So, Big Brother has got his wicked way then? Every employer
harbours a secret ambition to work for the Ministry of Truth?
Everything you say and do will be noted down, only to be altered at
a later date to suit particular needs?
Come on, surely this is a bit of an overreaction. A responsible
organisation has to monitor the correspondence coming in and going
out to meet stringent compliance guidelines. Without technology
tools such as records management, this is impossible.
But the whole point about records management is that documents are
kept in an unaltered state, so that they can be audited by the
regulators at a later date. It is hardly the 1984 scenario we have
all been dreading.
Of course, the technology implementation is only part of the deal.
You also need to introduce business processes to make it work and
make cultural changes to ensure that people are comfortable with
the new technologies. In our experience, most people find that
content management makes their working lives a lot easier, even if
they are sceptical to start with.
Compliance is not optional. Every company must obey the rules, and
the quicker companies implement new technology and business
processes and effect cultural change, the easier it will be to
comply with not only Sarbanes-Oxley and Basel 2, but anti-money
laundering, freedom of information and the Data Protection Act.
Don't leave it too late.
Liz Maloney is UK managing director at
Hummingbird