Records Management Strategies and Professional Performance of Administrative Staff

This study correlated the records management strategies of the administrative staff at Laguna State Polytechnic University with their professional performance. The descriptive quantitative research involved 59 administrative staff through the researcher-made survey questionnaire distributed through Google forms. The results of the study proved that there is a significant difference in the records management strategies when grouped according to age, gender, job tenure, and job position in the department. However, there was no significant difference among the professional performances when grouped according to age, gender, job tenure, and job position in the department. The study also confirmed that records management strategies have a positive significant relation to professional performance. The findings can help improve the university policies, procedures, and strategies in managing records. Therefore, it is recommended to provide training programs and improving implementation of evaluation and assessment to the administrative staff to expand their professional proficiencies.


Introduction
Any higher education institution, primarily universities and colleges, relies heavily on records. Through records, it recognizes and demonstrates orderly and systematic leadership and administration. Furthermore, records provide transparency to everyone who benefits from the institution, including individuals and stakeholders. Transparency of records only serves to demonstrate the institution's informative progress and equitable service delivery to its stakeholders. As cited by Adade et al. (2018), the academic service life of a student and his relationship with the university might not end, given that students may return to the university after graduation to request relevant academic documents, either to further their education or to obtain a referee note. Due to its strategic role in management, records are also one of the most important contributors to an organization's success. As a result, records, like any other business resource, must be managed systematically (Hashim et al., 2018).
For any organization to function effectively, record keeping, and good record management are also considered necessary (Ademola et al., 2012). While the study of Seniwoliba et al. (2017) stated that in higher education, record keeping, and management are essential, the importance of institutions cannot be overstated. The institution's long-term viability is heavily reliant on the availability of useful records. As a result, records play an important role in higher education management, from the institution's founding to the stages of development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and renewal of its programs, and these are vital pieces of information for the institution's continued survival. Moreover, according to Shonhe and Grand (2018), good records management improves the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery by reducing litigation risks, promoting accountability and transparency, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, and promoting informed decision-making.
Furthermore, every strategy implemented by institutions such as universities is vital for the order of records. Thus, university policies help ensure that the system of creating, modifying, and preserving records runs smoothly. Furthermore, Tagbotor et al. (2015) indicated that organizations and individuals commonly need to consult records of previous activities and decisions in the course of their business activities, for instance, to provide background information, establish the existence of a precedent, or substantiate or refute a claim or allegation.
In this case, records are essential to an organization's administrative function. Furthermore, Allison (2021) emphasized that registry staff must record, keep, and manage these records using good record management practices. Their ability to effectively manage these records will determine the quality of records/information the universities will have and the type of decision they will make, as well as their job performance.
However, Azameti and Adjei (2013) noted that in public tertiary institutions, the lack of adequate equipment to effectively manage electronic records is a major indictment of administration's commitment to record-keeping. Similarly, Allison and Otuza (2017) mentioned that many students have suffered as a result of poor records management in terms of credentials, exam scripts, and results at many universities. This was also the issue raised by Barde et al. (2019) that due to poor records organization, retrieving students' academic records was slow and time consuming. These challenges lead to difficulties in administering, developing, and supervising educational systems (Amanchukwu & Ololube, 2015), and delays in graduating students (Mabera, 2015).
With the changing workplace demographics due to the pandemic, university staffs faced adjustments in handling and processing records such as administrative, student, and personnel data. For instance, the Laguna State Polytechnic University experienced delays processing documents, especially now that institutions are adjusting to virtual or online record processing, due to the volume of students. As such, this study finds records management beneficial to the staff and organization as a whole. This study examined the perceived impact of records management strategies on administrative staff's professional performance. The study also explored the difference among records management strategies and professional performance in terms of age, gender, job tenure, and position in the department. It also analyzed the correlation between records management strategies and professional performance.

Importance of Records Management
According to Faulhaber (2019), records management is a must-have function for industries, charitable organizations, government agencies, civic groups, medical, commerce, financial, schools, colleges, and universities, and other types of entities that generate information that must be kept for a specific amount of time. As explained by Lush and Young (2019), keeping records straight is not only good business practice, but also necessary for running a productive, well-functioning company. The foundation for business intelligence and the ability to make data-driven decisions that affect the bottom line is having a proper record management system. Moreover, academic records management is an essential tool in the university administration's effective and efficient operations of students' records (Seniwoliba et al., 2017).
Effective records management is one of the strategies for ensuring quality assurance in higher education management (Joy & Agala, 2019). Records help with decision-making, documenting public operational processes, providing evidence of policies, decisions, transactions, and activities, and assisting the university in legal cases (Giba-Fosu, 2020). Thus, all universities must take responsibility for the proper storage and management of their records.
Clear, consistent, and organized records are essential for keeping compliance and avoiding future issues (Heaney, 2021). For example, developing effective office filing policies can make it easier to locate important documents. No matter how much documentation is completed on computers, there will always be a portion that must be printed and filed by hand.
Regardless of how detailed an office filing policy is, someone must be responsible for implementing it daily for it to be effective (Root, 2019). This is important as Yuee (2020) emphasized that losing important and sensitive data can have a significant impact on business operation. Backups ensure that at least one additional copy of important files can be easily restored if the originals are lost or damaged (Castagna, 2021). For instance, if computer crashes, a copy of document can be saved (Davis, 2021a).
The management of an institution's records determines its reliability and trustworthiness.
As such, records must be stored in a safe environment that ensures accessibility and protects records from environmental damage (Kaboyo, 2019). According to Nabwami (2018), a well-kept record can protect the institution in situations where the legal defense of their actions is required.
Documentation also ensures a level of professionalism and evidence of practice improvement.

