Who Is Responsible for Records Management? Part 2: Turning Awareness Into Action

In our original post, we made it clear: everyone in the organization is responsible for records management. But what does that look like in practice?

If you’ve shared Part 1 with your team, you’ve already taken a big first step—building awareness. Part 2 focuses on action: clarifying roles, establishing accountability, and integrating records management into your organizational culture.

From Awareness to Action: The Five Essentials

1. Leadership: Setting the Tone

Responsibility for records management begins at the top. Leaders do far more than approve policies—they set the tone for the entire organization. When leaders treat records as a strategic asset rather than a compliance chore, it filters down through every level of the organization. Leadership demonstrates commitment by prioritizing records in strategic plans, allocating appropriate resources, and holding departments accountable for record practices. Records management doesn’t compete with operational goals—it supports them by reducing risk, enhancing transparency, and enabling more informed decision-making. When leaders visibly support records management, it signals to staff that these responsibilities are part of what makes the organization run effectively.

If you’re looking for examples of how leadership can use technology to drive organizational transformation, check out our Westlake Village Digital Transformation post.

2. Clarifying Roles: Everyone Plays a Part

One of the fastest ways to create frustration around records management is to leave responsibilities vague. Clarifying roles ensures everyone knows where they fit in the bigger picture. Executives champion the importance of records and provide resources. Records Managers and Coordinators turn that vision into practice by maintaining retention schedules, overseeing compliance, and providing training. IT supports the system infrastructure by securing access and enabling automation. Department heads reinforce compliance at the team level, ensuring that records and procedures are followed in daily operations. Every employee plays their part by correctly creating, storing, and disposing of records as they perform their regular duties. When roles are clearly defined, records management stops feeling like an extra burden and becomes a natural extension of people’s job responsibilities.

To understand how clarifying roles align with your organization's overall records maturity, refer to one of our Maturity Model pieces..

3. Transparent Records Management (TRM): Making Compliance Easy for End Users

Even when roles are clear, records management can break down if systems are confusing or difficult to use. That’s where Transparent Records Management (TRM) comes in—a design approach that keeps records in a true RM environment while presenting them to end users in an intuitive, easy-to-navigate structure.

TRM recognizes that records managers need to apply strict retention and compliance rules, but everyday users require fast and straightforward access to the documents they work with. Without TRM, records storage often becomes overly complicated, with structures that only records managers understand. TRM bridges this gap by using tools like Laserfiche to maintain record series, apply automated retention, and still allow end users to interact with files through a familiar, functional folder structure.

In a Laserfiche Records Management setup, TRM is typically implemented through workflows that handle the heavy lifting—automatically filing records into the correct record series behind the scenes. End users simply work within a clean, logical folder system and access only the records they’re permitted to see. TRM is a smart strategy that reduces user frustration, improves adoption, and ensures your organization stays compliant without requiring every employee to become a records expert.

Check out our article on transparency, motivating records management.

4. Practical Day-to-Day Habits

Big change happens in small moments—especially when it comes to records management. Annual audits or compliance reports don’t drive success; it’s built through the daily habits of employees. This includes straightforward actions such as saving records in designated locations instead of on desktops, using approved templates to ensure documents are complete and consistent, and consulting the retention schedule before deciding what to keep or delete. It’s also about staying engaged through periodic training refreshers, so records management stays front-of-mind rather than an afterthought. The more these habits are integrated into daily workflows, the easier it becomes for employees to manage records with minimal effort, resulting in a healthier and more compliant organization.

For ideas on small, practical changes that deliver a significant impact, check out our Municipal Workflows article.

5. Change Management: Moving From Resistance to Buy-In

Change doesn’t happen just because we tell people it should. It happens when we make it easy, make it meaningful, and make it feel possible. Chip and Dan Heath’s Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard offers a helpful framework for driving this shift in behavior. First, we direct the Rider by providing clear, specific instructions about what actions to take, such as exactly where to store certain types of records or how to submit documentation through Laserfiche. Next, we motivate the Elephant by making it emotionally relevant—showing employees how good record-keeping practices protect their work, reduce future headaches, and improve service to their community. Finally, we shape the Path by removing barriers and making good practices easy through tools like templates, workflows, and automatic reminders. Lasting records management culture isn’t created by one policy memo—it’s built through sustained, thoughtful change management.

One of our favorite examples of this in action comes from the City of Yorba Linda, where the Records Management team successfully rolled out their program using a smart internal communications strategy. Watch the webinar to hear how they created buy-in across departments.

The Payoff: Why It’s Worth It

When responsibility for records is shared, organizations experience measurable benefits. Better compliance reduces legal and audit risks. Faster retrieval of information leads to more responsive public service. Reduced storage costs free up budget for other priorities. Most importantly, consistent, transparent records management builds trust with the public and reinforces the organization’s commitment to accountability. Sharing the responsibility for records is about more than compliance—it’s about creating a smarter, more resilient organization.