Innovative ideas for making IG happen!(FELLOWS FORUM) (information governance)

• Author: Cisco, Susan

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Five case studies highlight how records and information management professionals recognized and seized opportunities to enlighten their organizations about the power of information governance (IG) by taking innovative and practical actions to link IG to their organizations' bottom line.

The benefits of information governance (IG) are now acknowledged by most industries, and most agree that records and information management (RIM) is not a synonym for IG but rather a component of IG, alongside compliance, e-discovery, privacy, and security.

That said, IG program adoption in organizations of all sizes is lagging. The degree to which they embrace IG varies widely; many adopt only components of the IG framework in organizational silos, which undermines their organizations' ability to effectively mitigate risk, cut costs, and leverage the value of information.

While it is ideal to have an IG council and/or chief information governance officer to help ensure enterprise-wide IG program implementation, the chance for those positions being established is slim when there is a lack of understanding, sponsorship, or resources. It is important for RIM professionals facing these obstacles to help their organizations institute the components of IG in the best way they can.

RIM Must Take the Lead

To make further progress, RIM professionals must work strategically to raise awareness of the importance and value of a comprehensive IG strategy. This is made apparent by Iron Mountain's 2015 research "Overcoming the Disconnect; Establishing Shared Ground between Records Managers and Business Leaders," which indicates 83% of European and 70% of North American employers don't know what RIM professionals do. In return, more than half of those RIM professionals surveyed admitted they are not sure what their senior leaders or other functions across the enterprise expect of them.

Align IG with Business Goals

First and foremost, RIM professionals must understand their organization's business goals. In almost every publically traded and private business, revenue generation will be at the top of the list; the demands of shareholders and investors must be met for continued success. For governments, meeting the needs of the citizenry is tantamount. So, it is logical that savvy RIM professionals align their programs' activities with being profitable, staying competitive, and delivering on a mission statement.

This article shares five case studies about what some RIM professionals have done to enlighten their organizations about the power of IG and discusses the vital role they played through innovative and practical actions.

They highlight unique drivers for IG and the "hooks" these professionals used to successfully link IG to the bottom line. Sometimes their hook was carefully planned, while other times they seized on an unexpected and serendipitous occurrence. Though these cases are taken from organizations in specific industry sectors, their lessons are applicable across industries and are meant to stimulate readers' thinking about how to promote IG within their own organizations.

Case 1

IG Improves Information Availability

Who would have thought the 2015 record snowfall in New England could be the trigger to raise IG awareness and institute new practices? For years the RIM staff at a particular law firm had advocated for attorneys to become less reliant on paper to manage their cases. The enduring culture of the practice, though, was to be present in the...