identifying process are a lot faster and easier to be conducted. Also, with RFID technology, the security measurement is enhanced as the materials will ring the alarm if brought out from its place illegally. According to PRISM International (2006), there are 3 key areas that contribute to the idea that RFID is a desirable technology for the commercial center; Cost Reduction/Resource Management: If you can track everything, including equipment, knowing exactly where it is at any time, you can better utilize resources, reduce manual checks, reduce handling costs and improve asset utilization. Increased Visibility: Knowing where any product is at any time has great benefits. Is that file folder still on the truck or has it been put away? Is that box still in the imaging room or back on the shelf? If you know without having to rely on manual barcode scans, you can improve pick rates, carry out routine audits, improve customer service and operational support – all resulting in greater peace of mind. Competitive Advantage: Probably the most compelling reason to adopt any form of RFID today is to claim competitive advantage. That begins with marketing and flows through to better pricing and improved service, if the cost reductions and improved visibility gains can be leveraged.

Next is General Positioning Satellite also gains its place nowadays as it is one of the best method to track and locate any materials which has been tagged with the labelling and coding. The best example is for each delivery vehicle from a record center can be traced and identified and displayed on the commercial record center’ operation room. Michael J Faber (2001) stated that the GPS system automatically updates new locations for each vehicle every 15 minutes. If a next day delivery becomes an emergency delivery, the exact location of the appropriate vehicle can be obtained by clicking on that vehicle on the screen. The precise, real-time position and speed of the vehicle are displayed.

Lastly, the usage of databases in commercial record center. Prism International (2006) mentions that Database transmission and com­munication via the World Wide Web, high-speed transmission of informa­tion via fiber optic cable, and other technologies are today’s realities. The CRC industry has undergone many changes in the first 50 years of its evolution, many of them in just the last 10 to 15 years. The possibilities for the next 50 years are endless. Looking forward, one thing is predictable and certain. Only the CRCs that concentrate on service and technology will survive and thrive in the coming years.

3. Record Management Professionals Training

“Training” is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (2000-) as; Discipline and instruction directed to the development of powers or formation of character; education, rearing, bringing up; systematic instruction and exercise in some art, profession, or occupation, with a view to proficiency in it; also, of an animal (emphasis added). While the Oxford English Dictionary uses the term “education” in its definition of “training”, there is a clear distinction between the two sets of definitions. As always with the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition is clarified by use of illustrative quotations. From the definition of the term training in the dictionaries together, we can assume that the term training covers wide range of activity from service orientation to task-based activities.

Training and trainers are a crucial part of the cycle of professional lifelong learning. To be a trainer is definitely not a lesser part: the best trainers are among the leaders in records management profession, at the forefront of both practice and professional knowledge. Although there is scant room in already crowded education courses for professionals, an introduction to the principles of training skills is a worthwhile addition to the archivists’ and records managers’ professional toolkit.

As a records professional, they should know how to implement their knowledge absorbed during their professional education to their career. According to Karen Anderson (2011), she stated that “Much has had to be learned along the way: new skills, new approaches to knowledge we thought we had mastered, new ways of working with new tools, undertaking courses or learning to work with new technologies.” Means that whatever career that we are into, education is a long-life learning, as knowledge will expand more from time to time.

What makes a great record professional is their understanding and passion towards what they are doing especially the nature of records and the purpose of record keeping in an organization. When they are satisfied and have enough knowledge and experience, they tend to perform better in their career, thus affecting their organization performance at the same time. There are many methods to increase or create record professionals as suggested by experts, training and education are the best and effective methods. 

Sending employees to training are crucial as they can improve their skills and thus reducing the need for outsourcing of services regarding to records management. Patrick Ngulube (2001) in his article stated that “The integration of education and training into a unified structure ensures that training programs are planned in the context of general educational development of the learner.”

The National Archive of United Kingdom (n.d) stated in their article that All organizations will need to develop a programme of professional training for records staff. This will involve the Records Manager working with training and development staff. The programme should identify particular records management training needs in the light of the competency framework and arrange for those needs to be met, using internal and external training as appropriate.

3.1 The Role of Responsible Bodies

Both the professional bodies must take responsibility and action regarding to record profession to ensure that the career are known and increase public awareness towards a career that is invisible in the eyes of public societies. Training and recruitment of records professionals are important in order to enhance and provide them with latest and complete information regarding to their field of work. Workshops, seminars, forum etc. are suggested activity to be conducted.

As an example, we take the initiatives of Australian record management practitioners, launch of the Records and Archives Competency Standards in December 1997.13 These industry-based standards, which are compatible with AS4390, provide an extensive mapping of the knowledge, skills and competencies required in the recordkeeping industry (what is done, where it is done and by whom) and provides clear statements of acceptable standards of performance in terms of assessable outcomes (how well it should be done). They provide a framework for initial and continuing staff education and training based on industry identified needs across Australia. Employers and employees alike will be able to recognize where education and training are needed and will have greater flexibility when choosing options to meet these needs.

Based on research conducted by Zawiyah M Yusof (1998), she stated that “The hiring of appropriate staff provides an assurance of proper control, and contrasts sharply with the previous situation where records were put under the control of engineers who had no background or training in records management.” From the statement, we can assume that it is pivotal for an organization to recruit the right person to carried out the record management in their organization.

4.0. Conclusion

To sum up everything, it is clear that commercial records center plays an important role in managing and storing records for corporate bodies. Not just that, with robust development in technological devices and systems helps increase the performance and overall activities conducted within and outside of commercial records center. Lastly, with proper educational training conducted for records professionals can increase the outcome of the program. That is why responsible bodies need to take part in the education of records professionals in order to equip them with an adequate and up-to date information.

5.0 References

Alberts, I. (2010). Bridging Functions and Processes for Records Management. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 34(4), 27. Retrieved May 2016

University Archives. (2007). Records Management Journal. 16. Retrieved May 2016

Bidwell, S. (2008, October 28). The Four Pillars of Commercial-Records Centers Expanding Self-Storage Services files. Retrieved from insideselfstorage.com: www.insideselfstorage.com

Dube, A. (2013). Marketing Commercial Records Centres In Zimbabwe: The Success Story Of Archive-It Services. Global Journal of Commerce and Management Perspective, 2(3), 15. Retrieved May 2016

Faber, M. J. (2001). The Evolving Commercial Records Center Industry. The Information Management Journal, 5. Retrieved May 2016

Karen Anderson, (2007),"Education and training for records professionals", Records        Management             Journal, Vol. 17 Iss 2 pp. 94 - 106

Mathias, J. D. (2013). From Record Commissions to Record Repositories: archival custody in Wales, 1800-1995. Archives & Records, Vol. 34(No. 1), 25. Retrieved May 2016

Oxford English Dictionary (2000-), Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, NY, (online    access restricted to institutions with subscription).

Patrick Ngulube, (2001),"Guidelines and standards for records management education and         training: a model for Anglophone Africa", Records Management Journal, Vol. 11 Iss 3           pp. 155 -173

Pember, M. (1998). The rise of the ‘new age’ records management professional: records management education and training in Australia. Records Management Journal, 8(3), 15. Retrieved May 2016

Podraza, A. (2015, April 25). Benefits of Using the Commercial Records Center. Retrieved from LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com

Thomas, I. (2004). RFID and the Commercial Record Center. 5. Retrieved May 2016