Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Sue Lord on the RIM Core Competencies Document

Message from the Great NW Region Manager, Sue Lord

At the recent 52nd Annual ARMA International Conference, a long awaited document was revealed. It was the “Records and Information Management Core Competencies” document produced by ARMA International’s Education Development Committee. I feel very lucky to have acquired a “pre-press” copy of the “Competencies” document.

This document was two years in the making. Over forty records and information managers worked tirelessly in its creation. The document defines the record’s field’s competencies – the knowledge, skills, characteristics, or traits that contribute to outstanding performance in our profession. It can be used for evaluating the records professional’s skills pertaining to hiring, performance, training, career development, and succession management. Eventually, this project will help us to be able to identify gaps between our present knowledge and skill sets and to aid us in discussing our performance, career aspirations, and development needs with our workplace supervisors.

The document is organized by “competency levels” and “performance domains”. The Levels reflect the amount of knowledge or experience a person has to a specific skill set. The competencies are divided into four levels, ranging from one to four representing a progression of responsibilities and skills. The Domains are categories of competencies in a particular performance area such as business functions, RIM practices, Risk Management, etc. There are a total of six domains.

The next step in this important process will be the development of an on-line “self-assessment” tool where members can evaluate ourselves – based on the Competencies - and figure out where we are and where we want to go in our profession. This tool will be available in the first quarter of 2008 and will be free to all ARMA members.

Based on the Competencies document, ARMA will develop programs (including classes at International Conferences), resources, webinars, and other bodies of knowledge to help the records professional to acquire the educational resources we need in our field. Beyond that, the hope is to design a curriculum for the records professional student to be used in educational institutions.

The Competency Project has been, and will continue to be, a high-priority program for continued development in our association. I find it very exciting! I hope you do, as well. I recommend you download the Competency document at www.arma.org/competencies. There is no charge for ARMA members. And do keep your eyes open for the announcement of the self-assessment tool next Spring. Happy reading!

Very truly yours,
Susan M. Lord, Manager
Great Northwest Region of ARMA

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