Post on 20-Jun-2015
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Did you hear the one about the Record Keeper who devised the perfect classification system? Bugger! I can’t remember where I filed the punchline…
Statement in an Organisation’s Records Policy:
"E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used ONLY for company business."
what do you call a dinosaur with a controlled vocabulary?
A thesaurus
“Yes, I have your letter on my desk in front of me!”
“Let a Records Manager in your Drawers” “Always keep records…it shows you’ve been working”. “Too busy for Recordkeeping is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy”
Records managers are the most retentive people I know. :-)
The decision (A story about recordkeeping) Let me tell you a story.It’s not a long story,Or even a new story.But it is a true story. Mostly. It’s about a public servant.To avoid any embarrassmentWe’ll call him Public Servant ‘A’.That’s what the inquiry called him anyway. Public Servant ‘A’ made a decision.It wasn’t a big decision,Or even a complex decision.It didn’t make headlines, Well, not right away. ‘A’ knew all the issues,He applied all the rules,He had the delegation,And he used all the tools. He examined all the optionsHe weighed all the risks.The decision was the right one,At least at the time. He did everything right,‘Cept for one little thing.But it didn’t seem importantIn the big scheme of things. After all, it was just paperwork. It was some time laterWhen the auditors called.Not just to see A,But the project overall. They examined the decisionThey asked to know why.Where is the evidence?How did you decide? A had no answer.What could he say,Without documentationTo put them at bay? “Insufficient evidence,”The auditors said,“To conclude that there were nomajor breaches in the process.” The report was made public,As they usually doThe Opposition cried foulYou would too wouldn’t you. The Minister quitA by-election announced.A lovely safe seatWas suddenly trounced. It was an election yearAnd the Government lost.For the want of a record,What was the cost? There’s a moral to this story,Always is at the last.Do you keep enough recordsTo cover your accountability requirements? RegardsAllen Hancock