Record Retention Program Services
Your organization is producing 60% more raw information this year than last—application of that growth curve is daunting (both because it costs money to save data, and it becomes increasingly hard to sort the wheat from the chaff). Your Record Retention program already addresses two concerns: the ever-increasing struggle to manage important operational data (to find it when you need it), and the risks associated with informally produced e-records like e-mail (a frequent source of headache in litigation). The courts are showing increasing sophistication in e-discovery orders (as shown by the December 2006 change in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure), but their true understanding of the underlying complexities and technologies is relatively thin.
- assess the record-types you need for your operations
- determine applicable laws and retention periods
- team with your IT managers to develop background retention/retirement processes (that impose as little operational burden on your employees as possible)
- make sure that your Retention Program comports with your peers’ practices (and is neither too ambitious nor too elementary)
- implement litigation “hold” orders, and respond efficiently to discovery requests
- assure that e-records can be admitted in court, through effective foundational testimony addressing business-records, authenticity, chain of custody, and best-evidence issues
- develop training programs for senior managers, IT personnel, and rank-and-file employees, on the careful creation of e-records, accompanying metadata, and record handling procedures
Well executed Record Retention programs operate synergistically with Knowledge Management programs—you’re able to find what you need, when you need it.