Lessons From The Government's  Records Management Mine

Unless you're living in the limestone Records Management mine that has recently made the news, you've probably seen pictures or heard about the antiquated records management systems and processes used for handling retirement paperwork for government employees.  While that makes for some visceral pictures and videos as well as some interesting political fodder, there are some valuable lessons records managers can learn by asking, "how did this happen" and more importantly, "what can we do about it?"  

Identify The Problem
First, we should recognize that all that has been done so far is to identify a problem that literally hundreds of government workers already knew about.  That isn't terribly special or unique, however, the public acknowledgment of the issue is unique and a necessary first step in any change process.  Identifying and stating the problem within the organization is critical.  There must be agreement of what the problem is throughout the organization.  In many organizations, especially large organizations like the government, it becomes tempting to keep expanding the scope and definition of the problem to the point that it becomes too large to tackle.  It's critical to define the boundaries of what will be "fixed" and avoid scope creep in order to deliver a viable solution.  The problem has to be clearly identified with clear boundaries that have been purposefully set.

Define The Criteria For Success Quickly
The issue with the limestone records management mine is not new.  In fact, it has been known for many years and a more modern solution was attempted in the not-too-distant past, but it was ultimately abandoned.  I don't know why it was abandoned, but like many big projects, I suspect it spiraled out of control in both time and expense as "the problem" got bigger and bigger.  Eventually, key stakeholders moved on, were pulled in other directions or just lost faith in the solution.  

Often low hanging fruit that's ripe for the picking is best to leave for someone else to pick.  While it would be tempting to include just one more thing that appears "easy" at first, it often ends up being more complex than anticipated, and in the end, it risks the success of the primary objective because time is our enemy.  The longer a project exists, the more opportunities it has for failure.  Think of it as wading across an icy river.  You have to take the shortest, fastest path to the other side and get there before hypothermia sets in.  You don't want to cross in a spot that's any wider than necessary and you don't care whether the bottom is covered in mud, rocks or weeds.  You just need to get to the other side.

As the definition for success continues to morph over time and the problem definition gets more convoluted for those involved, the river gets wider, and the solution will ultimately take longer to implement.  It's easy for team members to become distracted and overwhelmed by the increasing complexity and scope of the problem.  Over time people will eventually tend to gravitate back to what they know and just give up.  It's critically important to define criteria for success early on and focus with intensity on delivering the agreed upon definition of "success" with great urgency.

Identify Barriers To Success
With the problem identified and criteria for success defined, we can now start identifying things that are likely to prevent success.  These barriers to success are perhaps the most important part of delivering a solution.  For example, within the government, there is a heavy reliance on DoD 8180.01 (which replaced DoD 5015.2) as the gold standard for records management.  Any change to the processes in the limestone mine will run headfirst into records management standards, the Office of the Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, perhaps the National Archives and general records schedules.  What started out as merely improving a process now includes dealing with many other parts of the organization.  Suddenly discussions of compliance, certification issues, variances, internal processes, vendor selection, procurement and management processes and countless other things can all become barriers to success.  These barriers are often outside the control of the Records Manager.  Ultimately this results in meetings with other parts of the organization to encourage changes, but those parts of the organization may see no immediate value to their part of the organization, so the project stalls as other parts of the organization cannot or will not allocate time to improving a far-reaching process which doesn't directly benefit them.

The Problem Is Not The Problem
It's important to point out that the elephant in the limestone mine is NOT that there is a problem.  Everyone with even casual knowledge of the situation would be able to tell you there's a problem.  The elephant in the mine is that there must be a plan with the authority to make changes necessary to address the problem.  That includes addressing the many tentacles from other parts of the organization which either purposely or accidently are contributing to the problem.  In the case of the government mine, they were given one week to figure out a way process retirement paperwork for one federal employee without printing any paper AND THEY DID IT!  When everyone is in the room together with clear directions, these problems go from seemingly impossible to "solvable."

The Stuck Records Manager 
An important question to consider is whether the governmental records management team that operates the mine could have changed the process even if they wanted to?  Prior to the directive to "do whatever it takes to process a single retiree electronically within a week" they simply lacked the authority to get it done.  They certainly had to comply with government standards.  If the standards were antiquated or too restrictive, was there a framework for updating those standards quickly or at all?  Perhaps, but that requires buy in across their team, likely an entire department, and even the entirety of the Government.  There are certainly 3rd Party vendors involved and contracts stating what will or won't happen and in what amounts.  Can they change those contracts?  There are probably hundreds of other complications as well.  At some point they simply lack the authority to carry out such a change.  They can't change the process even though there are obvious changes they would love to make.  Meanwhile everyone with authority agrees there should be change, but there are bigger fish to fry.  In most organizations, including the Government, there are more pressing projects and more urgent issues than Records Management.  In effect the Records Managers are stuck in a place where they lack authority to make sweeping changes and those who have the authority have other projects that MUST take priority.

The Challenge For Records Managers
Whether you're a rocket scientist or a Records Manager, in any organization you may face the same problem.  Your records management problem is wrapped in a much larger organization that must also change if you are to be successful implementing a Modern Records Management solution.  While it's great to have modern software with the latest AI incorporated into your Records Management solution, it will never see the light of day unless it comes with a proven problem-solving approach for implementation. 

For big problems with far reaching implications like those identified in our government retirement example, it takes a focused and disciplined approach to problem solving and the ability to drive change, sell change and ultimately manage and deliver change across an organization.  If you are in a situation where your organization needs to change, reach out to TEAM IM and let's talk about how we can help you through your change processes and achieve a successful implementation of Modern Records Management.