Free records management tool

June 30, 2009:A new online assessment tool to help organisations assess their records management policies has been launched online by HP and the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM).

The free tool assesses staff training, corporate policies and technology investments to provide a rating against a five-stage competency scale. The tool generates real-time information on the organisation's identified stage, the associated business risks, and the benefits of progressing to the next stage of records management competency.

"This assessment will help organizations focus on achieving the next step towards a united and proactive approach to managing records regardless of the source," said Atle Skjekkeland, vice president of AIIM.

Records management industry experts AIIM and HP collaborated on the development of the five-stage maturity model for records management competency, encompassing both electronic and paper records. A set of questions across best practice topics measures the performance of people, policies and technology to produce an overall score and stage identification.

"Organizations need to protect their corporate knowledge and manage it efficiently and effectively," said Jonathan Martin, vice president and general manager, Information Management, Software and Solutions, HP.

"Records management is the core capability to achieve this objective. This assessment solution helps organizations better understand their records management state and find opportunities to make proactive improvements."

The online assessment tool can be accessed free at www.aiim.org/erm/records-management-competency-test.aspx or http://www.hp.com/go/imhub.