Directors must address records management

Corporate transparency is the order of the day, and good records management supports efficiency and accountability by creating, managing and retaining meaningful, accurate, reliable, accessible and durable evidence of activities and decisions, as well as business contracts and intellectual capital. However, there are risks associated with the task.

In recent years the spread of electronic systems has accelerated the move towards ad hoc or sub-standard record management, with the adoption of word processing, e-mail and multimedia applications magnifying the issue.

There are risks associated with a slack or non-existent records management policy. Organisations are appointing chief risk officers in response to recent business developments, including scandals, lawsuits and new regulations. Solid processes, systems and ensuring that records are safely stored off-site are paramount to ensuring their continued availability and easy, low-cost and rapid access.

However, common issues in document storage risk management are:

* Misfiled or lost documents
* Human error
* Operating system or application software bugs
* Hardware failure
* Fire, smoke or water damage
* Power outages
* Employee theft or fraud
* Man-made disasters such as sabotage, hacking or viruses
* Natural disasters such as earthquakes or hurricanes

Technology is not the only reason behind records management risk, but it is one effective method of countering it. However, organisations must ensure a sound set of principles around solid records management practices underpin the solution.

Managing the length of time an organisation needs to keep a record is critical.

Paul Mullon, Marketing director, Metrofile

Managing the length of time an organisation needs to keep a record is critical. Keeping records for too long means the company is paying additional and unnecessary storage costs. Lengthened storage periods also threaten to encrypt electronic records in obsolete technologies. But how long is too long?

Gartner defines long-term in this field as being 10 years or more. In some instances, information with historical value will need to be retained for hundreds of years while in others organisations will only keep information for a few years.

However, with the legal uncertainty surrounding the term of retention of records in a highly regulated business environment, companies will be keeping many records for the lifetime of a customer or the lifetime of the organisation.

The point is that the business must design and deploy a records retention policy that clearly declares when which documents can and should be destroyed and which ones must be retained.

Part of that process is understanding retrieval frequency and deploying documents to the right media type. Having infrequently accessed documents stored on magnetic disk is a costly option. Storing documents on microfiche or optical media could be a far more beneficial solution.

Technology eventually becomes obsolete, which means records stored on some technology could be rendered inaccessible. Storage technology longevity could be increased through standardisation, little of which currently exists in the storage field, although organisations are working on it.

A new project initiated by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) entails bringing together two other, separate pre-existing ISO initiatives, one which encompasses document management applications and another which deals with records management.

What exist are guidelines provided by Prism and ARMA International, which aim to promote records and information management professionalism through education, networking and advocacy.

Both ARMA and Prism International are trade associations which help potential users examine key factors in their decision-making process, highlighting important issues and recommending questions they may want to ask when considering an off-site information management company.

These organisations are committed to assuring quality across the industry, but do not advocate specific standards regarding information management, or require its members to provide specific services.

The results of a structured approach to records management are the following benefits:

* Conduct business in an orderly, efficient and accountable manner.
* Deliver services in a consistent and equitable manner.
* Support and document policy formation and managerial decision-making.
* Provide consistency, continuity and productivity in management and administration.
* Facilitate effective performance throughout the organisation.
* Provide continuity during and after disasters.
* Meet legislative and regulatory requirements including archival, audit and oversight activities.
* Provide protection and support in legal proceedings, including managing risks associated with evidence of organisational activity.
* Protect organisational interests and employee, clients and present and future stakeholder rights.
* Support and document current and future research and development activities, developments and achievements, as well as historical research, provide evidence of business, personal and cultural activity.
* Establish business, personal and cultural identity.
* Maintain corporate, personal or collective memory.

The design and delivery of a successful records management programme must be based on sound principles and prudent directors will ensure demonstrable compliance and reduce the risks associated with records management.