Agencies Making Progre, but Noncompliance Still an issue by Lisa De Luca

A longstanding pain point for the federal government has been translating enacted policy and procedure into every-day compliance. It may be taken for granted, but a lack of full compliance hinders an agency's ability to function and leads to unnecessary expenditures. Just a year ago, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported a lack of current data, agency personnel and clearly communicated policy were driving records uncertainty and noncompliance. Since that report, agencies have made progress in establishing methods to inform employees of their records management responsibilities either through agency-wide policy, departmental regulation or an agency-wide e-mail.

As a result, the most recent GAO report on Information Management, released in May 2015, showed notable improvements in agency records and information management practices across the board. A majority of agencies had properly designated a Senior Agency Official (SAO) in charge of records management self-reporting and had taken action to address the requirements laid out by the joint OMB and NARA Managing Government Records directive. The report did note, however, that certain requirements were not fully met because some agencies were still working on solutions, or did not view the requirement as being mandatory. The report went on to state, until agencies fully implement the directive's requirements, the federal government may be hindered in its efforts to improve performance and promote openness and accountability through the reform of records management.

Understanding that information management requirements affect every agency at every level, Market Connections recently conducted a study, underwritten by Iron Mountain, which sought to measure confidence levels of federal managers who have the responsibility for the management of records and information for their agencies. The survey found numerous factors that are impeding agencies' confidence in their ability to fully comply with federal information management laws and regulations. When asked to identify the primary challenges in adhering to regulations, records management professionals pointed to a lack of awareness of policies as the number one issue (46 percent), followed by the tremendous growth in records (28 percent) and a lack of communication between IT and records management (28 percent).

Only 15 percent of all respondents strongly agree their records and information management policy is meeting the needs of their agency and only 28 percent of total respondents feel they have the necessary tools and procedures in place to comply with the regulations governing information for federal agencies. The majority of total respondents feel there is room for improvement in terms of updating the tools and procedures they already have in place.

The survey results strongly suggest there is room for improvement in every federal agency. These problems need to be viewed from the top down, with agency management providing the right budget and resources to improve their records programs. The good news is that even smaller adjustments, such as automating federal retention rules and implementing formal reporting metrics, can make big changes in the ability to meet regulatory compliance. By taking small steps to improvement, agencies can realize a more uniform records and information management.

To learn more about the information management study, go to www.ironmountain.com/federalrecordsatrisk

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2015/industry/federal-government-records...
	See more stories from ironmountain

Most recent headlines