Records and Information Management: Classification, Retention and Disposal to ISO 15489 – Paris, 21–25 Dec 2026

Programme overview

Technical depth: Practitioner · Practical mode: Case study

Introduction

Organisations create more information than ever, yet many cannot find the record they need, prove that a record is authentic or show why something was destroyed. Uncontrolled shared drives, email and paper stores raise storage costs, slow decisions and expose the organisation in audits and disputes. This Core Concept course equips managers to build a records and information management programme on ISO 15489 and ISO 30301, from classification and retention to access, disposal and legal hold. Participants apply each control to multi-sector case material and leave with a Records Management Programme Plan.

Course Objectives

• Assess the organisation's recordkeeping requirements and maturity against international principles
• Apply ISO 15489-1 and ISO 30301 management system requirements to design a records programme
• Build a functional business classification scheme, file plan and retention schedule based on appraisal
• Define access, transfer, storage and disposal controls that stand up to audit and legal scrutiny
• Identify records risks, including uncontrolled email and collaboration content, and apply controls to each
• Produce a Records Management Programme Plan ready for approval by senior management

Target Audience

• Records and archives managers responsible for organisational recordkeeping programmes
• Information governance and compliance managers accountable for retention and disposal decisions
• Document control managers overseeing controlled documents and project records
• Administrative services managers responsible for filing, storage and archive facilities
• IT and knowledge managers who own repositories holding business records

Course Outline

Day 1: Records and Information Management Foundations

• Records, Documents and Information Assets: Definitions in ISO 30300:2020
• Records Characteristics: Authenticity, Reliability, Integrity and Usability
• Records Lifecycle and Records Continuum Models
• Legal, Regulatory and Business Recordkeeping Requirements Register
• Records Maturity Assessment Using the ARMA Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles

Day 2: Standards and Management Systems for Records

• ISO 15489-1:2016 Records Controls and Processes
• ISO 30301:2019 Management System for Records Requirements
• ISO 30302:2022 Implementation Guidance and Records Policy Structure
• ISO 23081-1:2017 Metadata Principles for Managing Records
• ARMA Information Governance Implementation Model (IGIM)

Day 3: Building Records Controls

• Business Activity Analysis and Functional Business Classification Scheme Design
• Records Retention Schedule Construction Using ISO/TR 21946:2018 Appraisal
• File Plan and Naming Conventions for Shared and Physical Repositories
• Access and Permissions Rules Based on a Security Classification Model
• Records Transfer, Offsite Storage and Retrieval Procedure

Day 4: Risk, Disposal and Problem Cases

• Defensible Disposal and Destruction Certificate Procedure
• Legal Hold Notice and Suspension of Destruction
• Vital Records Programme Aligned to ISO 22301:2019 Business Continuity
• Records Risk Register Using ISO 31000:2018
• Records Capture Rules for Email, Messaging and Collaboration Platforms

Day 5: Case Work and the Records Management Programme Plan

• Merger Case Study: Consolidating Two Retention Schedules
• Audit Finding Case Study: Missing Records and Unauthorised Destruction
• Records Programme Gap Analysis for an Own Organisation
• Records Management Programme Plan Drafting
• Peer Challenge Panel and Plan Defence

Skills You Will Gain

• Recordkeeping Requirements Analysis
• Business Classification Design
• Records Appraisal
• Retention Scheduling
• Defensible Disposal
• Legal Hold Management
• Records Risk Assessment
• Records Programme Planning

Why Attend This Course

• Return to work with a Records Management Programme Plan, including a draft retention schedule, ready for sponsor approval
• Answer auditors, regulators and litigants with evidence of how records are kept and why they were destroyed
• Reduce storage costs and search time by disposing of records that no longer need to be kept
• Compare recordkeeping practice with managers from other sectors and countries

Conclusion

Records management protects an organisation's evidence, memory and accountability only when it is run as a managed programme rather than a filing task. The course moves from recordkeeping requirements and maturity, through the international standards for records controls and management systems, to classification, retention, access and storage, and then to the disposal, legal hold and risk questions that test a programme. The final day turns this into a Records Management Programme Plan that participants take to their sponsor.