The Evolving Changes in the Responsibilities of Records Management Professionals in Kenya

Abstract

Records management/Information management is a common term in many organizations nowadays. Records Management is an organizational function committed to the management of records in an organization throughout its life cycle, from the time of creation to its eventual disposal. These include identifying, securing, storing, classifying, retrieving, tracking and destroying or archiving records. As noted in ISO 15489-1 standard, records management is the field of management in an organization tasked with the role of ensuring systematic and efficient control of all the records processes. The advent of ‘the information society’ has drastically changed things. An information society is a concept referring to a society based on information and knowledge. Although laws and regulations regarding records and recordkeeping may still be the same, information technology has an enormous impact on the way organizations and people communicate and carry out their business and as a consequence on how they document their activities. The roles of records management have undergone a tremendous transformation which has in some instances led to a mismatch between the learning institutions and the records management labour market. The contextual set-up of the study was Moi University, Kenyatta University, and 5 online job listing sites in Kenya. The study employed convergent parallel mixed methods research design. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected simultaneously using online questionnaires and key informant interviews. The research sample was 56 comprising of 2 key informants from the records management departments of Moi University and Kenyatta University and 54 alumni graduates of records management from the two universities who were selected using snowball sampling, and 20 records management job adverts. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Atlas.ti and presented in tables, diagrams, and graphs. The research revealed that there has been a significant shift in the roles of records professionals in Kenya over years. While other roles and responsibilities have become redundant, new roles are emerging for records professionals. These changes can be attributed to various factors including the increased relevance of records management in organizations, the evolution in ICT, legislation and the demographics of modern employees. The research further revealed that there is minimal consultation in curriculum review which makes it harder for the Kenyan records professional to adapt to the work environment.