2009 14 Dec

The Right Records Management System.

Someone once asked how I could stay in business during the massive power outage of 2003. The answer was simple, I didn’t. As a consultant this was not a dangerous hit. After all, my clients were busy in an effort to recover so they did not want to see me. However, the thought came to mind. How did my clients recover?

If there is one thing that is consistent with all organizations it is the buildup of records of one type or another. For years the problem was how to store the huge amounts of paper records that build up over time. Usually we could see the piles growing and found it more simple to concentrate on some sort of storage and retrieval system. Though, in today’s environment our records are predominantly in electronic format. This change in format decreases the amount of physical space necessary for storage. However, it also tends to lead to the concept of “out of sight, out of mind” which leads us to abandon records management.

Just what do we imply by records management? According to David Mielke, of FileBank Professional Services, records management is:

“the planning, promoting, organizing and controlling concerned with respect to your business records from creation right through to their obliteration “. Given this definition, the task without doubt takes on the meaning it deserves. Actually, according to Mielke, “Regardless of your business type or size, maintaining control of all documents within the organization is crucial as it will let you to quickly and cost-effectively access and exchange information with the internal and external customers of your organization.”

But what is a record anyhow. ARMA International (previously known as the Association of Records Managers and Administrators), defines a record the following way :

“… recorded data that supports the activity of the business or organization that created it…”
Left unattended, these records may result into service delays, cost increase, or compliance issues. It is critical that you primarily define if a document should be kept or not.

For every of your records consider these four questions:

1. Does the record relate to a business process?
2. Does the record define a mission-critical business decision?
3. Does the record provide evidence as to why a business decision was made?
4. Does the record provide for a legal, fiscal, audit or tax purpose?

If you’re hesitant of the answers to those questions, your company’s compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements could be at risk, for the very immediate example. Contracts concluded but not documented, alterations made to legal documents but not tracked or saved in a centralized document management system are just two of the problems that happen when records remain unmanaged.

Further on, when the answer to any of these questions is YES, then there is a requirement to include the document in your record management process. If the answer to all questions be NO, there is a well chance that the record can be destroyed after use. This simple investigation in itself may considerably reduce your storage needs, saving your both space and money for the document management system. Another instance of how effective document management system can improve your bottom line.