Every business or program must address well-defined objectives which will add value, either directly to the bottom line or toward the achievement of the organization’s goals and objectives. Records management (RM) objectives usually fall into one of three categories:
- Service (effective and efficient),
- Profit (or cost-avoidance), and
- Social (moral, ethical and legal) responsibility.
Records management programs must manage organizational information so that it is timely, accurate, complete, cost-effective, accessible and useable, finally, disposed of at the appropriate time. Better information, at the right time, makes better business.
Records management programs are not generally an organization’s primary business, and even though RM programs don’t usually generate income, the following are the most important reasons to set up a good records management program in your office anyway. (The EPA adapted this article from Ten Business Reasons for Records Management in Information and Records Management: Document-based Information Systems, Robek, Brown, Stephens, 1995. Storr’s minor additions and edits appear below.)
- Stop Hoarding Records Despite decades of using various non-paper storage media, the amount of paper in our offices continues to escalate. An effective records management program addresses both creation control (limits the generation of records or copies not required to operate the business) and records retention (a systematic schedule for off-site storing, then destroying useless records or retiring inactive records), thus stabilizing the growth of records in all formats. Off-site storage of records will still grow approximately 5% per year, even with a plan in place.
- Reduce Operating Costs Recordkeeping requires fixed asset dollars for filing equipment, rent for space in offices, and staffing to maintain an organized filing system (or to search for lost records when there is no organized system). It costs a lot less per linear foot of records to store inactive records in Storr’s Records Center versus in your office. There is a good opportunity to deliver cost savings in space and equipment, and an opportunity to utilize staff more productively – just by implementing a records management program. Usually, in an office that doesn’t have a records program, 30-50% of the files could be stored off-site.
- More Efficient, More Productive Staff Time spent searching for missing or misfiled records is non-productive. A good records management program can help any organization leverage technology systems so you can more efficiently retrieve information, with corresponding improvements in office efficiency and productivity. Storr leverages Total Recal, a web-based system with an effective index which can facilitate retrieval and deliver information to users as quickly as they need it.
- Embrace New Records Management Technologies A good records management program provides an organization with the capability to assimilate new technologies and take advantage of their many benefits. Investments in new computer systems don’t solve filing problems unless current manual recordkeeping systems are analyzed (and occasionally, overhauled) before automation is applied.
- Comply with Government Regulation In terms of recordkeeping requirements, the United States is the most heavily regulated country in the world. These laws have created major compliance issues for medical professionals, businesses and government agencies since the applicable laws can be difficult to locate, interpret and apply. The best defense for your organization is by operating a good records management program which includes regulatory compliance procedures, making sure you consult with your legal advisors periodically. Failure to comply with laws and regulations could result in severe fines, penalties or other legal consequences.
- “I’ll Sue You!” Business organizations implement records management programs in order to reduce the risks associated with litigation and potential penalties. A consistently records management schedule can reduce the liabilities associated with document disposal by providing for their systematic and certified disposal as a normal business operation – not an afterthought.
- Vital or Permanent Record Preservation It’s a fact: disasters will happen. Every organization is susceptable to catastrophic loss. Every family, every organization, every company, every agency - everyone needs a comprehensive program for protecting vital records and information. As part of your records management program, your vital records system needs to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of your most important records. Create your own schedule and plan to protect those records. (See Vault Storage, http://www.storrrecords.com/vault-storage/)
- Better Data In, Better Decision Out In today’s business environment, the one holding the relevant data first often wins, either by making the decision ahead of the competition, or by making a better, more informed decision. A records management program can help ensure that managers and executives have the information they need when they need it. By implementing an enterprise-wide file organization, including indexing and retrieval capability, you can access the information you need to make faster, better decisions – and beat your competition
- Corporate Memory – not Employee Memory Every business day, your staff creates paper or electronic records which could become background data for future management decisions and planning. If this knowledge exists only in unorganized paper files, disconnected databases or in the human memory banks of your employees, you run the risk of permanent loss. Guard against that with a proactive plan.
- It’s an Image Thing Think about your staff’s work environment. If there are files and boxes without organization, or a plan to move them out of the way of productive work, the resultant disorganization creates a poor working environment. The perceptions of customers as well as the morale of your staff may be among the best reasons to establish a good records management program.
Storr Records Management can help you create a custom schedule for the pickup, storage, and certificated document destruction of your paper and data storage media. With Records Centers in Raleigh, Greensboro, Tampa, and Orlando, trust Storr Records to help you exectute your plan.
(Based on an article by the Ten Business Reasons for Records Management in Information and Records Management: Document-based Information Systems, Robek, Brown, Stephens, 1995.)