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MauricioPerry,CRM,ERMm OnTV,weseetheseriesHoarders,whichformostviewersisnotaneveryday experience.However,inthebusinessenvironment,manyorganizationsbehave exactlythatway.Becauseclassifyingdocumentsandgettingridofdatauselessto theorganizationrequiresacommitmentintimeandresources(humanand financial),thepathofleastresistanceistokeepeverything.Thattendencyis exacerbatedbythecontinualdeclineinthecostofdigitalstorage(moreaboutthis later).Thenetresultisasituationwherefindingaparticulardocumentorinthe caseoflitigationconductingediscovery,becomesanexerciseakintofindinga needleinahaystack.Thisdecisiontokeepeverythingisasirrationalasthe oppositeoneofdestroyeverything.

Hoarders:HowtoChangetheKeepEverythingAttitudeThats DrowningYourCompany

Sowhatisabalancedapproach?Thetimetested,legallyacceptedprocessofpre determinedretentionandeventualdispositionofrecords.Inasense,itisa preemptivecullingofnonrecords.Certainly,thisiseasiersaidthandonebothfrom theperspectiveofconvincingupperlevelmanagementandactuallyinstitutinga retentionprocess. Gettinghoarderstoseethelight Letsfirstaddresstheprocessofconvincingtheexecutives.Anyrecordsmanager intuitivelyknowsthatitiseasiertomanagethefewrelevantdocumentsiftheyare notcommingledwithmanyirrelevantones.ForITfolks,budgetconstraints, resourcesconstraints,competingprojects,andthelackofviewofthegreater picturemayalsocloudtheirjudgment.Itistruethatthesedays,harddrivestorage ischeaperthaneverbefore.Howeverthatfigurealonedoesnottakeintoaccount othersignificantcostslikeelectricity,refrigerationfordatacenters,costofco locations,backups,storageofbackuptapes,andofcourse,personneltohandlethe increasedvolumeofdataandalltheincrementalhardwareneeds. Theothergroupisthelawyersthemselves.Somehaveembracedthedigitalculture andfeelateasewiththelikesofTwitter.Othersstillasktheiradministrative assistantstoprinttheiremailbecausetheydonotfeelcomfortableusinga computer,letaloneasmartphone. Withallthesegroups,thetaskofconvincingreluctantkeepeverythingtypeswill fallonthosewhoalreadyseeabetterwayofconductingbusiness.Inanycase,the agreementandcommitmentofupperlevelmanagementisasinequanon requirementandshouldbecommunicatedthroughouttheorganization.

Togetbuyinfromanyexecutive,wemustspeaktheirlanguage:dollarsandcents. Howmuchoverheadcanbesavedbyprudentlyspendingondeploymentofrecords managementsoftware?Howmuchmoneywillbesavedbyspendinglesstime searchingforrecords,nottomentionbyactuallyfindingthem?Howmuchmoney canbesavedduringlitigationbyhavingasmallerandmorerelevantsetof documentstobereviewedbyhighlypricedlawyers? Insituationslikethis,lawyersarenaturalalliesoftherecordsmanager.The corporatecounselisinauniquepositiontoconvincethepowersthatbeofthe wisdomofawellthoughtoutrecordsmanagementsystem. Puttingaplaninplace Letssupposewehavethegreenlight,howeverreluctant,toinstitutearetention program.Wheredowestart?Westartbyunderstandingthelifecycleofarecord. Records,nomatterthemedium,arecreated,used,maintained,storedand, eventually,disposedof. Thefirststepinimplementinganeffectiveretentionpolicyistocreatearecords inventorytofindoutwhatkindsofelectronicandpaperrecordstheorganization has,iscurrentlycreating,orhascreatedinthepast.Thisshouldbedonedepartment bydepartmentinasystematicway. Onceweknowwhatrecordswehave,weneedtodeveloparecordsretention schedule.Thatis,wemustfindouthowlongweneedtokeeptherecordstocomply withstatutesandregulations(includingtax)atthefederal,stateandlocallevels. Specificstatutesoflimitationsmustbeconsidered.Organizationsconducting businessesinternationallymustreplicatethisstepforeachcountrytheydobusiness in.Oncethelegalaspectsarecovered,theparticularbusinessoftheorganization mustbeconsidered.Therefore,itisimportanttogatherinformationfromindustry groupstoseewhatisusualandcustomaryforthatparticularindustry.Finally,the actualusersoftherecordsmustbeaskedforhowlongtheyareusedtoidentifythe consequencesofnothavingthem. Atthispoint,itmustbeclarifiedthatarecordsretentionscheduledoesnot discriminatebymedium:itappliestopaper,aswellasWorddocuments,email,and physicalproducts. Compilingarecordsretentionscheduleformediumtolargeorganizationsisvery timeconsuming,soitisprudenttoengagespecializedconsultantsatthisstage.Asa ruleofthumb,aslongasthescheduleisinalignmentwithlegalrequirements,the shortertheretentionperiod,thebetter.Theretentionschedulemustbeapprovedat thehighestlevelsoftheorganizationandbythelegalcounsel. Here,aclearpictureoftherecordsretentionschedulebeginstoemerge,usuallyina tablethatstates,forexample,thatminutesoftheComplianceCommitteemustbe

