Competencies: Now we know what we “do” as records and information management professionals

The biggest news from this year’s International Conference is that the ARMA International Education Development Committee has published the “Core Competencies for the Records and Information Management (RIM) Profession”. The purpose of this document is to define the knowledge and skills needed to perform successfully in the profession.

This document has been in development for a number of years, and is based on research and analysis of job functions, comparing the competencies of allied professions such as librarianship and the Canadian ALARM project, as well as soliciting the input of many practicing records managers in a wide variety of organizational settings.

There are four levels of experience identified, that reflect the amount of knowledge or experience a person has for a specific topic or skill set, regardless of time in the profession. The four levels represent a progression of responsibilities from entry level practitioner to executive level. For each level there are six domains comprising skill sets and competencies in a particular performance area that are the major responsibilities or duties. The six domains used are: Business Functions, RIM Practices, Risk Management, Communications and Marketing, Information Technology and Leadership. Within each domain there are task statements, and following the task statements, there are statements identifying the knowledge and skills required to perform the task with competence.

The Education Development Committee is encouraging all RIM professionals to evaluate their own experience and skills against those expressed in the competencies, and use the self assessment to identify requirements for further development and acquisition of knowledge. ARMA International will be mapping the competencies to future conference programs and identifying any future training or educational offerings to the relevant domain and level of knowledge. The intent is that this document will be used as a basis for developing job descriptions, as well as assisting educational institutions to plan relevant RIM curricula.

All Chapter members are able to download a free pdf copy of the Competencies document through the front page of the ARMA International website (www.arma.org). For any of you who are planning for staffing, have job descriptions to prepare or are curious about your own competencies, this is a most valuable document, and one of the best benefits of membership in ARMA.

Respectfully submitted

Sandie Bradley, CRM
Past President
Mountain Pacific Coordinator
ARMA Canada Region