information management differs from information governance.

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ITS 833 – INFORMATION GOVERNANCE

Chapter 9

IG AND RECORDS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Dr. Sandra J. Reeves

This chapter deals with the concept of records management. It is sort of a crash course on records management. There are those who have the mistaken idea that records management and information governance is the same thing. It is not. Information governance covers so much more than just records management. This is a very long chapter. It should probably have been divided or broken into two chapters, but there doesn’t seem to be a good breaking place. If you look at the next two pages that sort of summarizes what you need to take away from this chapter. The chapter is an important one for your semester project. Further, please don’t make the mistake of thinking that everything you need to know from this chapter is included on the power point slides. That is not the case. You have to still read the book and understand what you are reading.

CHAPTER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Know what is records management

How to implement ERM (electronic records management

Benefits of ERM

Principles followed in ERM

Why is ERM so challenging?

What is involved in inventorying electronic records?

What are the steps in inventorying e-records?

What are the challenges associated with e-records inventorying?

What is the purpose or reason for e-records inventory?

Type of information to be collected in the inventory process

Who should conduct the e-record inventory?

Approaches to the e-record inventory process?

Be able to conduct an e-record inventory using the survey method

Be able to conduct an e-record inventory using the questionnaire method

Be ale to combine the survey method and then follow up using the questionnaire method

What is record appraisal? What is it used for?

What principles are involved in retention scheduling?

What is retention scheduling?

How would you go about developing a records retention schedule?

Why are retention schedules needed?

What type of information would be included on a retention schedule?

What steps would you use to develop a retention schedule?

What is an information map? What is it used for?

What do you do if you don’t have an information map?

What are the basic classification of records?

What is the difference between a business function and a business activity?

What is a “document type”?

What is a record series?

What is the rationale for records groupings?

See Slide above and on the next page for the requirements of this chapter

CHAPTER GOALS AND OBJECTIVES…continued

What is a case record?

What are subject records?

Are emails records?

What guidelines would you use to determine whether an email message should be considered a business record?

How long should old emails be kept?

How will determine how long to retain old email records?

What is a limitations period?

What is the most important consideration in determining the retention period and destruction of records?

How will you know the legal requirements for retention and destruction?

What is event-based retention?

How is event-based retention different when dealing with government entities?

What are the prerequisites for event-based disposition?

What is the criteria for final disposition and closure?

What are typical closure dates?

What is a transitory record?

Final steps before implementing a retention and disposal schedule

See goals on this page and on page 2 of slides

What

“Record” – information created, received and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business – (ISO definition)

“Records Management” – Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. Traditionally, used more often in highly regulated industries such as banking, energy, pharmaceuticals.

RIM – Records and Information Management – beyond RM to include information –data, e-documents and reports. Must include policy retention and disposition.

Electronic Records Management (ERM) – Organization, management, control, monitoring, and auditing of formal business records that exist in electronic form. Applies business rules to manage the maintenance, preservation and disposition of records.

Same principles as for traditional paper-based records management

Classification

Taxonomy

Retention

Disposition

RECORDS MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION GOVERNANCE ARE NOT THE SAME THING

The ISO defines a business record as: “Record” – information created, received and maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business – (ISO definition)

It then defines “Records Management” as the Field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records. Traditionally, used more often in highly regulated industries such as banking, energy, pharmaceuticals.

You will also see the acronym “RIM”. This stands for records and Information Management – It goes beyond Record Management to include information –data, e-documents and reports. A professional in the area of Record and Information Management will have greater responsibility over a wider area as RIM managers must be proficient in the area of policies for retention of records as well as disposition of legally discoverable information and must know the relevant laws as it relates to each.

Another term you will hear in this chapter is Electronic Records Management (ERM) – This is more of a hot topic today. It has moved to the forefront of business issues due to the increasing automation of business processes and the growth of electronic documents. Further, greater legislation is being passed out of increased need. The definition of ERM is the “Organization, management, control, monitoring, and auditing of formal business records that exist in electronic form”. That is, you apply traditional business rules to manage the maintenance, preservation and disposition of electronic records.

You will use the sprinciples as for traditional paper-based records management: Things like: Classification, Taxonomy, Retention, and disposition

More Definitions!

