What is records management?
Records management, also known as recordkeeping, is, as the name suggests, the process of organising and securing an organisation’s records. For businesses, this process should run for the company’s full life cycle, meaning the documents stored can reflect the history of the business. Records management is about more than simply having a filing cabinet, though. Successful records management should run on a process that includes the classification, creation, receipt and maintenance of records. Secure disposal or deletion of an organisation’s records should also be part of the recordkeeping process.
The following documents should all be considered for archive by a records manager:
- Paper documents or other offline form of records
- Digital documents
- Contracts
- Reports
- Audits
- Certificates
- Emails/social media messages
- Videos
Businesses accumulate these items on a regular basis. That’s precisely why it’s so important to have a regulatory process that can separate the wheat from the chaff and save key items to your vital records. Dropbox serves as a valuable modern update on the traditional records centre. It doesn’t stop with just hitting save, though. These files need to be maintained so you’re not only managing new incoming items but also archival management.
Why do businesses need to use records management?
Aside from general admin, there are some vital reasons for businesses to start managing records. Not only can they prevent you from getting into hot water if your business is ever accused of anything unsavoury, but your records can also help you get back out. You shouldn’t assume inactive records are no longer important, either. Here are just some types of records that need to be compliant with certain retention periods in the United States:
IRS
The big one for those in the United States. The IRS will require records of your tax. You should aim to keep these vital records for at least four years.
Fair Labor Standards Act
The FLSA will have different laws for different types of payroll records. Generally, a retention period of at least three years should be sufficient.
Personnel records
Keep these records for at least six years after your employee leaves. This is important as proof that they did, in fact, work at your company but can also help you form references when requested. Should an employee want to take action against you, you will also need to call on these records.
Hiring files
Any files relating to the hiring of a staff member should be kept for around three years. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will require these records to be kept for at least one year.
Other
There are also the less scary records that you should keep for your own peace of mind. Receipts of paid utility bills, welcome emails for new software and speculative job applications can all be handy to keep on file.
How to set up a records management system
There are important considerations to make before you go ahead and make a records management system. It’s a company-wide process that will require someone at the helm and initial training for the whole team. A successful records management system will need:
A senior member of staff who is responsible for records management
This should not be a blanket duty for anyone in HR, there should be one senior staff member who fully owns this process. Records management is just as important as your finances, and you wouldn’t expect anyone to pitch in to ‘do their bit’ for finances, you have a dedicated team member to serve as document manager and to be lead archivist.
Decisions about how, which and when records should be kept
Decide with senior staff, and with the input of the rest of the team, which vital records need to be kept. Choose how long the retention period should be and also decide how they should be deleted at the end of the records life cycle. The period of time you keep documents may vary depending on type. For example, your incorporation papers should be among your permanent records, but you can delete employee payroll details after a few years.
Budget for electronic records management
Digital documents likely make up the majority of your business’ admin and correspondence, and to keep all this safe, you will need to turn to information technology. Software as a Service models mean that a records management programme isn’t just a one-off fee, but an ongoing monthly subscription. Make sure you have budgeted for this.
Allow for training and continuous monitoring
Records may need to be accessed by anyone in your business and should be a key part of your single source of truth. So, your team will need to be trained in how to access and responsibly handle records as part of a records management programme. These are, after all, some of your business’ most important documents, so you will need to enforce data governance and put a records management policy in place. You will also need to continue monitoring this system, especially for digital records, to make sure there is no unauthorised use or accidental deletion, that way you can always be prepared to perform a file recovery before it’s too late. Disaster recovery should also be considered, for example, if your business activities are hit by an internet virus.
Other considerations
If your business performs a public function like utilities, your vital records may be subject to the freedom of information act that governs public authority records. That means some areas of your recordkeeping may need to be accessible as public record. Make sure you have added this possibility to your processes as you start introducing bookkeeping to your organisation.
Selecting a solution for business recordkeeping
Having a proper digital records management system is core to the records management process. Dropbox is a powerful file storage solution which is perfect for records management, offering all the tools you need to securely store files plus plenty more features to make your overall workflows and information management easier. You can also move your paper records into your digital archive with easy document scanning. Enjoy advanced team controls, password-protection and time-limited access for top-notch security and information governance. Better still, with the extended version history add-on, you can recover changed or deleted files for up to 10 years.
With Dropbox, you can rest assured that records are completely safe without being hidden or inaccessible to authorised users.
The information above is not intended to be legal advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer if you have any legal questions.