Email Compliance Will Be a Tall Order Without More Resources

The recent revelation that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and potentially other high-level government executives, conducted official government business using personal email accounts highlights the need for more resources to oversee compliance with federal records requirements.

Congress and the Obama administration have put in place a number of foundational measures that will lead to a more efficient and cost-effective framework for managing government records. The president’s 2011 memorandum on managing government records, for example, initiated a multiyear process that will facilitate a government transition to electronic records. It requires agencies to manage both permanent and temporary email records in an electronically accessible format by the end of 2016. It also requires federal agencies to manage all permanent electronic records in an electronic format by the end of 2019. 

In November 2014, Congress enacted legislation authored by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to update the antiquated Federal Records Act. Before the changes were enacted, the law focused on the physical characteristics of preserving a record rather than on the information that was being stored. It was difficult for federal professionals who manage records to handle the growing volume of electronic communications. Controversies erupted over the unauthorized disposal of email records at the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the more recent revelations about deficiencies in records management policies, practices and responsibilities at the State Department and elsewhere. In September 2014, the National Archives and Records Administration and the Office of Management and Budget jointly issued a memorandum reinforcing the duties and obligations of federal agencies and staff when managing email records.

With the changes to the law, new policies and enforcement mechanisms will be developed to govern how agencies handle electronic communications. It is a significant step toward giving records management professionals the tools they need to implement a modern recordkeeping system. But much more is needed.

NARA is trying to do its part under difficult budgetary constraints. In early February, the agency submitted a plan to Congress that calls for an increase of $2.5 million and 17 employees to enhance the agency’s oversight of electronic records management. This, too, is a good start, but the resources requested are woefully inadequate to the task. 

Effectively managing the information assets across myriad departments and agencies is a complicated endeavor. Records managers along with officials at NARA who are responsible for the implementation of federal records policy lack the authority and resources to compel consistent implementation and compliance across government.

NARA needs additional authorities and resources, particularly from Congress during the appropriations and oversight process, to address the compliance challenges. Also, records managers should have an occupational classification that recognizes the importance of their role and the need to identify and promote the skills, training and competencies required to perform the work.

The president’s memorandum instructed the Office of Personnel Management to “establish a formal records management occupational series to elevate records management roles, responsibilities and skill sets for agency records officers and other records professionals.” Unfortunately, a draft proposal released by OPM in January 2014 fell short in describing the skills necessary to manage a modern records and information management program. It failed to recognize the vertical responsibilities and positions for those who manage information within an agency. NARA, with the help of records management professionals in the private sector, should be given a greater role in developing the occupational classification, and completing such a classification should be a priority.

The private sector should be enlisted to help. In January, a group of not-for-profit and think tank organizations representing the information management community announced the establishment of the Coalition for Public Sector Information Governance Leadership. The coalition seeks to be a resource for agencies as they work to improve the management and preservation of federal records and develop new techniques to capture real-time interactions. We hope senior agency leaders will take advantage of this resource.

Americans deserve a government that operates transparently and manages public records responsibly. The effectiveness of policies, programs and decisions depends on the availability and accessibility of critical information for decision-making. It’s time to put partisan politics aside and come together—Republicans and Democrats, Congress and the administration, government and the private sector—to give records and information management professionals the tools, resources and authority they need to meet their legal and regulatory responsibilities in the digital age.

Fred A. Pulzello is president of ARMA International. He has 20 years’ experience in records and information management and has consulted with Fortune 500 clients.

(Image via Stuart Miles/Shutterstock.com)