On this International Information Governance Day, our expert Amandine Gorse tells you more about her professional career and gives you tips on managing the information flows you receive and create.
Amandine Gorse – Consultancy Services Manager at Labgroup (Luxembourg)
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
I have been project manager and manager of the Consultancy Services department at LAB Luxembourg S.A. since 18 months. After a degree in Art History which led me to reflect on the sources used to write Art History in the 18th century and on the type of information art historians had access to, I worked for several research centres and various universities. My interest in information governance led me to Luxembourg in 2017 when the archival context was in turmoil following the draft law on archiving.
Can you explain in your own words what information governance is?
Information governance is the way in which the information produced and received is managed within an entity. In a world where information takes many forms (data, e-mails, websites, etc.) and is stored on different media (paper, digital, but also audiovisual), it is necessary to put in place a strategy to better manage the flow of information that is received and created.
The ISO 24143 standard Information and documentation – Information governance, defines information governance as “a strategic and multidisciplinary framework that enables collaboration between the professions involved”.
What are the benefits of good information governance?
Good information governance helps to optimise the functioning of a company in several ways:
– It allows for greater efficiency in work because it facilitates the sharing of information. Thus, each employee has access to the information he or she needs without wasting time according to his or her role and responsibilities;
– It allows the optimisation of the information life cycle: a mapping of information flows facilitates the identification of weaknesses in certain workflows in order to apply solutions to optimise the flows;
– It enables the implementation of a paperless working environment for all employees and thus limits its carbon footprint;
– It enables better customer service to be provided because it contributes to the smooth running of the quality process;
– It enables compliance with the GDPR: in fact, identifying all the information produced and received in the context of an activity and the personal data collected and assigning them an administrative usefulness period enables them to be better protected and destroyed at the right time;
– Finally, it allows for better risk management by limiting the associated costs (storage, for example);
How do you implement good governance in an organisation?
Good information governance requires the development of a strategy adapted to the company. Audits of each activity and involving all employees must be carried out by records management experts. They will map the information flows and advise on how to optimise them.
Following this flow identification, a strategy for good information governance is designed in consultation with the DPO (Data Protection Officer) and the management, whose support is necessary for the successful implementation of information governance. Once the strategy has been established, the records managers provide the tools to implement this strategy: procedures and information management tables. A change management phase is then necessary so that employees can appropriate the tools and use them in their daily work.
What’s new in information governance?
There is no real innovation in the field. The concept has been around since the 1990s and the methodologies are constantly adapting to the context and types of information. Today, we are facing a significant increase in the volume of data produced and collected by companies. This is a new challenge with very high stakes in terms of security, management and use of information. Added to this is the multiplication of regulations which makes information management more complex. In Luxembourg, sectors such as banking, insurance or the hospital sector must be particularly vigilant with regard to good information governance: the current context forces them to implement a meticulous and rigorous strategy. This was not the case before the GDPR, for example.
How to meet the new requirements?
The dematerialisation of information and adapted management tools make it possible to meet the new challenges raised by the evolution of information flow. The implementation of an EDM (Electronic Document Management) tool and an SAE (Electronic Archiving System).
Can you give us examples of solutions implemented by Labgroup?
Labgroup can help you implement information governance adapted to your needs and the challenges you wish to meet:
Contact us now for more information!
We invite you to contact us via our Service Desk at servicedesk@labgroup.com or +352 350 222 999.