Should we be here?

A couple of weeks ago I returned from my annual Convention and as usual had a great time and learnt something new from every session I attended!

But on the plane ride home, a colleague posed an interesting question for me. You see, in some fields, there is an annual 'navel gaze', a point at which the profession comes together and asks itself "should we exist as a profession", which made me sit back and wonder at us, at the records management community I think its time we had that same conversation.

We have had conversations in recent years as to whether we are a 'profession' or not, and in some areas we still have work to do; research or lack thereof, being a big area of concern for me. But I dont think we have ever asked ourselves if we should exist, why are we here, what value do we bring, what do we accomplish?

I dont think this is a conversation to be scared of either, I think it is a conversation that we should be encouraging, because sometimes you need to look deep inside yourself, answer the hard questions before you can grow and thats where we are now.

In 2010 RMAA changed its name to Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia, a bold move but a necessary one. We have evolved, we are no longer the "filing clerks" that some perceived us as, we are the enablers, the improvers, the delivery team, the gatekeepers, custodians, risk mitigators and strategic thinkers. So what does that mean for the profession, for our skill sets, our competencies and our growth.

If we are to "evolve or die" where do we go next.

So records managers, should we exist as a profession or should we allow ourselves to be subsumed by IT, by Project Managers and Policy Analysts...you tell me.