Good morning,

Flickr/”Evan Lawrence Bench”

Record management plays a key role in an administrative assistant’s job. This article from iaap gives you tips to make it easier, safer, and faster.

“Easier, Safer, Faster Records Management

Submitted by iaap on Wed, 07/31/2013 – 2:16pm

By Christine Nolene

Managing records is often part of the job description of those working in the administrative profession. Often you’re called upon to not only managing your own records but the records of others. There are easy steps to easy records management and simple questions to ask about those records. Below are some easy steps for electronic file management.

Step One: Identify – What is the record and what will be its use?

Step Two: Appraise – Do you need this record, if so, for how long? Should you be the record keeper or is it smarter for someone else to be?

Step Three: Manage – Can you find your records? Can you determine when they need to be disposed?

Step Four: Make it Easier! How?

·         Standardize your folder structure.

·         Standardize naming conventions.

·         Add date for easier identification with two numeral day, month, 4-digit year.

·         Add something that defines the document.

·         Example: LegacyPaperProceedures_2013-06-26

·         If you have several categories, add not more than three levels deep in the folder structure.

·         Set up folder structure in such a way that when you have to get rid of the records, you don’t have to open all the folders up but know what’s in and that you can delete it.

For more information on records management, visit the ARMA website.
www.arma.org“