Records Management Tips Your Business Should be Practicing

Records Management Tips

It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and you wake up from a deep sleep with one thing on your mind….am I properly managing my company’s records? Okay, that may not be what keeps you up at night but here at Williams, it is.

Making sure your business is managing its records to keep up with compliance requirements and make your business more efficient is what we care about. Here are some records management tips that your business should be practicing now:

Sort and Index Documents

This is the start of making sure your documents are properly managed. It is time consuming but vital for your records management. Classifying these documents should align with what would best support your business and daily activity. Beginning with a broader category and then creating sub folders within that category will provide your business with a good start. The process can seem a long and arduous task, but a records management specialist like Williams is always here to index and provide a tailored filing system.

Find the Right Storage Solution

Let’s face it, keeping files stored within your office is less than ideal. While you want your document storage to be secure and easy to access, often times within an office setting, it is the exact opposite. Anyone within the office usually has access, and if you are not constantly organizing files correctly it can quickly become a big mess.

Where you store your records has a direct impact on your ability to manage them efficiently. A Records Storage Center eliminates the headaches associated with records management and allows you to focus on what is most important to running your business. Barcoding and an online database allow your business to view, sort and decide just which files may need to be destroyed and which should be retained. Your business will have full insight into which files are nearing the end of their data lifecyle and should be securely destroyed.

Implement a Shredding Policy

Records Management is more than just securely storing your vital information. The final disposition of that information should include a shredding policy that is most importantly secure, but also simple and efficient. Don’t forget that the policy should encompass not just physical documents, but any electronic devices or drives that have been used to store information. Utilizing a NAID AAA Certified company is the only way to ensure your information is being destroyed securely and in accordance with state regulations and laws on privacy.

Make File Retrieval Efficient

Having one of your employees search for a file or worse yet, drive to a storage unit to find a file that may or may not be there, is extremely time consuming and inefficient. With a Records Management provider, certified and bonded drivers can bring files to your desk within a timeframe that works best for you.

In addition, Scan on Demand is a solution that enables your company to store its physical records securely at a 24/7 monitored Records Center, and request files as needed to be scanned, digitized, and sent over to your business within a requested timeframe. The process is as simple as requesting which document is needed; then it is retrieved, prepped, scanned, indexed, and delivered.

Have a Business Continuity Plan

Just as important as all of these tips is making sure you have access to your business information should the worst happen. A business continuity plan includes emergency communication that supports employee roles and responsibilities and makes sure your data is backed up and stored offsite. Communicating this plan with your employees is integral to ensure everyone knows what to do and where to go should a disaster strike.

 

Implementing these tips into your business will help get you on the right path to properly managing your records. Contact Williams to learn more about how one of our certified experts can increase security and efficiency for your vital business information. Contact us @ 888.920.4549 or chat with us directly @ www.williamsdatamanagement.com.