OUTLINE FOR TALK ON CIA RECORDS MANAGMENT POLICIES SUPPORT SERVICES COURSE FOR CAREER TRAINEES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70-00211R000500050008-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 14, 2005
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: April 29, 1966
• Content Type: OUTLINE

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Outline For Talk on CIA Records Management Policies
Support Services Course For Career Trainees
8:30 A. M. 29 April 1966 - Room 401 Glebe
This is a real pleasure to meet with you this morning. This is the
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third Support Service Course For Career Trainees that I have been invited
to participate in and I am most grateful to your Chief Instructor,
for these invitations.
r,
The subject of my discussion with you this morning, Records Management
or Paperwork Management, is probably the most unromantic one in the world.
It has little glamour and practically no sophistication. It is one which
seldom produces a good story. However, here is one that is appropriate to
our topic today ---
"A dedicated bureaucrat died and having been a model civil servant
he went directly to heaven. When he met St. Peter he was told to
report to the Logistics Supply Room to get his harp, his halo, his
wings and his robes. The BSO was a most efficient person, he must
I
have been from CIA and trained yA ; ere was no waiting, - the
correct sizes were in stock and the good bureaucrat was equipped
immediately. When he returned to St. Peter for his assignment he
told him how elated he was at the efficiency of the BSO and he said,
"I didn't have to fill out a requisition or sign a receipt. - This
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outside of your office?
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Today, we are concerned about how fast we can get information. High Speed
Computers are obsolete almost before they are completely installed; printing
presses grind out paper faster and faster. These are the days of glamour
gadgets and high cost hardware.
C A R D
Why Should You Be Interested in Records Management?
Despite this lack of sophistication in paperwork top management officials
in both industry and Government are greatly concerned about the cost of
creating and keeping the tremendous volumes of paper needed to conduct business
today. Here is what J. Paul Getty, the world's richest man, said recently -
"To my mind one of the really serious wrongs in American business today is the
penchant for wallowing in welters of paperwork. Some (Companies have literally
hundreds of people keeping records on each other and passing office memorandums
back and forth. Many times there appears to be more memo writers, filers, and
readers than productive workers. The cost of this over administration is
staggering, not only in salaries paid to paper shufflers, but in the general
glow-down effect it has on all operations".
Records have received a lot of attention since 1949 when the Hoover
Commis
flIVU sion first dealt with this subject - - the second Hoover Commission
/?s9-
report ncreased interest in records management. These reports focused attention
for the first time on the need for positive action to reduce the 4 Billion
Dollar annual cost of paperwork.
Positive action has been taken through the medium of paperwork management
techniques and by their use substantial economies in office management have
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made by many Federal agencies.
The Hoover Commission was responsible for the first legislation requiring
an over-all Federal records management program - the Federal Records Act of
1950 - PL 754.
More recently Congress has expressed its concern about the high cost of
Federal paperwork. Congressman Olsen of Montana has held extensive hearings
to find out why Federal Agencies require so many costly reports from business
concerns. He calls these requirements - the Federal Paperwork Jungle. The
April 15 issue of Time Magazine carried a timely article entitled "The Foolscap
Paradise" - this directs attention also to the excessive cost of paperwork.
President Johnson has requested the Cabinet to improve efficiency by
requiring less paperwork. Here is what the President told a Cabinet meeting
in December 1963 - "Cut out excessive paperwork - it breeds overstaffing." In
February 1965 the President issued a moratorium on the buying of new filing
cabinets. The moratorium has been successful and the President has extended
it indefinitely. $
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16,726 _forr, every four drawer
As a tax payer you are contributing 100 of your tax money for this
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G R A T H
The Volume of records in the Agency is increasing - last year total
>p `~
holdings increased 12%. DDS records increased 9% ~ 9/ in 196 51,11, The cost of
creating and keeping thep\amounts to
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The volume of paper per employe in the agency is 18 cubic feet - in the
DDS area it is 11 cubic feet.In contrast, the average is 2.6 for the entire
Government and 3 for industry.
C H A R T
What Is Records Management?
Basically, it is a management improvement technique. It is a specialized
profession concerned with paperwork problems and practices.
It is not concerned with bits and pieces of paper and limited to filing
or destruction. Instead we pay attention to the entire life cycle of paper
from creation to cremation.
Creation - Forms-Reports-Correspondence
Use - Equipment-Systems-Supplies
Disposition Inventories - Schedules-Recorcb Center
Records Management is emerging as a recognized profession and now there
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are 3 professional societies - ARMA - AREA - SAA. Industry depends on the
professional records manager to solve paperwork problems.
First - To save manpower.- I estimate that we require ople in the agen T
just to file and keep the paper we hold. If we eliminate unneeded paper we
Why Do We Need Records Management?
C H A R T
ee
can find what we want in our files easier, quicker and with less manpower.
Second - To Save Space.- I estimate that records absorb 350% of our useable
space, about X00,000 sq. ft.
Third - To Control Growth - We create about 200 million pieces of paper every
year and we collect a lot - last year over 18 million pieces.
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Fourth - To Comply With the Law - Federal Records Act of 1950.
Fifth - To Protect Important Records - Those we cannot afford to lose by
natural disaster or enemy act ion. I
Authority - Who Is Responsible For Records Management?
The 81st Congress enacted P.L. 754 - The Federal Records Act
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The Heads of Agencies are required by this Public Law to establish and maintain
active records management programs.
The Administrator of GSA issues guides, standards and regulations - operates
16 Federal Records Centers and the National Archives.
Director of CIA responsible for establishing and maintaining a program - General
Counsel's opinion.
