ARMA has developed GARP (Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles). Is GARP catching on?
Yes. It is amazing to see how many organizations are issuing Requests for Proposals that are either directly or indirectly tied to the GARP Principles. Some organizations have started with the ARMA health check-up tool, available at www.arma.org/garp/health.cfm From there, they often make the determination for next steps including whether to proceed with a more formal needs assessment, one of which ARMA will be releasing in January of 2012. Other organizations decide to retain the services of an outside firm to help manage the assessment process. Once the needs assessments are done, this is a great tool for planning, including priorities, timing and budgeting.
John Isaza is a California-based attorney and founding partner of the Howett Isaza Law Group, a law firm that specializes in electronic information governance, records management and overall corporate compliance. He may be reached at Jisaza@HiLawGroup.com or follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.