Records Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Records Officers, Office Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-KRM-025

Before you join: Participants should have experience handling office files, email, shared-drive content, document control or administrative records.

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

Poor records management leaves organisations unable to find evidence of decisions, meet retention duties, respond to audits, protect personal information or dispose of material defensibly. Office professionals often inherit crowded shared drives, inconsistent file names, paper archives, unmanaged email and unclear ownership. The result is wasted staff time, duplicated information, higher storage costs and avoidable legal, regulatory and reputational exposure.

This course teaches participants to establish practical control over paper, digital and hybrid records. Participants apply ISO 15489 principles; design functional classification schemes and file plans; set capture, metadata and access rules; and manage email, scanned documents, shared drives and electronic document and records management systems. They also develop retention schedules, legal hold procedures, secure disposal controls, privacy safeguards, audit evidence and preservation plans for long-term digital records.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with realistic cases from government offices, banks, NGOs and corporate functions. Participants examine records problems, assess system controls, work through retention and access decisions, and develop materials for their own workplace. Each participant leaves with a practical records management implementation pack containing a records inventory, classification model, retention schedule outline, policy checklist, control assessment and 90-day action plan. The course is suited to professionals responsible for organising records, administering office information, supporting compliance or improving document control.

What you will be able to do

  • Apply ISO 15489 principles to distinguish records from non-records and set control requirements
  • Develop a functional classification scheme and file plan for business records
  • Design capture, metadata, naming and version-control rules for paper and digital records
  • Assess EDRMS, shared-drive and cloud controls against ISO 16175 functional requirements
  • Prepare retention schedules, disposition authorities and legal hold procedures
  • Implement access classification, privacy handling and secure destruction controls
  • Evaluate physical storage, digitisation and digital preservation risks using documented criteria
  • Produce a records management improvement plan with priorities, owners and measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible decisions on what to capture, retain, restrict and destroy
  • Create file plans that make records easier for colleagues to retrieve
  • Recognise weak controls in shared drives, email repositories and paper stores
  • Contribute confidently to audits, investigations, information requests and legal holds
  • Build a credible records management improvement plan for a current role

For your organisation

  • Faster retrieval of reliable evidence for decisions, audits and customer enquiries
  • Lower exposure from uncontrolled retention, unauthorised access and premature destruction
  • Consistent filing and metadata practices across paper, email and digital repositories
  • Reduced storage volumes through approved retention and secure disposition processes
  • Clearer ownership and measurable controls for records management governance

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define records management responsibilities and distinguish records from non-records.

  • Records, documents, information assets and non-records distinguished using business value
  • ISO 15489 principles: authenticity, reliability, integrity and usability
  • Records lifecycle stages from creation and capture through disposition
  • Business transactions mapped to evidence requirements and accountable owners
  • Formal records versus convenience copies, drafts and reference materials
  • Consequences of poor control: lost evidence, delay, risk and cost

Participants can build a functional classification scheme and usable file plan.

  • Functional classification schemes built from functions, activities and transactions
  • File plans structured with hierarchical classes, headings and identifiers
  • Business classification analysis identifies record aggregations and ownership
  • Naming conventions standardise titles, dates, versions and security markings
  • Controlled vocabularies improve retrieval through preferred terms and synonyms
  • Taxonomy governance assigns change authority, review cycles and publication controls

Participants can set rules for capturing, registering and describing records consistently.

  • Capture triggers define when emails, approvals and messages become records
  • Registration metadata records creator, date, classification, status and access rights
  • ISO 23081 metadata elements support context, content and management
  • Email filing rules preserve threads, attachments, recipients and decision evidence
  • Digitisation quality checks address legibility, completeness, indexing and audit trails
  • Scanning workflows connect preparation, image capture, verification and secure disposal

Participants can assess and improve controls in electronic records repositories.

  • EDRMS requirements cover capture, classification, search, access and disposal
  • ISO 16175 functional requirements assessed against configured system controls
  • Permissions apply need-to-know, least privilege and segregation of duties
  • Version control distinguishes drafts, approved copies, superseded records and amendments
  • Audit trails record actions, timestamps, users and disposition authorisations
  • Shared-drive remediation identifies orphaned files, duplicates and uncontrolled access

Participants can create retention and disposition controls that support defensible decisions.

  • Retention schedules link record classes to legal, fiscal and operational needs
  • Trigger events calculate retention from closure, expiry, departure or last action
  • Legal holds suspend normal disposition for anticipated or active proceedings
  • Disposition authorities document approval, retention rationale and destruction permissions
  • Records inventories capture volumes, locations, formats, owners and retention status
  • Event-based review dates prevent premature destruction and unnecessary storage

Participants can control physical records from filing through secure destruction.

