Information Management Staff must be inducted and trained in the value of information and in their information management responsibilities and any relevant policies.
Relationship to the Information Management Standard
Once the Information Management Plan has been developed, staff must be inducted and trained in the value of information and in their information management responsibilities and any relevant policies (Behaviour 1.4).
Staff allocated to perform information management related functions must be appropriately skilled and have the capability to manage your agency’s information assets .
However, all staff must have a basic understanding of information management.
A large part of the success of your agency’s Information Management Program relies on establishing the right culture and adherence to information management policies and procedures and awareness of their information management responsibilities (Behaviours 3.2 and 2.9).
Educating staff in the value of information and the management of information assets is key to fostering a culture of good information management (Behaviour 1.5).
Different messages for difference audiences
Before developing education or training tools, determine what information management messages your agency wants to convey, as these will differ depending on the audience. For example, the message to:
- executive and senior management might emphasise that good information management supports achievement of business goals and objectives and mitigates business risk.
It might also indicate management’s ultimate responsibility for compliant information management across your agency, as well as meeting regulatory requirements, all of which contribute towards the fostering of an organisational culture that values and manages information as an asset and supports business objectives and activities - information technology professionals might focus on system and infrastructure reliability, security, design and acquisition of systems that are fit-for-purpose
- business owners might focus on their responsibilities for overseeing the implementation of the Information Management Policy in their area and ensuring good information management behaviours are practiced
- operational staff might focus on their individual and collective responsibility to create information arising from decisions and actions, managing it securely and storing it in the designated systems.
To assist all staff in gaining basic information management training, State Records has an online Introduction to Information Management course.
It is recommended this training course be included as part of your agency’s induction program and on its own internal training platform for easy access to help ensure all staff have a basic understanding of their information management responsibilities.
Identify your agency’s audiences, what their required competencies are and the key messages that need to be conveyed.
Programs should be tailored appropriately according to the competence of each audience. It will also depend on whether your agency is introducing something new (such as software) or reinforcing previous training.
Audiences will vary in size and the frequency of messaging might be different for each. This will affect the style and content of the education or training programs.
Education content and delivery options
The aim is to build and maintain organisational capability to achieve your agency’s information management objectives and compliance requirements.
Education and training needs to communicate the relevant messages in the right way. This includes:
- what to communicate
- how to communicate
- when to communicate and how often
- with whom to communicate
- who should communicate it.
Education and training are critical for fostering a good information governance culture for the chief executive and senior management to promote and champion, creating awareness of the information management values that should be reflected in your agency’s operational activities.
The below Table provides a summary of options for different types of information management education and training and the means of delivering it.
Responsibilities for delivery will vary according to the roles that exist in your agency and your agency’s size and functions. Where the role ‘Information Manager’ is shown, in smaller agencies that task may be undertaken by another person or by an external specialist.
Table: Training and capability building in information management
Training | Audience | Delivery Mechanism |
---|---|---|
Induction | New staff, contractors and volunteers |
and / or
|
General awareness | Management All staff, including contractors and volunteers |
|
Tailored | Staff with specific information management responsibilities, such as system administrator |
|
Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS) | All staff, contractors and volunteers using the EDRMS |
|
Exit Interview | Separating staff (and contractors and volunteers where relevant) |
|
Review and monitoring
Regularly review and update your agency’s information management education and training. This will ensure staff knowledge and skills are updated or developed as information management responsibilities and the value of your agency’s information assets change.
Refresher courses should be provided on a regular basis.
Maintaining the ongoing education of staff is important, both as part of ongoing business and because of any changes to your agency’s information management requirements.
Staff adherence to education and training should be monitored and non-compliance addressed (Behaviour 2.9). Provide additional education and training as required.