Quality of Service through Records Management in HEIs
According to Hasbullah and Yusoff (2018), HEIs are more likely to strive for excellence in service quality because they are service-based organizations. Pamatmat et al. (2018) cited that service quality is a priced commodity and an equally important index for measuring client and stakeholder satisfaction. It is vital because it determines customer satisfaction (Davis, 2021b). As institution's success or failure is determined by its quality, loyal customer is a major determinant of an educational institution's long-term viability (Suparjo, 2018). Accordingly, student satisfaction has long been a key indicator of a university's ability to provide high-quality services. With the increased competition in higher education, which now extends beyond borders, universities and colleges were prompted to prioritize quality service, which is directly related to student satisfaction and dissatisfaction (Sarsale, 2020). Furthermore, as a continuous process, regular training sessions and paying attention to what customers have to say about their experience are expected (Sherman, 2019). While there are numerous reasons for a university's administrative service quality to be prioritized: a student's first exposure to the university is through admissions and registrar's services, so providing high-quality service to students contributes to a positive impression of the university. The administrative departments of the university, such as the registration office, financial office, and library, are more likely to be replicas of governmental or public-sector bureaucratic units than academic units (Nazarian et al., 2012).
The purpose of records is to help managers perform better (Okoli & Onuigbo, 2014).
Management functions are more likely to be simple and effective if records are kept and used properly. Office managers and administrators can also be more aware of their responsibilities and work more diligently toward the achievement of educational goals by keeping records.
Moreover, in the view of Alegbeleye and Chilaka (2019), records management described as a constantly changing profession. This has ramifications for the skills and competencies required for record management. All employees involved in the management of records, from creation to destruction or preservation, should be trained on a regular basis. While records management necessitates those records designers and creators be given some level of training in records management, records professionals require an upgrade of the skills they use on a daily basis.

Theoretical framework
This study is anchored on the Records Continuum Theory developed by Frank Upward, an academic theorist at Monash University in Australia, with help from colleagues Sue Mckemmish and Livia Lacovino in the 1990s. As shown in figure 1, an abstract model represents record-keeping-related activity as an ongoing movement in and through four dimensions and four axes.

Records Continuum Model by Frank Upward
Source: "Information Technology, Archives and archivist-An Interacting Trinity for Long-term Digital Preservation," by M. Runardotter, 2007, Lulea University of Technology, p. 20. Copyright 2007 According to Williams (2006), records continuum is a consistent and coherent regime of management processes that spans from the creation of records (and even before that, within the design of the recordkeeping system) to the preservation and use of records as repositories. It recognizes that the processes in the traditional records management and traditional archival domains are (independently) similar: creating or receiving records, classifying, appraising, controlling, maintaining, and making them accessible. It claims that these processes are so intertwined, overlapping, and integratedparticularly but not exclusively in the electronic environmentthat any distinction is counterproductive. The records continuum model divides the organizational recordkeeping process into four dimensionscreate, capture, organize, and pluralizeand four axesevidentiality, transactionality, recordkeeping, and identity. The continuum model portrays record-keepingbased activity as a continuous movement in and through four dimensions and four axes when presented as a theory.

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The axes represent the basic elements of demonstrating accountability: who did what (transactionality), what evidence exists (evidentiality), and how it can be retrieved from documents and archives (evidentiality) (record-keeping containers). Create, Capture, Organize (i.e., maintain up-to-date documents and archives), and Pluralize are four dimensions or layers that represent actions and documents created (i.e., make available as evidence of collective memory). As a result, the continuum approach views record-keeping as multidimensional, whereas the life-cycle approach views each stage as linear and distinct from the others. It implies that record keeping isn't time-based or sequential, and that record actions are fluid and possibly concurrent: a record can be accessed for both current and archival purposes at the same time, Moreover, the study was also anchored as Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed a SERVQUAL instrument to measure service quality, which has five dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, and tangibles. The dimensions are also used in the educational sector in a variety of settings. For instance, Ahmed et al. (2010) used this model to assess the quality of university service and how that service relates to their performance. In relation, the findings of Khodayari and Khodayari (2011) proved that the SERVQUAL model is more relevant than other service quality models. In the last few decades, SERVQUAL has grown in popularity and application. The majority of studies on higher education service quality have focused on students' perceptions of quality, with little attention paid to academic and administrative staff perspectives.