keptforXyearsandthendisposedorthatexpensereceiptsmustbekeptforY yearsafterclosureoftaxyearandthendisposed. Recordsmanagersusuallyrefertodispositionratherthantodestructionbecause thereareseveralmethodsofgettingridofrecords:donatingtoaninstitutionlikea museumorlibrary,establishingacompanymuseum,andofcourse,destruction.Let itbeclear:destructionimpliessimultaneouslyrenderingunreadableallcopiesofa record,whetherpaper(e.g.byshredding)orelectronic(e.g.byoverwritingmultiple passesof0sand1s)inallrepositories(Cdrives,networkdrives,flashdrives,back uptapes,etc.) Prescribingamethodfordisposal TheprocessbywhichrecordsaredisposedmustbedescribedinaStandard OperatingProcedure,orSOP.Everythreetosixmonths,periodicdisposition campaignsforexpiredrecordsshouldbeconductedanddocumentedasaregular businessprocess.Destructionofrecordsmustbeexplicitlydocumentedthrougha signedanddatedCertificateofDestruction.Thiscertificatewillbeproof,incaseofa lawsuit,thatparticularrecordshavebeendestroyedintheregularcourseof business. Theguidingideaisthatdispositionmustbeanormalpartofthebusinessofthe organization.Itshouldnotbearbitraryorpromptedbyfearoflitigation.Theruleof thumbfororganizationsthathaveneverdisposedofanyrecordsisonethirdshould remainactive,onethirdshouldbesenttolongtermstorageandonethirdshould bedisposed. Onceweknowwhatneedstobekept,thenextstepistofiletherecordsina dedicatedrepository.Ideally,itwillbeasoftwareapplicationthatcomplieswithan appropriatestandard.TwoofthosestandardsaretheUSDepartmentofDefenses DoD5015.2andtheModelRequirementsfortheManagementofElectronicRecords (MoReq)publishedbytheEuropeanCommission.Therearemanycommercial softwarepackagesthathavefeaturestocomplywiththesestandards.Someofthese featuresrelatetorecordsholds,compilinglistsofcandidatesfordisposition, classificationaccordingtoapreestablishedtaxonomy(seebelow),searchesby metadatafields,securityroles,etc. Ofcourse,personnelshouldbetrainedandretrainedasnecessary,andthesystem shouldbeperiodicallyauditedforcompliance. TherecordscouldbekeptinashareddriveoraSharePointinstallation.Butwithout thededicatedfeaturesofspecializedsoftware,theprocessofkeepingthingsrunning smoothlywouldbemorelaborintensiveandmorepronetocostlyerrors. 4

Questioningthecloud Somesoftwarepackageskeeptherecordswithintheorganizationsnetwork(that is,behindthefirewall),butsomeoffertheserviceofkeepingtheminthecloud. Thatinitselfposesanothersetofquestions.Wherewilltherecordsbekept?Under whatjurisdiction?TheUS?India?China?Ifinaforeignjurisdiction,whatprivacy lawsapplytothem?Aretherecordsbackedup?Wherearethebackups?Whatwill happentotherecordsiftheprovidergoesbankrupt?Aretherecordskeptinan encryptedform?Aretheyencryptedattheserverfarmoraretheyalready encryptedwhilebeingtransmitted?Willtheyreallybedestroyedwhenexpired?All theserisksneedtobejudiciouslyweighedbytheorganizationbeforetrustingtheir recordstoanotherparty. Recordsneedtobefiledinanorganizedandlogicalmannerthatwillspeedtheir retrievalwhenneeded.Thisistruebothforpaperandelectronicrecords.Thereare severaltoolstoorganizetherecords:controlledvocabularies,thesauri,taxonomies, etc.Thesetoolshavesomecharacteristicsincommonandareofincreased complexity.Itisselfevidentthatifallpeopleinvolvedspeakthesamelanguage, communicationwouldbeeasier.Forexample,acontractisacontractbutitcanalso becalledanagreement,covenant,etc.Acontrolledvocabularywillallowcontracts tobeclassifiedonlyunderwhatevertermtheorganizationchoosestocallthem.A thesaurus,ontheotherhand,willalsocrossreferencethesynonymterms,anda taxonomywillprovidealogicalstructuretoclassifycontractsinanywaythatmakes sensetotheorganizationforinstance,byvendor,service,orgeographicalarea. Whenthemomentcomestoinstitutearecordshold,thelegalteamnotonlyneeds toinformtopexecutivesbutalsotherecordsmanagerandIT.Thesepeoplewill thenrelaythatinformationtothemostlikelycustodiansoftherecords. Standardscompliantrecordsmanagementsoftwarewillnotallowthedispositionof recordsthatareflaggedaspartofarecordshold.Sincethesenonrecordfilesare notenteredinthesoftwaredatabase,thesearchresultswillbefasterandmore meaningful.Thehoardinghabitwillbeathingofthepast. _______________ Abouttheauthor MauricioPerryisQualityAssuranceApplicationManageratCSL PlasmainSouthFlorida.Hehasmorethan16yearsofexperience managingrecordsandelectronicdataforvariousorganizations,and wasformerlyaboardmemberoftheWestPalmTreasureCoast ChapterofARMA.Previously,heworkedastheDocumentControl CoordinatorforNabi.HeisaCertifiedRecordsManager,aCertified QualityEngineer,anElectronicRecordsManagementmaster,andaLicensed Chemist.

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