Mergers and acquisitions can be complicated and often will involve a fair amount of records management to achieve the task. This is exactly what the City of Georgetown (CoG) faced when Georgetown Utility and a Special Utility District were merged, relying on the transfer of records and information management to combine all the necessary documents for a successful merger.

Ms. Robyn Densmore, CoG Assistant City Secretary and Mr. Russell Haddock, Territory Leader of MCCi, shared their project plan with conference attendees at the 2018 e-Records Conference in Austin, TX. By digitizing the records of both organizations, they were able to provide the necessary information in the most cost-effective manner. All stakeholders were taken into consideration during the planning process, including records administrators, the staff of the CoG, and the citizens of Georgetown.

The main goals for the project were: implementation of RIM techniques, systematic control processes of records through their entire life cycle, and to ensure compliance with RIM laws and regulations.

The digitization project was rolled out in three phases: the first phase was inventory, followed by digitizing, and finally destruction.

Mr. Russell Haddock from MCCi shared with conference attendees the Digital Transformation Model the City of Georgetown used during the second phase of the overall project. This five phase model is a road map used for transforming the CoG’s office into a fully digital workplace. It provides a structured framework for content digitization, process automation, analytics, and more.

• Phase 1: Digitize Documents – Create an electronic filing cabinet by converting your documents from paper to digital.
• Phase 2: Organize Documents – Easily categorize your documents and manage them in a secure, central location.
• Phase 3: Automate Processes – Improve accountability by digitizing your business processes with easy-to-use electronic forms.
• Phase 4: Streamline Processes – Gain more visibility into your operations and increase the efficiency of cross-functional processes.
• Phase 5: Transform Processes – Drive innovation by leveraging predictive analytics and insight to transform processes.

Records are now searchable and retrievable corresponding to organization needs. This digitizing of records accelerated the process of fulfilling the city’s increasing number of open records requests, as well as produced a complete records inventory. Through a complete inventory, records managers are now able to ensure proper retention and identify records for destruction and disposition.

The City of Georgetown continues to automate additional processes and will implement this digitizing process to other departments within the city infrastructure.

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