Welcome

Although we are living and working in the ‘Age of Information’ few organisations have succeeded in controlling their information. Many are overwhelmed by the sheer volume and diversity of digital information and the persistence of paper documents. Others are just change weary and find it difficult to keep pace with the increasing scrutiny and regulation of their business, the rapidly changing and shorter lifespan of technology and increasing pressure to perform with less.

The information challenge is widespread and may be witnessed daily where organisations find that their information management practices contribute to:

Wasting organisational resources as a result of spending too much time, money and energy	Looking for information Keeping storage facilities for old paper records and documents Persisting with inefficient and ineffective information flows and business processes. Making and keeping indefinitely multiple versions of documents Copying and storing the same or similar information across many sites and systems In implementing document and records management systems that do not stand up to the promises made at the outset
Reduced customer value and satisfaction due to the organisation	Not keeping accurate records and information on all dealings with customers Not informing customers of changes that impact on them Requiring their customers to repeatedly provide the same information to different departments or for different matters
Reduced stakeholder and shareholder trust in organisations because a lack of information capability and disclosure may be perceived as	An attempt to hide the truth from them The Board and management acting without accountability An indication of operational or strategic incompetence
Reduced staff morale because staff are disappointed and frustrated by	The time, effort and training they need to commit to using complex document and records management system The time, effort and training they need to commit to using specialist records management tools such as records classification schemes for managing each document or record they handle Experience a widespread lack of staff confidence in the reliability of information systems and being able to access information
Increased corporate risk such as:	Compliance failure due to uncertainty about what information needs to be kept, how long to keep it and how to store it to meet legal and regulatory needs Losing industry-based accreditation and registration because the organisation can’t produce reliable and accurate recorded evidence of their business practices Being forced accept legal liability and to settle a legal matter at a high price or paying fines because the organisation can’t find complete, accurate and reliable records relating to a matter
Missing out on new business opportunities and break through ideas because an organisation	Does not realize the value of its reusing and analyzing its records and operational information Does not have the capability to sufficiently integrate or connect various internal and external stores of information
Reduced business capability and agility because organisations	Do not have the capability to find or use ‘old’ information systems that contain information needed to do work today Can’t recall the reasons for previous decisions or use precedents because they only have access to current information Retain too much information without sufficient context making it difficult to understand and use. Lose too much information and records due to individual’s locking them in personal stores or deleting them once they have finished with them. Lose too much information and records due to technological obsolescence and the cost of migrating and preserving them on newer formats or in newer systems
Loss of corporate memory resulting in organisations	Not having sufficient sources for preparing a reliable corporate history Not having records of sufficient quality for establishing a comprehensive and authoritative corporate archive

The key to successfully tackling these and many other symptoms of the information management challenge is to ensure that an organisation thoroughly understands the internal and external context and reasons for making, keeping and using information. Once this is achieved it is then possible to accurately determine what information and records need to be made and kept, how they should be used and when they should be destroyed or preserved as corporate archives and how to integrate information management into other day-to-day activities.

While technology plays a key role in any business and will inevitably form part of the solution to the information management challenge, technology alone can’t address a challenge as complex and pervasive as the information management challenge. It requires a dynamic and customized mix of strategy, resources, culture, expertise, processes, information, tools and rules.

CIMS was established by Jackie Bettington to help organisations systematically manage their information resources. With nearly 20 years experience in the information management sector and post-graduate qualifications in business, information management and education, Jackie has an acute understanding of the information management challenge and the difficulties faced in transforming information management practices in the public and private sector. Information management is often is perceived as a back office operational activity that has little impact on the strategic and financial success of an organisation. Yet each day the strategic and financial cost of poor information management is thrust at us through media reports on high profile occurrences of accountability failure, fraud, security breaches and budget blow-outs linked directly to poor information management practices. For example, the recent experiences of Enron, HIH, and many others reported by accountability officials and anti-corruption bodies such as the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). While better information management practices may not have prevented these high profile cases, it certainly will have a positive impact on the majority of these organisations and their employees and reduced the severity of outcomes.

At CIMS we offer a range of consulting and training services and resources to produce:

Simple
Flexible
Practical and
Affordable

Business-driven improvements to how organisations manage their information, documents and records.

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