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Email Management Guidelines

8. Everyone in a federal government institution must understand his or her responsibility with respect to the management of email

Expected Outcome

In any given federal government institution, the following benchmarks will have been achieved:

• All federal government institution employees, including agents and contractors employed by the federal government institution, will understand their roles and their responsibilities with respect to email management.
• They will correctly apply information lifecycle management principles to the management of email information.
• They will ensure that email information is retained in the right storage medium and place and for the right length of time. They will follow the institution's rules of email etiquette.

8.1. Responsibilities of Users

To support email management effectively, users should know and understand pertinent provisions of legislation, regulations, standards, guidelines, policies, and procedures related to email, and should use and manage their email accordingly.

The information may be in the form of documents, training materials, coaching or formal training and may be available in a variety of media, or settings at the discretion of the institution. This information should be provided to users by their institution. If the information has not been provided, the user may ask that it be provided.

8.2. Responsibilities of network and/or system administrators

Network administrators should provide the technical infrastructure for email management, develop and execute backup and disaster recovery procedures, provide up-to date IT and Internet security, and control and monitor access to records and information holdings.

Network administrators should monitor the use of email to measure compliance with the Email Management Guidelines and policies and, when necessary, investigate suspected misuse of email.

Network administrators should create, maintain and preserve accurate and up-to-date documentation on the email system and information holdings. This documentation should be sufficient to provide proof of the authenticity and integrity of any email record or information provided as evidence in legal proceedings.

Network administrators should ensure that business-related email is not stored in an unauthorized repository.

8.3. Responsibilities of information management specialists

An IM specialist typically has broad responsibilities and is not focused exclusively on email management. However, the same broad responsibilities that apply to the management of other forms of information are generally applicable to the management of email.

8.4. Responsibilities of operational managers

Managers should identify the training needs of individual employees on the subject of email management and allocate time, within business hours, for employees to attend appropriate training.

Managers should monitor employee compliance with these Email Management Guidelines including arrival/departure and orientation/exit protocols, the proper classification and storage of records and information, and the application of appropriate retention periods.

Managers should ensure that employees have at their disposal any pertinent reference materials on the subject of email management, or that they know where and how to obtain such materials when needed.

8.5. Responsibilities of executives

Executives should set the strategic direction for email management and guide the development and adoption of email management policy for their institution.

An executive with the role of records custodian should ensure that email messages that are the subject of pending open records requests and/or litigation are not deleted.

Executives should provide sufficient funding for the institution email management programs and systems and for ensuring their compliance with policy, legislation, and these Email Management Guidelines and related recommendations,

Executives should ensure that appropriate email management training is developed and delivered to employees, that employee attendance is logged and kept as a record, and that training and reference materials are made available to employees in a variety of media.

Executives are responsible for ensuring that employees are provided with these Email Management Guidelines and related recommendations, and that receipt and understanding of these documents is acknowledged in writing, and kept as a record.

Executives should review the email management policies and procedures on a regular basis, to assess their effectiveness, to address concerns, and to implement improvements.

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