There has been a lot of discussion the last couple of months about how to celebrate Records and Information Management (RIM) Month. I find myself in the fortunate position of working with a client who “gets it” and wants to leverage campaigns like RIM Month and Data Privacy Week (January) to bring awareness to effective RIM and information governance practices.
With their permission, I’m sharing a high-level look at what
we’re doing this month. Every day there’s something, and every week there’s a
larger activity. Here’s what this looks like.
Ongoing/every day
We’re leveraging ARMA’s RIM Month resources – the RIM month image for email signatures and the RIM posters. We also turned
the image into a Teams/Zoom background and are encouraging the core IG team and
the broader community of records coordinators to use them this month.
The records coordinators have their own Teams channel, and
we’re posting daily recordkeeping tips. Some of these are more
business-focused, while others deal directly with personal recordkeeping. For
example, on April 17, Tax Day in the U.S., we’ll post a reminder that U.S.
taxpayers don’t need to keep their tax returns for forever – three years is
generally what the IRS recommends (but we also tell them to consult their
accountant if they have one).
Coffee talks and/or office hours. These are less-formal
opportunities for staff to exchange information (coffee talks) or ask questions
(office hours) on all things RIM. We’re scheduling these weekly during RIM
Month and then monthly after that.
Weekly Special Events
- Scavenger Hunt. To set this up, determine the number of items to include – we used 10. All items in the hunt are related to RM. In our case, we took existing documents such as the RIM policy, other guidance documents, and even events and news stories and posted codes, e.g., RIMMONTH2023, that could be entered into a form. Entrants who complete the hunt get entered into a drawing for a prize – maybe a good cross-cut shredder?
- Lunch & Learn. We decided to focus on personal recordkeeping as a way to make RM more directly applicable to attendees. We’ll talk about how long to keep personal records and documents, how to get rid of them appropriately, and some tips for improving email management.
- Shred Day. This is pretty self-explanatory; we’re timing it to take place after Tax Day and encouraging folks to bring in their old files to be securely destroyed.
- RM Jeopardy. There are a few sites that will let you set up a Jeopardy-style game pretty easily; there are also PowerPoint templates and instructions for doing it that way. The point is to have some fun and provide some RM trivia tidbits, both general and specific to the organization.
Other Possibilities
These are things that I saw others share, but which we
decided not to do because we’re already doing so much.
- Records management quiz. There are any number of free quiz-makers out there; good questions might come from the RIM policy, training videos, RIM month resources, etc. Maybe have a small prize for the winner or for all participants.
- RM Tips & Tricks Challenge. The suggestion here was to submit a list of your top three tips, tricks, or tools for managing your information better. The suggestions would then be consolidated and made available as a resource.
- RM Bingo. You could do something similar to the scavenger hunt; you could also leverage your daily RM tips. Again, lots of bingo card generators out there.
- Crossword puzzle using RM terms. Lots of crossword generators available online too.
- Educational videos. These don’t have to be that long, and in the age of YouTube and TikTok, they don’t have to be that polished. Take the questions you’re most frequently asked and turn them into 30 seconds- to 1-minute long videos.
- Branded RM “swag” – mugs, travel mugs, coasters, etc. This does take more prior planning and budget, but it’s not outrageously expensive depending on which direction you take it.
- Cleanup days. There are so many ways to take this:
- Clean up your email
- Clean up your desk
- Clean up your personal paper documents and records
- Clean up your OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, or whatever other less-formal platform(s) you use for sharing and collaborating
You could even do a different one every week. The key here
is not just to announce it – but give your employees tips and guidance on how
to do it effectively. This is also an opportunity to remind them to check with
RM if they have questions.
Credit Where Due
I want to thank Ryan Zilm in particular for a number of
insightful suggestions, including a Governance Carnival with carnival-style
games, and a RIM Escape Room. As he noted in the ARMA Community, “Have many more ideas to
share if you like. This stuff excites me!!” He has given me permission
to share his email if you have questions – but be aware, he does have a day job,
so please be patient! You can reach Ryan at
Special thanks to the additional people who shared ideas in
various forums including the ARMA Community and the AIIM Community:
- Sharon Burnett
- Anne Cornish
- Gretchen Bauman
- Beth Thomes
- Kristen Nemoede
- Randi Mauro
- Elizabeth Hansen
- Marissa Clevenger
- John Daly
- Donda Young
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