The context of this question presents an entirely different line of
reasoning. If we are talking about the competencies that we want to
develop and codify for the profession, then I would vote to eliminate
those dealing with mail management. Yes, that feels a bit like a
backtrack from my earlier writing, but when we think about what is
really important to the profession and advancing the profession, then
we need to stick to the core of what it is that we do and what it is
that we need to be able to articulate.

That said, there are clearly many levels of practice and competency in
our profession. The person in the small office who is a generalist has
a much different set of needs than the person who runs a records
program in a multinational corporation. However, I think the profession
needs to recognize that there are many skills that RMs need to develop
beyond the base.

What I would like folks to think about are tiers of knowledge and
skill. We all start with the basics of service delivery. That's the
basic filing systems work, records analysis, and vendor management.
Stepping up from there, we learn how to look at records management as a
process that needs to be standardized and managed. We're not delivering
the service, but we're making sure that it gets delivered and that the
delivery is consistent. That includes elements of systems analysis,
process mapping, and project management. Beyond that, we move into
strategy and networking. This is where we take on the process and
delivery and make it happen across and enterprise or across the globe
and connect the concepts of records management to all aspects of the
business.

Each of us will find ourselves doing pieces of each tier on different
days or at different stages of our career paths. Each tier builds upon
the previous tier. For our profession to grow and flourish, however, we
have to build competencies beyond the technical delivery and learn the
competencies of strategy, networking, and business management.

Patrick Cunningham, CRM

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