  • File movement controls use charge-out systems, barcodes and location registers
  • Storage conditions address fire, water, pests, light and unauthorised access
  • Vital records protection identifies essential evidence, backups and recovery priorities
  • Secure destruction methods match media type, sensitivity and approved authority
  • Offsite storage contracts specify retrieval times, custody and destruction certificates
  • Chain-of-custody logs document transfer, receipt, handling and return

Participants can apply access, privacy and security controls to sensitive records.

  • Access classification differentiates public, internal, confidential and restricted records
  • Privacy impact questions identify personal data, purpose, minimisation and retention
  • Data subject requests locate, review and release records within deadlines
  • Information security incidents preserve evidence while containing unauthorised disclosure
  • Redaction procedures remove protected content while retaining releasable information
  • Third-party processors receive documented records handling, return and deletion requirements

Participants can identify and manage risks to long-term digital record accessibility.

  • File-format risk assessment identifies proprietary, obsolete and unstable records
  • Preservation metadata documents provenance, fixity, technical dependencies and migration history
  • Checksum verification detects corruption during transfer, storage and periodic review
  • Migration plans protect content, structure, context and accessibility over time
  • Cloud records arrangements define jurisdiction, exit terms, backup and access
  • Social-media and collaboration-platform records captured with context and timestamps

Participants can establish governance arrangements and test records management controls.

  • Records management policy states scope, responsibilities, mandatory controls and exceptions
  • RACI matrices allocate accountability for creation, custody, approval and disposal
  • Control self-assessments test filing, access, retention and destruction practices
  • Audit evidence combines samples, system logs, interviews and documented procedures
  • Nonconformities receive corrective actions, owners, due dates and verification
  • Performance measures track retrieval time, overdue disposal, training and compliance

Participants can prioritise records management improvements and prepare an implementation plan.

  • Maturity assessments prioritise gaps across policy, people, process and technology
  • Stakeholder analysis identifies sponsors, records owners, users and technical teams
  • Risk registers score likelihood, impact, controls, residual exposure and actions
  • Phased implementation roadmaps sequence quick wins, dependencies, resources and milestones
  • Change communications explain new filing behaviours, responsibilities and support channels
  • Personal 90-day action plans define priorities, measures, sponsors and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Functional classification scheme template
  2. Records inventory template
  3. Retention schedule outline
  4. File plan and naming convention model
  5. Records management policy checklist
  6. 90-day records improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Records Officers — need practical methods to control record creation, storage and disposal
  • Office Managers — need consistent filing, retrieval and custody arrangements for operational records
  • Administrative Professionals — need reliable procedures for handling paper, email and digital files
  • Document Controllers — need stronger classification, versioning and retention controls
  • Compliance Officers — need evidence that records controls support audit and regulatory duties
  • Information Governance Staff — need workable policy, metadata and lifecycle management methods

Skills and tools covered

Records classificationRetention schedulingMetadata managementEDRMS controlsInformation governanceDigital preservation

Tools and standards

ISO 15489, ISO 23081, ISO 16175, MoReq2010

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to establish standards, terminology and control methods, followed by case work drawn from office administration, regulated services and public-sector records. Participants analyse sample file plans, retention schedules, email records, access requests and system configurations. Small-group exercises test classification, metadata, legal hold and disposal decisions. Simulations address audit findings and information requests. Structured application planning helps participants adapt course materials to their own records responsibilities and organisational priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience handling office files, email, shared-drive content, document control or administrative records. Familiarity with their organisation's filing arrangements, policies or records system is helpful, but not essential. Participants should be comfortable discussing business processes and making practical decisions about information ownership, access and retention. No prior qualification in archives, law, information technology or records management is required. The course explains relevant standards and terminology before applying them to workplace scenarios.

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

You should have experience handling office information, files, email or administrative records. No formal records management qualification, legal training or technical systems expertise is required.

Bring examples of your current filing structure, retention concerns or records policy if your employer permits this. Sensitive information is not required; anonymised examples or notes are sufficient.

It suits records officers, office managers, administrative professionals, document controllers and staff supporting compliance or information governance. It is particularly useful for people responsible for improving inconsistent paper and digital filing.

Document control focuses mainly on controlled documents, versions and approvals, while data protection focuses on personal data duties. This course addresses the full records lifecycle, including classification, capture, retention, disposal, access, physical files and digital preservation.

You can use the templates to map current records, identify uncontrolled repositories, improve file naming and review retention decisions. The final action plan helps you identify owners, priorities and early improvements.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The course progresses from records principles and classification through systems, retention, security, preservation, governance and implementation 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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