Office Management and Records Management
Records lifecycle and control
Office management covers workflow, correspondence, filing, registry operations and the physical and digital environment. Records management controls the creation, receipt, classification, maintenance, use, retention and disposal of records.
- A record is information created or received and kept as evidence of an activity; a document is any recorded information, not necessarily evidential.
- Registry functions include receipt, registration, routing, tracking, filing and retrieval.
- Classification supports access control; retention schedules set minimum periods and disposal authority.
- Version control and audit trails protect integrity; backups protect availability.
Worked example: An office holds contract files for seven years after expiry, personnel files for 50 years, and duplicate circulars for two years. A clerk proposes scanning all paper and shredding originals immediately. The correct reasoning is that scanning supports access, but disposal must follow the retention schedule and legal admissibility rules. Contract originals may need preservation; duplicate circulars can be destroyed after the retention period with an approved disposal log. Digitisation does not automatically shorten retention.
Traps
Confusing 'document' with 'record'; destroying records without authority; keeping everything and creating storage and legal risk; treating a backup as an archive; failing to log file movement.