Records Management Assignment

June 28th, 2023

Soci 1203: Practical Skills for Employment
Professor: Juanita DeCastro
Student: Jalessa Leacock
Student Number: 100867985
Scenario 1 - Missing Files Case Study
You work with three administrative assistants in a publishing company. You share a
centralized paper filing system for the business files. To stay organized you spend at least
20 minutes each day filing, as does your co-worker, Michael. Unfortunately, your other co-
worker, Ashley, hates to file and rarely does any filing; instead, she puts the files in a pile on
her desk. Often when you are searching for a file you can’t find it in the file system, but
eventually you locate it on Ashely’s desk. You are getting increasingly frustrated with
having to search for missing files, since this wastes a considerable amount of time. How
should you address this issue?
The best way to address the issue is to open communication and work together to
solve the problem. First, I would schedule a meeting with Michael, Ashley, and our
immediate supervisor to discuss the filing system and any challenges due to missing files.
I would be honest and state how the missing files impact my day-to-day tasks including
productivity, time wasted in searching, and potential errors or delays in work.

Also, I would reiterate the importance of protecting persons files from abuse and
misuse according to Kilgour, L. et al. In turn I would actively listen to the challenges
Michael and Ashley may have. I want to try to understand what Ashley’s challenges are
with filing and try to find at least two solutions. Then the expectations for the filing
system going forward should be outlined. Guidelines will be formulated from the
discussion circulated around the Office for ease of reference. If any additional resources
are needed to effectively improve the filing system, and request approval from supervisor.

Finally, I would set a schedule to check in and get feedback on the new processes
adopted. I would check in with Ashley regularly to see where she needs help when I can
assist. For example, we could use color coded trays to place files that need filing, actively
in use files and files in the process of being updated. We can create an electronic log sheet
so we can easily see who used the file last. Also, we can assign allotted times in the day
to file instead of waiting until the end of the day when you are tired.

As stated in our week six’s topic we learned that human problems are one of the
common problems in records management. Based on the scenario if we identify and
tackle the human issues sooner rather than later, we can avoid bigger problems in the
long run.
Part 2
Efficient Email Management Strategies
It is important to properly manage the email inbox, apply an organized folder structure, and have
a specific workflow to maximize the use of your time. Below I outlined ways you can manage
your email efficiently.
1. Create folders: Set up folders to organize emails so they can be easily referenced. From the
example below a folder for emails waiting for response makes it easy to see immediately email
that are currently being worked on.
2. Use rules within your email to automatically sort incoming emails into relevant folders. This
can help prioritize important messages. As seen in the example below, rules can be set to
automatically move emails from specific senders or with certain keywords to designated folders.
3. Assign color-coded labels or flags to emails based on their importance or urgency. This visual
cue can help you quickly identify and prioritize messages. For example, red is urgent, yellow
requires action and blue for emails I was copied in and does not need action from me but
informational.

4. Dedicate a specific time to focus on emails. For example, for the first 30 minutes of the
workday spend time responding and reviewing high priority emails and then 30 minutes after
lunch. Emails that can be responded to within a couple of minutes should be completed
immediately. If the emails need more time to complete it can be placed in a folder and listed on
your to do list.
5. Set up quick responses for frequently sent emails and responses to save time and consistent
communication. As seen in the example below.