Recently we conducted a survey on the top concerns and priorities of records and information management professionals. Out of the 54% of survey respondents who shared their identity, 60% were government agencies; 10% were in the education sector; 10% in health and 20% were in the private sector. We can also see the following breakdown of respondents by state in the table below.

The results from the survey illuminated some key areas of knowledge in which RIM professionals feel they are lacking, as well as where organisations are looking to focus their efforts. The infographic below highlights the key findings of the survey.

Operational Efficiency

The foremost priority for records and information management professionals was identified as improving operational efficiency, with 89% of respondents listing this as a high priority.

GDPR

GDPR was listed as a high or medium priority for 57% of respondents, with the remainder stating it’s a low priority due to many other competing priorities or is not applicable to them. Here are two posts we previously wrote to help with your efforts: 1) GDPR Australia: What You Need to Know in 6 Minutes, 2) 6 Tools to Assist with GDPR Compliance.

Digital Continuity 2020 Policy

Approximately 50% of respondents identified digitisation and adherence to the Digital Continuity 2020 Policy as a high priority, with only 16% of participants on track to be compliant with this policy by 2020. Within government agencies, 69% feel that their senior leadership is not focused on driving adherence to the policy.

Records and Information Management

70% of participants listed making information and records management a priority in their organisations as a leading concern. Monetary investment into records and information management was also a high priority for RIM professionals, with only 5% of respondents stating that they already had an adequate budget. We asked respondents if they were given $100,000 what they would spend it on. We received a wide range of responses but one commonality was integrating existing eDRMS with other systems such as Office 365.

In addition, approximately 50% stated that the configuration of their current information and records management systems requires improvements with 22% stating that the system configuration meets their business needs.

Office 365

Only 20% of respondents believe they have adequate knowledge of Office 365 information and records management functionality. The majority of those surveyed (43%) said they have some knowledge, whilst 32% stated they need to brush up as their skill set and understanding is lacking . Additionally, 35% cited that their current information and records management system requires integration with Office 365 or other business systems. Here are three in-depth posts to supplement your knowledge base;

1. Video: O365 Security and Compliance Center for Records & Information Management
2. Office 365 Security and Compliance Alerts: An Overview of Security & Compliance Functionality
3. Introducing the New Microsoft (not Office 365) Security and Compliance Center

Information Architecture

The vast majority of respondents stated that their organisation needs to improve its information architecture to ensure that it is current and meets business requirements, while 54% listed this area as a high priority.

Data and Information Security

68% of survey respondents listed data and information security as a high priority with only 14% claiming that this is not a concern for them or their organisation.