Dealing with disciplinary records
All businesses generate a large amount of both paper and digital records. They accumulate quickly – and it’s imperative that they are be stored somewhere safe. To ensure the accessibility and security of your company’s records, you must decide which documents you need in which format.
An efficient records management plan is required from the moment a file – or series of files – is created. It specifies what the files are used for, who has access to them, how and where they are stored, the required length of retention and, ultimately, how they are destroyed.
Here are five crucial records management best practices.
1. Control storage and access
To ensure that digital and paper files are stored securely, you need to control who has access to them. When it comes to managing your records according to best practices, how and where the documents are stored, is as important as who has access to them.
If, for example, you are planning to store boxes of documents in your office, you must consider whether you have the requisite space – or whether it would be more effective to outsource your storage needs to a records management company. Or, if you have hundreds of files that don’t need to be stored in physical form, consider whether you have the in-house resources and document scanning equipment to convert them to a digital format.
Once you’ve determined your best methods of storage, you need to put a policy in place that clearly states how files can be retrieved and by whom. This plan needs to pay special attention to portable storage devices that are easily lost, stolen or misused. Authorised users need to know exactly how to take care of company files.
2. Be wary of retention and disposal procedures
Every record will have its own lifespan. It’s necessary to ensure that all retention and disposal schedules are correctly applied to each type of record generated in each department. To make this as simple as possible, draw up a list of all the various records your business works with and set a clear process for each type.
This should include which records need to be retained; the minimum period of retention as defined by UK law; the medium in which they are retained; the review process and frequency of review; how they should be destroyed; and who is responsible for a particular set of records.
3. Record, track and monitor
Records move around all the time: in and out of storage and between colleagues and departments. Without a comprehensive cataloguing and monitoring system in place, it’s easy for files to fall between the cracks and disappear.
To prevent this, implement a system which allows you to monitor all movement of records. One way to keep track is to use barcoding systems. Each time an archived box or file is removed, its barcode is scanned and should someone else need the file, they can quite literally track it down. If you’re working with a records management provider, this process is a lot simpler.
4. Destroy and/or delete
When records do come to the end of their lifecycle, they need to be destroyed securely.
Put a policy in place for the destruction of confidential and personal records that meets all legal requirements for each type of document. This should also include a general ‘good housekeeping’ plan for the destruction of non-critical or non-sensitive information to free up office and digital storage space.
The policy should also cover the method of destruction per type of document. Destroying a paper file, for example, is not the same as destroying a CD or USB. What’s more, shredding has to be done correctly – or you may inadvertently expose confidential information.
5. Outsource your records management
Storing paper and digital records securely and with 100% compliance is not as simple as it may sound. It’s far easier to outsource your document storage needs to a provider whose business it is to manage records. This saves your company time and money that would otherwise be spent on administrative tasks. Work with true experts who can help you define a clear records management strategy – and enable you to get on with business.
Speak to one our experts today to see how we can help your business with all its records management needs.
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