The Records Management Team: Who Are You?

/ July 13, 2026

The RMA team works with local governments, state agencies, and universities of all shapes and sizes throughout Texas. While resources and staff are applied differently in each records management program, there is a common idea of the Records Management Team. The Records Management Team is an effort to ensure records management knowledge, procedure, and training reaches all the staff in an organization.    

Hierarchy chart showing Level 1: Records Management Officer, Level 2: Records Liaisons, Level 3: Records Creators

Records Management Officer

The administration of the records management program begins with the RMO. RMOs are the only mandated position in the Local Government Records Act. For this reason, they sit at the top and lead the Records Management Team. They are in charge of creating procedures that their organization follows regarding records management. Along with program administration, they are also responsible for: 

  • Records Inventory 
    • The records inventory keeps track of records their organization maintains. It might also identify how records are stored, essential records, and confidential records.  
  • Records Storage 
    • The RMO is also responsible for the storage process, from assessing risks to managing storage decisions.  
  • Retention Schedule 
    • RMOs must comply with minimum retention requirements by ensuring their internal retention schedule meets the TSLAC requirements.  
  • Records Disposition 
    • When a record is eligible for disposition, the RMO makes sure the record and all copies of that record are disposed of properly, while also being mindful of any destruction holds.  

The bullet points above make the RMO’s role seem straightforward, but being the RMO is a huge undertaking. There is a lot of collaboration, coordination, and communication throughout the organization to ensure the records management program remains efficient. Further, carrying the title of RMO does not mean that is the only job this individual has. For example, a common RMO for municipalities is the City Secretary. The City Secretary has a number of other priorities relating to the local government before they can focus on the duties of being the RMO.   

To help balance the workload and make sure proper records management is taking place, the RMO may enlist Records Liaisons. 

Records Liaisons (RLs)

RLs are an extension of the RMO. They work with the RMO to help inform staff about new procedures or updates to records. RLs might even assist in the records management training of staff. For example, if there is an update to the disposition procedure, the best way for the RMO to ensure everyone is aware of the change is to inform the RLs, who will turn around and share the information with the rest of the staff. Or, instead of the RMO traveling to every newly hired employee, the RL in the same department can provide onboarding records training. It is up to the RMO to figure out how much shared responsibility the RLs will have.  

So, how do RLs come to be? RLs are appointed by the RMO. There can be multiple RLs throughout the organization, and anyone can be selected to be a RL. However, there is a strategy in appointing RLs.  

  • A good RL candidate exhibits knowledge of records management and its applications. 
    • They understand records management laws, rules, and definitions. Not only awareness of records management, but how it applies to their organization through policy and procedures.  
  • The RL candidate will have a confident grasp of the various records in their office, and who to raise records management concerns with.  
    • If they encounter a records management issue within their office, they know to reach out to the RMO.  

Does this sound like someone you know? To us, a typical RL candidate is the department head or similar supervisor roles. The same folks that lead a department can be useful to the RMO. 

Records Creators (RCs)

At the bottom of the hierarchy, we have Records Creators (RCs). RCs are the everyday employees who are responsible for the records they create or receive that keep the organization running. The line of communication starts with them as they report to the RL with any records challenges. Identifying RCs is easier than you might think because many records come with natural custodians. 

Let’s say you work in the Communications Office, but you receive a record that deals with timesheets. Well, that’s not your record so you forward it to the Payroll Manager. Same goes for job applications (Human Resources), invoices (Accounting), and so on. The main idea of RCs is that there is a person/department responsible for certain types of records within your organization. Understanding who is responsible for which records can help clear up questions like: 

  • Who has the authorized record copy? 
  • Which copy is the authorized record copy? 
  • Who has clearance to access this record? 
  • Who is responsible for the life cycle of the record? 

Then there are records that are based on the individual, which leads to the final point of RCs: Ultimately, we are all RCs! For example, there is not a person or department that you can forward your email to (General Correspondence) for them to manage. You are responsible for maintaining those records. For this reason, you are included and have reason to buy-in to the success of the records management program. 

Summarize

So, who are you in this setup? As an RMO, maybe you are realizing that enlisting some RLs can be beneficial in spreading the news about that new procedure. If you’re not the RMO but you have potential solutions to records management issues within your office, make yourself available as an RL to the RMO.  Not finding yourself as the RMO or RL? You are still just as important as a RC. As a frontline for records, the RC begins the proper management of a record at the beginning of its life cycle.   

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