This presentation, delivered virtually on February 8, 2022, introduced the concept of a records management playbook, outlined the content a playbook could contain, and described the process for building a playbook.

1. Building Your Records
Management Playbook
Twin Cities ARMA
Jesse Wilkins
President and Principal Consultant
Athro Consulting
February 8, 2022

2. Jesse Wilkins, CIP, CIPP/US, CRM, IGP, CIGO, CCP
• President, Athro Consulting
• 25+ years experience as end user, vendor,
consultant, and trainer
• Background in electronic records
management, email management, ECM,
and social technologies
• Lead developer, AIIM Certified Information
Professional (CIP) certification
• AIIM Fellow #223

3. Agenda
• What is a Playbook?
•The Value of the Playbook
• Building Your Records Management
Playbook

4. What is a Playbook?

5. What is a Playbook?
• A compilation of the organization’s
business “plays”

6. What is a Playbook?
• A compilation of the organization’s
business “plays”
• A description of how to execute the
“plays” as they exist today
• As-is, not ideal
• In the context of your organization and
your culture

7. What is a Playbook?
• A compilation of the organization’s
business “plays”
• A description of how to execute the
“plays” as they exist today
• As-is, not ideal
• In the context of your organization and
your culture
• A living document

8. What is a Playbook?
• A user manual for your department or
business!
• In this case, a user manual for your records
program
Source: Trainual

9. What the
Playbook
Is Not
A regurgitation of industry
standards and “best practices”
A copy of how another company
may have chosen to do it
A set of detailed procedures
A strategy

10. The Structure
of the
Playbook
• Introduction to the Playbook
• Introduction to the Program
• The Plays
• Appendices
• References and Resources List
• Assessment Results
• Roadmap

11. Records Management
Plays
• Capture, Scanning, Filing
• Metadata and Classification
• Respond to Records Requests
• Retention and Disposition
• Migration and Decommissioning
• Recordkeeping System Operations
• Records Center Operations

12. Records
Management
Program Plays
• Review and Update Policies
• Maintain the Retention
Schedule
• Assess and Audit the
Program
• RIM Inventory
• RIM Training
• RIM Awareness and
Engagement

13. RIM-Adjacent
Plays
Privacy Plays
E-Discovery Plays
Information Security Plays
Document Management / Document
Control Plays
Archives Plays

14. Agenda
• What is a Playbook?
•The Value of the Playbook
• Building Your Records
Management Playbook

15. Benefits of Using a Business Playbook
Organization
Efficiency
Cost Savings
Work Quality
Employee Training
Independence
Improvement
Source: Indeed.com, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-a-playbook-in-business

16. Organization
• Hey, it’s what we do!
• The playbook includes everything you
need to execute your program’s plays
– all in one place!

17. Efficiency
The playbook has the pre-
thought-out answers to
common issues and questions
All in one place!

18. Cost Savings • Identify redundancies and
inefficiencies

19. Work Quality
Consistency in how tasks are
performed…
Even if you’re out of the office and
not the one performing them

20. Employee Training
• Speed up employee onboarding and
training
• Again, consistency!

21. Independence
The playbook has most of the answers to
employees’ questions

22. Improvement
Identify areas with the program that need improvement
Identify common pain points and issues
Add them to the playbook!

23. Agenda
• What is a Playbook?
•The Value of the Playbook
• Building Your Records
Management Playbook

24. The Playbook Should
Answer These Questions:
• What would your replacement need to
know in order to do your job for 30-60-
90 days?
• What are the things you do, create,
monitor, or report regularly?
• What are the questions you answer
every day/week/month?

25. The Architecture of a Play
• The purpose of the play
• A description of the play
• The players involved in the play
• The references, guidelines, standards, checklists, etc. required to
execute the play
• The metrics associated with the play

26. Example Play: Send Boxes to Offsite
Storage
Purpose
Description
Players
References and resources
Metrics

27. Example
Play: Send
Boxes to
Offsite
Storage

28. Where Do You Build And
Keep Your Playbook?
• Word document-type manual
• PowerPoint file
• As separate articles or pages in a wiki
• Wherever it can be accessed by the ones
who need to access it
• Wherever it can be readily updated

29. Who Should
Build the
Playbook?
• You!
• (The subject matter expert /
process expert)
• With management support
and signoff

30. Maintaining Your Playbook
• Only as valuable as it is current
• New plays
• Updated plays
• Changes to tools or configuration
• Implement a regular review cycle too

31. Additional
Resources
• The Business Playbook, Chris
Ronzio
• https://www.indeed.com/career-
advice/career-development/what-
is-a-playbook-in-business
• Ariel Lim Consulting, Create Your
Own Business Playbook
https://ariel-
lim.com/blog/business-playbook/

33. For More
Information
Jesse Wilkins
President, Athro Consulting
https://www.athroconsulting.com
jesse.wilkins@athroconsulting.com
Twitter: @jessewilkins
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessewilkins