Records Management and Retrieval Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Records Managers, Information Management Officers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-KRM-041

Before you join: Participants should have experience handling business records, documents, case files, correspondence or shared information repositories.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Poorly controlled records create more than inconvenient searches. A missing contract, case file, payment approval or personnel record can delay a decision, weaken an audit response, expose personal data or prevent an organisation from proving what it knew and did. The difficulty is rarely storage alone: records must be classified consistently, described with usable metadata, retained for defensible periods, protected according to sensitivity and retrieved quickly by authorised people. Hybrid paper and digital holdings add further risks when files, emails, scanned documents and collaboration content follow different rules.

This intermediate course provides a structured method for managing records from creation through classification, storage, retrieval, retention, disposal and long-term preservation. Participants apply ISO 15489 principles to recordkeeping responsibilities, file plans, metadata, access controls, retention schedules and disposal authorities. They examine practical retrieval methods including controlled vocabularies, Boolean searching, indexing rules, retrieval testing and service standards. The course also addresses legal holds, privacy, physical file control, electronic recordkeeping systems, digitisation, audit trails and governance arrangements.

Instruction combines short tutor briefings with sector-based cases, group analysis, retrieval simulations and guided planning. Cases may involve locating evidence for an audit, responding to an information request, managing a legal hold, reducing misfiles in a registry or improving digital file classification. Participants leave with a records management improvement pack containing a file-plan structure, metadata model, retention and disposal workflow, retrieval checklist, governance matrix and implementation roadmap. The course is suited to professionals responsible for records quality, information access, compliance evidence or operational file control.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply ISO 15489 principles to distinguish records, non-records and transitory information
  • Design a functional file plan using business functions, activities and transactions
  • Specify metadata fields and indexing rules that improve record retrieval
  • Construct a retention schedule using trigger events, appraisal criteria and disposal authorities
  • Implement legal hold, access classification and chain-of-custody controls
  • Assess electronic and physical recordkeeping processes for control gaps and retrieval risks
  • Use Boolean searching, controlled vocabularies and retrieval testing to improve findability
  • Produce a prioritised records management improvement roadmap with accountable owners

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible decisions about what constitutes an official record
  • Reduce time spent searching for files, emails and case documentation
  • Write clearer retention, disposal and legal hold instructions
  • Identify weak access, metadata and file-control practices before audit findings arise
  • Build a practical improvement case for records procedures or system changes

For your organisation

  • Faster retrieval of evidence for audits, investigations and information requests
  • Lower risk of premature destruction or uncontrolled accumulation of records
  • More consistent classification across paper files, shared drives and digital systems
  • Improved protection of confidential, personal and commercially sensitive information
  • Clearer accountability for record creation, retention, access and disposal

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify official records and assign appropriate recordkeeping responsibilities.

  • Records, non-records and transitory information distinguished using ISO 15489 concepts
  • Business activities mapped to records created, received and maintained
  • Lifecycle stages connected to accountability, evidence, access and disposition
  • Recordkeeping responsibilities assigned through policy, procedures and delegated authorities
  • Authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability assessed as record characteristics
  • Information assets separated from records, archives, publications and working documents

Participants can build and maintain a functional classification structure for records.

  • Functional classification schemes built from business functions, activities and transactions
  • File plans structured with hierarchical codes, titles and scope notes
  • Taxonomies distinguished from controlled vocabularies, thesauri and keyword lists
  • Naming conventions applied to folders, files, versions and dates
  • Controlled vocabulary terms governed through preferred labels, synonyms and qualifiers
  • Classification decisions documented using file-plan maintenance rules and change controls

Participants can specify metadata and search controls that produce reliable retrieval results.

  • Metadata schemas specify identifiers, creators, dates, security and retention attributes
  • Dublin Core elements adapted for discovery without replacing recordkeeping metadata
  • Search recall and precision balanced through query formulation techniques
  • Boolean operators, phrase searching, truncation and filters refine retrieval results
  • Indexing rules create consistent access points for people, subjects and cases
  • Retrieval tests measure findability, completeness, speed and result relevance

Participants can create retention and disposition controls linked to business and legal requirements.

  • Retention schedules link record classes to approved disposal authorities
  • Trigger events calculate retention periods from closure, expiry or supersession
  • Legal, regulatory, fiscal and operational values justify retention decisions
  • Appraisal separates records requiring preservation from routine short-term material
  • Disposition actions documented through destruction certificates and transfer registers
  • Retention exceptions managed through documented approvals and review dates

Participants can protect records subject to legal, privacy and access-control requirements.

  • Legal holds suspend normal disposition for identified matters and custodians
  • Hold notices specify scope, sources, preservation actions and acknowledgement
  • Access classifications align confidential records with role-based permissions
  • Privacy impact considerations identify personal data, purpose and disclosure limits
  • Chain-of-custody controls preserve evidence during collection, transfer and review
  • Unauthorised access incidents documented, contained and escalated under procedure

Participants can assess digital recordkeeping controls for authenticity, accessibility and evidential value.

