CORRESPONDENCE RECORDING

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1746, 10 May 1913, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE RECORDING

, NEW. SYSTEM FOB GOVERNMENT OFFICES. . Tho system of corresipondence recording ill vogiifl in. Govornment Departments lias recently been scrutinised, under instructions iiom the Public Service Commissioner, by an. expert committeo consisting of Messrs. J. E, Broadfoot (chairman), Post and; .Telegraph Department; 11. Witherford, Treasury; ancl P. Verscliaffc'lt, Public Service Commissioner's staff. In the voliininous and highly technical report which they liavo produced, the oommittee state tllat they found. some ojght systems in vog««, including tho "series 6iibj6ct-card register and card indexes system," tfhieh they recommend for general adoption. "Owing to tho extra duties performed by the record clerks, in many Donart- , meats (usually the smaller ones),"" the report states, "it was difficult to ascertain tho actual time spout on record work, and in a formal investigation, such as we have made, it was found to bo impossible to estimate' in these casss the time and labour which would be saved by the adoption of the proposed system. "It was only in three Departments, where the . work is caitralised, t'hat we were able to approximately dccido the number of 'officers who could bo taken out of the record-room or whose duties could .bs carricd out equally well by junior officers. - "Further saving should result from the centralisation anil reorganisation in such largo Departments as' that of Agriculture and Education, while in smaller Departments the timoneoessary to record papers should ,be 'reduced—probably up to 50 pnr cent. In addition to this, there will be a considerable saving in stationery, etc 7 owing to the adoption of a standardisation. sy st; m. "There can bo no doubt that a great saying could also be effected in the .district offices, which in most .cases are in far greater need of reorganisation than are the htad offices in Wellington." It is estimated that tho approximate annual saving resulting from the adoption of the new system in seven of the larger Departments will be i£2ooo. Heads of Departments in the Public Service have been ndvisid of tho results of the inquiry in a circular, which states, inter alia, that tho system is in practical operation in tho Post and Telegraph Department. th» Department of Internal Affairs, ar.d tha Public Service Commissioner's office,' and may. be inspected, if desired. ; Tho Cbmmissionor asks the Departmental heads to consider tho recommendations made by tho committee, and to report as to how fur they can bo applied in each Department. The_ Comiuissionorioil'ers, if any further particulars bo desired, to arrango for an officer to furnish Mi em, and in cases where it may be considered tlmt the system is capable of application and suitable to tho requirements of a Department, to arrange for assistance to bo rendered in its introduction.