The records maths that chief executives do.
We have legislation that says that every piece of information that public servants create or use is a record and must be kept.
They don’t do it.
They don’t get fired.
They don’t get performance managed.
Do you think that Chief Executives/Director Generals/Secretaries don’t know?
Of course they know.
So it's worth considering.
Why don't they do something about it?
They're breaking the law (or they know the law is being broken) - right?
It's simple, they do the maths.
If it's going to cost $20M to MAKE everyone do it, they consider that against what they think that money can and will deliver.
That's basically their job.
How much of what we'd consider "work" do chief executives do?
It's not really their job.
Their job is mostly capital allocation and risk management.
They allocate capital against things that are going to further the goals of the agency, and manage the most significant risks to those goals.
When we pitch records as a compliance function to them, where does it fall against those two things?
The things that get the most funding, are the things that are going to further the primary goals of the agency.
What ability does records have to further the goals of the agency?
What difference does it make whether you position records as a value centre, or a compliance centre?
Then there's risk management.
Risk management is next in the funding queue.
What are the really big risks for an organisation?
Is it records compliance?
Is it that there's going to be a surprise visit from the records regulator that will then consume the CEO or minister's time - taking them away from the real strategic priorities?
Is it the new things an organisation is doing? That there won't be enough funding?
What do you think it is?
IF you had to spend more money on the things that were going to produce the biggest gains for an agency, or manage the biggest risks for the agency - would it be records?
This is the maths that chief executives are doing.
And records isn't in it.
It probably was for you.
What's the difference in the way you both think about records?
What I have never understood is why the agencies responsible for compliance *never* do show up. That's basically their job, one might say. If you are going to run with a compliance agenda, it is tough when there is no threat of action from the regulator. Ultimately, IRM needs to be value creating but the compliance piece is the starting point, the foundation.