Situation
Our client was a major Ontario Agency that was responsible for regulating and implementing gaming and lottery services throughout the province. To improve its services and comply with regulatory requirements the agency was in the process of developing a comprehensive records management program to be implemented for physical and electronic records. Building off of our development of the agency’s EDRM Project Implementation Plan (PIP) and preliminary classification scheme the agency now needed a finalized Concordance Table with sign-off from all business units.
Requirements
Within this context, the client required:
- Input and agreement from all business units on the preliminary functional classification scheme created including retention requirements and hierarchy.
- A finalized Concordance Table outlining its Records Classification Scheme, Retention Schedule and Descriptions.
Challenges
- The organization’s large scale transformation programme meant that:
- A large percentage of the organization’s staff was focused on the overall organisational transformation
- There was uncertainty on what information needed to be actively managed by the client and what was going to be under the control of outside 3rd parties
- There was some uncertainty on who had the authority to make major decisions
- Clarification around ownership of the change management process and the management of any stakeholder resistance that might be encountered
- The technical complexity of both identifying all records comprehensively within the organisation for the first time – as well as getting all divisions within the organization to align around a common Classification Scheme and Retention Schedule
Actions
Working alongside the organization’s project team and staff, our work included:
- Executive Presentation of EDRM Concordance Table Review and Finalization Process: to secure senior executive buy-in, our team made a formal presentation to senior management which outlined next steps and discussed methodology.
- Concordance Table Feedback and Validation: as a component of finalization, our team was required to consult key members from each business unit in an effort to validate the draft concordance table and resolve any disputes. This action involved the preparation of an orientation package that enabled easy communication around what the project was about, the purpose of the project and how the table was developed, among other things. This material was developed in collaboration between SSI consultants and client staff. Using this orientation package, SSI and client staff conducted orientation sessions.
- Face-to-face interviews and meetings: Once the orientation sessions were underway there was an open request to client stakeholders to engage in follow-up meetings. These meetings were used to clarify additional points and address any concerns and questions. All decisions made during the meetings were documented.
- Validation Survey from Business Areas: to finalize the concordance table our team then distributed questionnaires to participating business areas to ensure that all milestones and updates were completed.
- Concordance Table Update and Finalization: using the feedback received from the orientation sessions, meetings, and questionnaires, our team – in collaboration with client staff – produced a final concordance table.
Results
At the end of the project our team had consulted and received feedback from all relevant business units on the draft classification scheme. Using this input, we were able to create a final and robust Concordance Table of Records that all units could agree to and that accurately represented the organization. In the end the client was highly satisfied with the end result.