  • Electronic record systems capture content, context, structure and audit trails
  • ISO 16175 requirements guide trustworthy digital recordkeeping system controls
  • Email, instant messages and collaboration content assessed for record status
  • Version control identifies authoritative copies, drafts and superseded documents
  • Digitisation quality checks verify image completeness, legibility and indexing
  • Migration plans protect metadata, fixity, accessibility and evidential value

Participants can control physical and hybrid records throughout storage, circulation and recovery.

  • Physical file inventories record location, ownership, sensitivity and retention status
  • Barcodes and location codes support circulation control and rapid retrieval
  • Check-out procedures record borrowers, due dates and returned-file verification
  • Hybrid files link paper volumes with corresponding digital records
  • Storage conditions address fire, water, pests, access and environmental risks
  • Vital records identified through business impact, recovery priorities and duplicate storage

Participants can establish records governance, performance measures and compliance review processes.

  • Records policies translated into accountable procedures, roles and service standards
  • RACI matrices assign ownership for creation, classification, disposal and oversight
  • Performance indicators track retrieval time, misfiles, overdue returns and disposal
  • Self-assessments test compliance against policy, schedules and access requirements
  • Audit trails reviewed for unauthorised activity, exceptions and corrective actions
  • Training communications target common filing errors and user responsibilities

Participants can diagnose recordkeeping weaknesses and prioritise practical control improvements.

  • Process maps expose handoffs, duplicate capture, search delays and control gaps
  • Root cause analysis investigates misfiling, missing records and retrieval failures
  • Risk registers prioritise records threats by likelihood, impact and treatment
  • Requirements gathered from users, legal advisers, IT and business owners
  • Change plans sequence policy updates, system configuration and user adoption
  • Benefits measures compare baseline retrieval performance with target service levels

Participants can produce an accountable plan for improving records management and retrieval.

  • Current-state assessment scores classification, metadata, retention, security and retrieval controls
  • Gap analysis compares existing practices against ISO 15489 control requirements
  • Priority roadmap sequences quick fixes, dependencies, owners and review milestones
  • Retrieval service standards define request channels, response times and escalation
  • Implementation risks assigned mitigations, accountable owners and monitoring indicators
  • Personal action plans commit first-month improvements and stakeholder conversations

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Functional file-plan template
  2. Records metadata field model
  3. Retention and disposal workflow
  4. Legal hold checklist
  5. Retrieval testing checklist
  6. Records management improvement roadmap

Who should attend

  • Records Managers — responsible for recordkeeping policy, retention and service quality
  • Information Management Officers — manage classification, metadata and access arrangements
  • Document Controllers — maintain controlled project, engineering or operational documentation
  • Compliance Officers — need reliable evidence for audits, investigations and regulatory requests
  • Registry and Archive Staff — control physical files, circulation and retrieval services
  • Business Unit Administrators — maintain shared files, correspondence and operational records

Skills and tools covered

Records classificationMetadata designRetention schedulingInformation retrievalLegal hold controlRecords governance

Tools and standards

ISO 15489-1:2016, ISO 16175-1:2020, Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods and standards, followed by practical case work drawn from registries, project offices, financial services, public bodies and regulated organisations. Participants analyse file plans, metadata sets, retention decisions, access requests and retrieval failures in small groups. Simulations test searching, legal hold decisions and circulation controls. Guided peer discussion compares approaches, while individual application planning converts course methods into actions for participants' own recordkeeping environment.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience handling business records, documents, case files, correspondence or shared information repositories. Familiarity with their organisation's filing practices, document management system or records policy is useful. The course assumes participants can interpret routine business procedures and discuss operational risks with colleagues. Prior formal records management training is not required, and no technical system administration, archival qualification, legal qualification or specialist software knowledge is expected. Participants benefit most when they can bring examples of recurring retrieval, filing or retention issues from their work.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have practical experience handling records, documents, correspondence or shared information repositories. No prior records management qualification, legal training or system administration experience is required.

Participants should bring examples of recurring filing, retrieval, retention or access issues from their work. They may also bring non-confidential extracts from existing policies, file plans or retention schedules for reference.

The course suits records managers, registry staff, document controllers, information management officers, compliance staff and business administrators. It is particularly useful for people responsible for evidence, file quality or records retrieval services.

Document control training concentrates on controlled documents, revisions and approvals, often within projects or quality systems. This course addresses the wider recordkeeping lifecycle, including classification, metadata, retention, legal holds, disposal and retrieval.

Participants can review a file plan, test retrieval performance, identify weak metadata fields or clarify retention responsibilities immediately after the course. The improvement roadmap helps them sequence changes with owners, risks and review points.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided across ten modules, with short briefings, case analysis, group work, retrieval simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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