Methodology
The quantitative-descriptive research design was used as a method to draw out data that characterized the records management strategies and professional performance of the administrative staff. The study focused on the convenience sampling technique in gathering and distributing survey questionnaires to the participants at Laguna State Polytechnic University-San Pablo City Campus. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the study focused on selecting only one university campus to conduct the survey. Out of the 80 total population, 59 were retrieved. Participants of the study belong to age brackets of 20 to 30 (53%), 31 to 40 (32%), 41 to 50 (10%), and 51 to 60 (5%); gender classified as 73% female and 27% male.
The research instrument used was a researcher-made survey questionnaire converted into a Google form for online distribution. The instrument was content validated by few consultants and professors, including a subject matter expert and a statistician while the questionnaire's reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha. Furthermore, the questionnaire included sections for records management strategies and professional performance, both of which had 5 items and were rated on a 4-point Likert scale.
The survey questionnaire was distributed to the administrative staff via email and Facebook messenger application through the supervision and approval of the university's human resource office. The survey questionnaire includes informed consent, respondents' right to data access, and information confidentiality and privacy, all of which are in compliance with the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012, or R.A. 10173, to protect the information that respondents provide before the data is used in the study.
The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (Pearson r) was utilized to determine the relationship between variables and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used also to test the difference. strategies. In all indicators, filing documents were rated "strongly agree". It shows that filing as a strategy in records management was highly regarded by the administrative staff. Filing is one of the common and simplest ways of managing records, which enables easier processing of documents and records.

