How to use this guide
This is general operational guidance for New Zealand SMEs. Adapt it to the business and the decisions involved. It is not a complete compliance checklist, legal opinion or a substitute for advice about a particular situation. Examples are illustrative and do not describe client engagements or promised outcomes.
What belongs in the inventory?
Group material by the business purpose it serves: role clarity, induction, manager discussions, learning, payroll inputs, changes and handovers. Record where each item lives and who treats it as the current source. Avoid moving every file into a new platform before understanding how the information is used. A migration can otherwise reproduce the same uncertainty in a different place.
Distinguish an approved master, a working draft, a signed or issued record, and a later note explaining a correction. These states answer different questions. Preserve originals and show the history of amendments rather than silently replacing evidence of what was actually communicated. Restrict access to personal information and use the minimum sample needed for the review.
How should gaps be assessed?
Ask whether a person who was not involved can understand the event from the record: what happened, when, who supplied the information and what was decided. Mark uncertainty instead of filling gaps from memory. If records conflict, retain both versions and describe the difference. The review should help a responsible manager or adviser assess the issue, rather than choose a convenient account.
- Choose an owner and an authorised review scope, including the categories of information that may be accessed.
- Sample the records, log gaps and identify which questions need a specialist rather than a new template.
- Agree version, access and review arrangements, then test them on an ordinary task.
A working structure
Document inventory fields
- Record category and business purpose
- Owner and current source location
- Version, date and status: draft, approved or issued
- Access restrictions and permitted use
- Gap, conflict or question requiring review
- Action, approver and evidence of completion
Illustrative example
Illustrative example: several managers have edited a role template without recording the changes. The business first identifies which versions were actually issued, preserves those files and separates them from a new working master. A change log then explains who can update the master and how future versions are approved. Historical questions are referred for appropriate review instead of being obscured by a clean-looking replacement document.
Questions about this guide
Is this a checklist of every legally required record?
No. This guide concerns organisation and review. Check Employment New Zealand’s current record-keeping guidance and obtain advice about the obligations relevant to the particular business and records.
Should old documents simply be deleted?
Do not use an operational tidy-up as a deletion decision. Confirm applicable retention needs, any dispute or preservation requirement, and authorised access before changing or disposing of records.
Official sources and further guidance
These primary sources provide additional context. The operational suggestions and working outlines above are YJ Consulting’s general guidance; the links do not establish that an authority has endorsed this guide.
When YJ Consulting can help
YJ Consulting can help an Auckland or New Zealand SME map the current practice, organise the relevant records and turn the findings into an agreed improvement plan. The engagement starts by confirming the question, responsible adviser, information available and useful outputs. Legal, payroll, financial or other specialist questions should be identified and assigned separately.
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