Recently, the Records Management ListServ hosted a spirited discussion on the above question. Here was my response:
Information Governance means coordinating all the records' stakeholders, focusing
them on their organizations' goals. The role requires team
building across disciplines and the ability to forge potent
alliances. An Information Governor must be able to speak Legalese
to the attorneys and techno-babble to IT, as well as being adept
with records. Historically, many records managers were not
skilled in this, nor were they eager to try it.
The Information Governor is an ambassador or statesperson who can
break down walls, silos, hegemonies, and fiefdoms. And, of
course, it requires a profound understanding of RIM and the
information lifecycle. The job is difficult --- not just
conceptually, but socially -- because many attorneys want to "keep
everything forever" and many technologists perceive records
managers as document librarians without technical understanding.
(And truly, what percentage of records managers are comfortable
managing records in databases, in clouds, or in the custody of
social media/mobile app hosts?) [I am preparing a presentation
with the working title, "Records Is from Venus; Legal Is from
Mars; IT Is from Jupiter.]
If an organization changes a job title from "Records Manager" to
"Information Governance Manager", perhaps leadership is saying the
organization needs more synergy between Records, Legal, IT, and
maybe Security, Compliance, Finance, and other groups.
Your thoughts?
17 November 2014
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