Factors Hindering The Implementation Of Electronic Records Management Systems In Government Departments

Abstract

This research aimed at investigating the factors hindering the implementation of ERMS in government departments in Zambia. It had three specific objectives; to assess the measures put in place towards the implementation of ERMS; to establish the proposed ERMS for implementation in government departments and to assess the challenges faced by government departments in implementing ERMS. The study was purely qualitative and employed the in- depth interviewing method on a sample size of 5 key informants. The key informants were purposively selected on the underlying judgement that they were involved in the implementation of ERMS. Interview guides were used to collect data. The collected data was analyzed for consistency and completeness using thematic analysis. The study revealed that public institutions had taken action plans to implement ERMS, these included feasibility and validation studies, digitization programs and standardization of registries in government, availability of ICT Infrastructure that the implementation of ERMS would leverage on and organizational policies to govern the management of electronic records. It was established that the institutions had trained personnel to manage electronic records, skilled based training programs were conducted to enhance or build the capacity of the personnel. The study further revealed that majority of the institutions either had not yet decided on the ERMS to procure or they were designing and developing their own ERMS to use. Thus, records in the institutions were predominantly paper based, manually kept and managed in registries or record centres. Among the challenges the institutions faced, the study revealed that majority of the institutions had inadequate funding despite the strong political will towards the implementation of ERMS in government department.