An investigation into the barriers and issues experienced by trainers when establishing and undertaking information management training programmes

Abstract

Training is an integral factor of information management. Employees must be competent in their abilities to create and maintain the information they produce on a day to day basis. Where training programmes exist it is important to understand what it is that makes the training more or less successful. At present local government authorities and training are both under researched areas in relation to information management. Local government authorities must adhere to the requirements of the Public Record Act 2005 and, therefore, must provide training. This research investigated the barriers and issues experienced by information management professionals within local government authorities when developing and implementing training programmes for other employees within their organisation. A survey questionnaire was sent to selected local government authorities in order to ascertain the barriers, issues, and challenges experienced. The questions were split into six categories and the findings into three; the people problem, resources, and successes. Organisational and information culture were found to be both barriers and enablers in regards to success. Resourcing, while an important factor, was identified as less of an issue than work environment/cultural issues. As an under researched topic further research is still needed into how to overcome barriers and develop successful training programmes.