Knowledge Beyond Technology

It is tempting to look for technology to solve organizational problems. But time after time, the problem seems to be one of connections. Do people know what to do? or why? These questions drive how well technology can be deployed and put to productive use. Where information is concerned, without the "why", people do what makes sense to them individually...even in the most command and control environments. The following example Is a business case in point. A significant challenge was that only 24 percent of county departments had approved records retention schedules in place. The few departments that did have retention schedules did not fully understand how to use them -- much less comply with them. Retention schedules existed, but most were not sure why, so compliance with the schedules was brushed aside. In addition, most departments (both with and without a retention schedule) were unsure as to what was actually a "record." Terms like "record," "official record," "public record," and "document" were commonly used interchangeably; there was no enterprise understanding of what the terms implied. It is no wonder that the county found itself with nearly 175,000 boxes stored at an offsite storage Relevant Products/Services facility at a cost of almost $400,000 per year. Departments commonly sent to storage boxes whose contents were either unknown or included unnecessary paperwork that was saved "just in case." Of those, almost 100,000 boxes had no destruction date, and about 18,000 boxes were stored well past their destruction date. The boxes labeled with destruction dates were, for the most part, meaningless. It was common practice to assign 50,75, or 100 years as the required retention -- again, just in case.(excerpt from Newsfactor.com) If the situation sounds familiar, the result may be, too. And that result may be hidden from view, costing your business more than is realized. For information on how to assess the problem, and find solutions using your existing technologies or determining requirements for new technology procurement, contact us.