Findings and Discussion
Administrative staff agrees on backup and recovery of files with a mean of 3.44. It states that they can easily retrieve the documents or records they need, and that helped them to reduce time by preventing repetitions. It clearly states that administrative staff is using alternative mediums and devices for backup and storage of their files and records. Protecting against primary data loss or corruption requires storing a copy of data on a separate medium.
Furthermore, the mean perception of the respondents in terms of recording, tracking, and monitoring documents is 3.22, which shows that administrative staff considers it easy to identify the current record version they are using and its location, which helps them to process records faster.  Table 2 represents the means on the professional performance of the administrative staff.
It shows that quality of service got the highest mean of 3.67, which indicates that administrative staff focused on the quality of service as the primary measure of professional performance.
Meanwhile, timeliness got a mean of 3.65, interpreted as outstanding, which implies that timeliness has a significant effect on the professional performance of the administrative staff.
Ensuring timeliness of records, records issuance and records management ensure quality delivery of service provided to stakeholders.  Table 3 shows the test of difference on the records management strategies of the respondents as grouped according to age, which shows the computed f-ratio of 2.404 and significant level of .077 for filing documents and f-ratio of 1.697 and a significant level of .178 for recording, tracking, and monitoring documents. This shows that there is no significant difference in the filing documents and recording, tracking, and monitoring documents on the records management strategies. This means the filing documents and recording, tracking, and monitoring documents strategies of the administrative staff have no significant difference according to their age. Regardless of their age, the staff employs similar strategy. This contradicts the premise of Laguador et al. (2014) that employees over the age of 40 have a higher sense of commitment to their jobs because their level of expertise in performing various tasks on a daily basis is significantly higher than that of young and middle-aged employees.
Meanwhile, backup and recovery of files, the computed f-ratio is 3.820 and a significant level of .015. This shows that there is a significant difference in backup and recovery of files as records management strategy of the respondents as grouped according to age. According to age of the employees, the backup and recovery of files strategies significantly differ. Due to the rising and emerging technology, millennials and generation X employees have wider knowledge on backup and retrieval or recovery of records. This is the exact explanation of Borghans and Weel (2002) that lack of skills could hinder the digitalization of older workers' jobs, reducing the value of their existing skills. It turns out that older employees have fewer computer skills than younger employees.    with a significant level of .008. This indicates significant difference in the filing documents as records management strategy. This means the longer the staff or employees work in an organization, the more knowledge, and skills they develop in filing records.
The results coincide with the explanation of Ng and Sorensen (2008) that employees with more experience were more familiar with their job roles and may have attained a higher level of career achievement than newer employees, allowing them to perform much better on the job. In terms of documents filing, it seems clear that mastery of the task is evident. As documents filing is routinely, Brauchle and Azam (2004) in their study showed that employees who have worked for a long time have better performance. Table 6 represents the test of difference on the records management strategies of the respondents according to job position in the department, which shows the computed f-ratio of  The significant difference reflects the findings of Roushka (2012) and Koontz and O'Donnell (2008). Depending on the nature of the job, there are relevant differences in the manner of filing documents. For instance, computer-aided positions tend to have digital records than positions that are paper-based records. Similarly, Yossef and Rakha (2017) emphasized on the creativity of the administrative staffs. They may employ similar system but has different process of filing documents.  Table 7 shows the test of difference on the professional performance of the respondents as grouped according to age with the computed f-ratio of 1.941 and a significant level of .134 for quality of service while f-ratio of 1.618 and significant level of .196 for timeliness. This revealed no significant difference on the quality of service and timeliness as measure of the professional performance according to age. This means the quality of service and timeliness of the respondents are equally the same regardless of their age. This contradicts the findings of Kim and Kang (2016) that older workers have more positive attitudes toward their jobs, experience fewer negativity, and characterize their workplace more favorably than their younger peers. It also contradicts the studies of Inceoglu et al. (2012) and Kooij et al. (2011) that younger and older employees rate the attractiveness of certain job features differently.  and p-value of .372. These results show no significant difference on professional performance of the respondents regardless of their gender. Both genders have equally same professional performance in terms of quality of service and timeliness. This is similar to the results of Deligero and Laguador (2014) that male and female employees in the universities demonstrate the same level of work performance. Table 9 represents the test of difference on the professional performance of the respondents according to job tenure. For the quality of service, the computed f-ratio is .810 and a significant level of .524. For the timeliness, the computed f-ratio is .522 and a significant level of .720. These indicate no significant difference on the professional performance according to job tenure. Both new and old administrative staff have the same level of professional performance. This results contradicts the studies of Kalaw (2014) and Deligero and Laguador (2014) that longer work experience has relevance to the quality of the work performance. This study asserts that both the new and old employees similarly perform their tasks. This could be attributed to the similar process, procedures and policies.  Table 10 shows the test of difference on the professional performance of the respondents as grouped according to job position in the department, which shows the computed f-ratio of 3.105 and significant level of .034 for quality of service indicating a significant difference on the professional performance of the respondents. The results indicate that there is statistical difference in the professional performance of employees depending on their job position.
This coincides with the explanation of Moreno-Romero et al. (2016) that job position is related to productivity. Moreover, holding the same position and repeating the process is beneficial to many employees. As explained by Abuhashesh et al. (2019), repetitive and same regular work performance over the years improve the overall employee performance.
However, timeliness shows computed f-ratio of 1.385 and a significant level of .257 resulting to a no significant difference. The timeliness on the performance of the respondents is same for all the job positions.  Overall, it signifies that records management strategies have a positive significant relationship with the professional performance of the respondents. As a result, it indicates that records management strategies influenced the professional performance of an employee in the organization. The strategies indicated influenced the performance of an employee.
The results are parallel to the findings and explanations of Luyombya and Ndagire (2020), Tagbotor et al. (2015) and Okoli and Onuigbo (2014). The ability of the higher education institutions to develop and adopt records management procedures to assist staff in managing records determines the effectiveness of service delivery. It is relatively clear that records management contribute significantly to an employees' work performance and institutional performance. It supports the empirical evidence that records keeping in tertiary institutions improves management performance.

Conclusion
The relationship between records management strategies and professional performance of the 59 administrative staff at Laguna State Polytechnic University-San Pablo City Campus was examined using descriptive research. The researcher-designed questionnaire was utilized in assessing records management strategies on filing documents, backup, and recovery of files, and recording, tracking, and monitoring documents, and professional performance in terms of quality of service and timeliness. For data analysis, frequency count, weighted mean, ANOVA, and Pearsonr were employed.
Based on the results, the administrative staff agrees on filing documents, backup and recovery of files, and recording, tracking, and monitoring documents as the records management strategies. Meanwhile, the administrative staff rated themselves with outstanding professional performance in terms of quality of service and timeliness. The results further showed a significant difference in the records management strategies as to employees' age, gender, job tenure, and job position. However, no significant difference in the professional performance as to the employees' age, gender, job tenure, and job position. The results also confirmed that filing documents, backup and recovery of files, and recording, tracking, and monitoring documents highly influenced the professional performance of an employee in the organization or institution.
The findings contribute to the university and the administration in enhancing its records management policies, procedures, and strategies. To meet the needs and requirements of clients and stakeholders, it is recommended that service quality be sustained. Henceforth, providing ongoing training programs for administrative staff in regard to good records management and ongoing implementation of evaluation and assessment will be beneficial in terms of expanding and upholding their professional proficiencies in the institution.