Conclusion

Measurement should be and increasingly needs to be an intrinsic element of records management. This does not mean to say that every benefit that records management delivers (or claims to deliver) need necessarily be empirically measurable, nor that we should limit the scope of our professional activities to only those benefits that are. For as the literature tells us 'intangible' benefits, particularly those relating to legal and regulatory compliance, accountability and standards of corporate governance, continue to occupy a prominent place in our professional arsenal and are likely to for the foreseeable future. The question is less whether these should play a lesser role; more whether in focusing so intently on such drivers we have inadvertently relegated the importance of achieving 'tangible' benefits to a dangerously low level.

The literature consulted during this report paints an interesting and at times rather contradictory picture. Certainly the professional standards which could be said to underpin notions of what constitutes 'best practice' in the profession are unequivocal about the importance of the records management function being able to quantify the benefits it makes to an organisation and measure its impact in unambiguous (if not empirical) terms. A casual glance at the professional literature would also seem to support the notion that this need is already recognised and being addressed. For if there are few articles, papers or other sources directly related to questions of benefits realisation and measurement a large number of broadly relevant sources are peppered with impressive sounding statements, figures and statistics - many of which will be familiar to and perhaps oft-quoted by most practicing records managers. But scratch beneath the surface and the fragility of much of this apparent 'evidence base' soon becomes apparent. Data which is stated quoted and re-quoted with such astonishing regularity within the literature that one would be forgiven for mistaking them as absolute truths often appears upon closer examination to consist of little more than partial conjecture and opinion allowing no means of further verification.

It is, of course, quite likely - and indeed the survey undertaken as part of this study confirms this likelihood - that reliable data regarding the costs and benefits of improving records management does exist but remains inaccessible within the organisation that commissioned or gathered it. This is inevitable given the nature of much of the data (relating as it does to matters of organisational efficiency and intended only for an internal audience) but does give hope that such measurement is possible in this field and that an appetite for it exists. This should not come as a surprise. For even in times of plenty senior managers within any organisation should always have at least one eye on costs. Investment decisions need to be made based on reliable data and if records management is unable to provide it there is a clear risk that management may instead choose to back perceived 'safer bets' that offer a more certain return on investment. In an economic downturn these trends are likely to be further exacerbated. Records management may well find itself in a precarious position and viewed either (according to the evidence available and the attitudes of those involved) as part of the problem or part of the solution when it comes to administrative overheads, bureaucracy and 'red tape'. With access to the right data to prove efficiency, return on investment and benefits realisation the arguments in favour of continued (even increased) investment in records management should be strengthened. But in the absence of such data records management is vulnerable: an unknown quantity and a luxury which can no longer be afforded. Even arguments which previously seemed untouchable such as legal compliance may now be a harder 'sell' if that is the only perceived benefit.

The conclusions of this report confirm that there is both a need for, and a current lack of, reliable evidence to demonstrate the tangible benefits of investing in records management. Hopefully this is something that the remaining outputs from this project will help address.