In Botswana we’ve supported clients by making the management of information simpler through our highly sophisticated Online Records Management Portal. This enables them to manage and access their physical records whether stored in our facility or still within their premises.
Records are created automatically as part of a business processes examples include transactions in systems, development of contracts, emails and financial documents. Records support openness and transparency by documenting and providing evidence of work activities. They also inform decision making helping organizations meet their goals and objectives. It is therefore critical to ensure that every organization or institution implements a sound Records Management Policy. In-essence this is a collection of policies, procedures and systems which capture information according to classification systems, manage, store and provide access to records and their context over-time.
Most organizations in Botswana have implemented manual records management controls and procedures to manage, store and provide access to their records. However these manual procedures are often cumbersome for the following reasons:
- Lack of security
Paper-based procedures and controls are always less secure as compared to electronic procedures and controls - Time
Manually managing records requires a lot of effort and is very tough - Costs
More resources are required to manage the information but also it can take time to find quickly what documents you want. Increases costs of any organisation/institution as a lot of resources are required. - Access
Manual records need to be securely stored and therefore it is always not easy and convenient to get hold of a specific document instantly. - Updates
It is not easy to make changes to records stored and related information i.e. editing indexes or catalogues. You can also end up with multiple documents not knowing the latest update. Many of our clients have been challenged with the controls they have in place for managing and accessing their records as follows:
1. Creation of unstandardized index lists or cataloguing records on excel spread sheets which makes retrieval of records stored very difficult
2. Retrieval of records stored through the excel index lists they have created managing access to records created and stored for an organisation
3. Manual approval of requests for retrievals by management
Example: Financial institutions
Our finance clients use the RM Order system to manage, store and access their physical records. Access to records captured is strictly granted to only those authorized by the financial institution. User-rights have been configured to the relevant department of a particular-user. Retrieval of physical records is instant as users are now able to quickly search for records that they want to retrieve. Approval for retrieval of records by management can also be done within the RM Order Application. To cater for the future of records management the application also allows users to request for scanned records or soft copies which they can download and save on their preferred media devices.
With the emergence of the COVID 19 pandemic, an era where more and more people are working from home, it is still crucial to ensure that viable records management procedures and controls are in place to help manage, access and store records better. Our online portal has afforded our clients the ability to create, manage and access records from anywhere in the world!
If you’re interested in finding out more, contact us now!
