Importance of Record Management

To some, managing records represents one of the most boring and onerous business functions that anyone could possibly undertake within an organization. Of course, most people don’t even understand what records management is — making it easy to malign an activity that is so misunderstood.

Indeed records management crosses numerous disciplines. Did you know…

• That categorization and indexing are two elements that are critical to the success of a records management program? Sounds a little like knowledge management.

• That vital records preservation is one of the key steps in developing a disaster recovery plan? Sounds like infrastructure management.

• That by ignoring records management policies employees and their companies can potentially end up facing criminal penalties? Sounds like a legal profession.

• What led to Arthur Andersen’s downfall? Shredding – inappropriate shredding – shredding of records that should have been retained according to the policies of both Andersen and Enron.

Despite what people may say, what you don’t know can hurt you and, in the case of records management, what you choose to ignore can cripple you and your organization.

Recent dramatic headlines have made it quite apparent that records management (or the lack thereof) is an essential activity to ascertain and confirm the credibility of many business transactions and government activities. The proliferation of electronic documents (especially e-mails) and the potential litigation exposure that they cause are becoming the bane of legal advisers and records managers in many corporations and government agencies. Microsoft, Texaco and other Fortune 500 companies have taken hits from “runaway” e-mails introduced as evidence in high stakes cases. READ MORE…