Our Program -F---k Decentralized. Each DD - Office Head. STAT
CIA Records Officer - guides, standards, advice, coordination.
Now let's look at each element of Records Management and see how the techniques
they provide can help to improve efficiency.
C H A R T
Forms create a lot of paper - last year-53 million pieces from official
forms. We spent al-most--300 ,thousand dollars last year to print our official
forms. This is a sizeable abount but it is only a fraction - 1 /20th of the
cost of processing them - filling them out, filing them and keeping them. So our
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bill for forms last year was Vs, million rather than 4% thousand.
Our staff is concerned with such things as good design, the correct size
stud the proper paper for forms Here Ad some illustrations - Design - Travel
Order; Color of Paper - Cover Sheet for DDP.
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The Agency has official forms. These concern almost every kind
of function and activity imaginable, But for every official one there are at
least 10 unofficial or "boot leg" ones.
TiW forms surveys we do produce excellent results by eliminating obsolete
and bootleg forms. Farsave storage space and improve over-all efficiency.
Procedural improvements are the best products however of our surveys.
Here is a good example - Hazel's O/P Project.-
Forms i1aif'a ement saves money.
759,000:
C H A R T
REPORTS MANAGEMENT - The objectives are the same as for forms. Better
procedures and less paper.
Last year reports created 12 million pieces of paper at a cost of about
30 million dollars.
VMPI,
Our efforts have been limited to one survey in 1956 because of lack of
professional talent. This one survey produced savings of
25,000 and proved
that this program pays dividends. But operating offices must now carry on a
do-it-yourself program and Commo and Office of Logistics are doing this.
Its, too easy to get reports these days from computers. The-produce 100
feet of paper per day as contrasted to an inch a day by typewriter.
The Office of Training has done something aboutfts/,, They changed the
reports of external training
routing on 21 xYzp_vYtxzaaxt-rm? m?mg and eliminated 3 pieces of paper for every
report prepared. This elatively fninor procedural change eliminates the filing
and keeping of 22 thousand pieces of paper every year -f the equivalent of 112
safes.. rrt rf'Z~` ~C..G'r r. P"
j ') - 4 Ul ~':? 1f Vie,
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C H A R T
CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT -
In this area we are concerned with a most important phase of our every
day work. Communication - here is where we can make a good impression or a
bad impression. The qaulity of our memorandums and letters, the promptness
of our response and the general appearance of our correspondence are essential
to good public relations and a favorable public image.
to head up a Government wide program to improve the quality of communications.
A -s-te-gyring committee in CIA consisting of I
program is underway.
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and me h1(0 been appointedand a
Standard practices in correspondence are provided in the Handbook issued
in 1954. It has been rewritten and is being coordinated.
the cosh last year 8 million pieces - 12 million dollars - this is primarily
memorandums and letters. When we add cables - about 17 million copies - and
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dispatches, another million copies - you can see that this is an area that
requires a tion.
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We are making some progress by using short cuts in preparing correspondence.
For many years letterex has helped by eliminating the assembling of carbons
and papertaad form letters are being used to real good advantage by Logistics,
the Office of Personnel and the Library. Form letters can be prepared for
correspondnece.
3.50 for dictated and indivEdually typed
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There are certain standards that all form letters should meet. When a form
letter falls below these standards you get poorer quality and higher cost. When it
,rises above them you get a quality or savings bonus for exceptional performance.
The standards suggested below are not hard to live up to. They may not in all
instances be. suitable for the form letters with which you are concerned, but they
will guide you in developing your own.
WHEN SHOULD YOU USE A FORM LETTER?
There are two tests to be made in deciding whether to use a printed letter. One
test is for appropriateness; the other is for economy.
An inappropriate form letter
one that should not be printed - may
result in damaged public relations.
And obviously there is no advantage
in printing a letter that can be typed
at the same or at little additional
cost.
The common standard shown
here for appropriateness may be
summed up in two words: good taste.
For example, personal letters ex-
pressing appreciation are certainly
in better taste when typed. And some
Government agencies take a firm
stand against printing letters that
carry bad news of any kind.
An agency may have its own
reasons for not printing letters on
certain subjects. But routine in-
formational and business letters can
be printed by any agency without
sacrificing good taste.
The common standard for measuring economy is based on a comparison of cur-
rent typing and duplicating costs. In following the suggested formula, count only
the lines in the body of the letter, but count partial lines as whole ones.
Fill-ins that must be typed or written in longhand in the body of a form letter
add to the letter's cost. The monthly usage figures in the formula must,therefore,.
be increased when long fill-ins are required.
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DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
W'ANNINOTON, D. C.
:YBUIlBiiiEiE:
or his family. The President asks us to answer the requests
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for financial
ass
st n
~ayuipmcaao, aanu otner
health. and welfare of people.
No Federal funds are ava'
rectly to people. The assistant_
grams, and the State deciders wh
In order that help may be more
ment shares in the cost of :fina
groups of needy people--the age
dren, and the seriously disable
within the other groups and prof
the help you seek, they would kek
agencies in your community whicL
May I say that we are sor-
personal and hopeful reply.
PA-L522
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Figure 3. THE PLAIN FORM LETTER
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A printed dot (. ) makes an inconspicuous
-marking for the place to begin the address.
dot s
pAill
~Vith a completely typed salutation the
letter takes on a more personal appearance.
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tremendous. Logistics, Contacts, Security, NPIC and FBIS are some of the
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