Information Governance: Policies, processes, and technologies used to manage and control information throughout the enterprise to meet internal business requirements and external legal and compliance demands

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) – Encompasses all of an organizations unstructured digital content including but not limited to comprised of ERM, Web Content Management, digital asset management, enterprise report management, and other technology sets

More definitions! From this perspective of electronic records Information governance is defined as the Policies, processes, and technologies used to manage and control information throughout the enterprise to meet internal business requirements and external legal and compliance demands.

There is also something called enterprise content management or “ECM”. This is a term you will hear from time to time. It Encompasses all of an organizations unstructured digital content including but not limited to comprised of ERM, Web Content Management, digital asset management, enterprise report management, and other technology sets. Electronic Records Management extends enterprise content management to provide control and to manage records through their lifecycle from creation to destruction.

Records Management Business Rationale

Why is RM important in nearly every industry now?

Increased government oversight and industry regulation

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)

Changes in legal procedures and requirements during civil litigation

Changes in FRCP in 2006

IG Awareness

Business continuity concerns

Traditionally, in the past the kinds of industries that you saw implementing records management programs were those engaged in things like banking, energy, pharmaceuticals. This was because traditionally these industries were subject to greater regulation. However, this is beginning to change. There is an ever growing amount of regulation and legislation that make it relevant to nearly every business, except possibly only the very smallest business.

The things that have driven this increasing demand for records management in industries that you didn’t always think of as having a sophisticated formal records management program are things like 1.Increased government oversight and industry regulation. Consider Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX); 2. Changes in legal procedures and requirements during civil litigation. For example changes in the federal rules of civil procedure in 2006; 3. the idea of greater IG Awareness; and 4. Competition and Business continuity concerns

Challenges for Records Management ?

Why has formal RM become so challenging and costly?

Changing and increasing regulation

Maturing IG requirements

Managing multiple retention and disposition schedules

Compliance costs and requirements with limited staff

Changing information delivery platforms

Security concerns

Dependence on IT department or provider

User Assistance and compliance

Implementing and keeping up with a good records management program is not easy. As a matter of fact it is very challenging.

Some of the reasons it is so difficult are listed on the slide:

Changing and increasing regulation-Just when you think you got it all figured out and understand it, the laws change

Maturing IG requirements – senior management is becoming more savvy about IG and the need for it, and for record management

Managing multiple retention and disposition schedules – This is difficult. Regulations change all the time and it is extremely difficult to pin down what is appropriate for different record types. Hard to convince management to retain records the shortest time legally required due to change of opening company up to greater risk of litigation by keeping records longer.

Compliance costs and requirements with limited staff-Departments responsible for this are generally understaffed because they are not seen as one of the departments that directly bring in revenue.

Changing information delivery platforms-More and more cloud and mobile computing across different platforms make records management more difficult because of where the different records are stored and the need to maintain integrity and security at the same time

Security concerns-you want critical information to be assessable when it is needed by the right people but at the same time you have to maintain security.

Dependence on IT department or provider-Because the RM departments are understaffed, sometimes part of this work is farmed out to the IT department, or even outsources. These other individuals don’t have the same perspective and do not see the critical importance that the RM department or people do.

User Assistance and compliance-Users frequently ignore the directives of the RM department. They don’t understand the significance of compliance, and often store shadow records for their own convenience which creates different versions of same thing. You have to keep reinforcing the importance of following procedures and compliance.

BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT

IS IT WORTH IT???

Time Savings

Cost Savings

Building Space Savings

Strategic Advantages

Improved capabilities to enforce IG

Improved, more complete and accurate searches

Improved knowledge worker productivity

Reduced risk of legal consequences for failure to be compliant

Improved record security

Improved ability to demonstrate that your organization is using legally defensible RM practices

Increased working confidence in making searches

Improved decision making

It is difficult. And sometimes, particularly when you do not receive cooperation from users in the organization you have to ask yourself if it is worth it. But it is, the advantage or benefits are as follows:

Time Savings

Cost Savings

Building Space Savings

Strategic Advantages

Improved capabilities to enforce IG

Improved, more complete and accurate searches

Improved knowledge worker productivity

Reduced risk of legal consequences for failure to be compliant

Improved record security

Improved ability to demonstrate that your organization is using legally defensible RM practices

Increased working confidence in making searches

Improved decision making

These are the benefits that are more tangible. The things you can see. But there are even more advantages or benefits, some of which aren’t so readily identifyable or seen.

BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT

IS IT WORTH IT???...continued

There are additional intangible benefits of ERM

Better control over the creation and growth of records

Improved ability to assimilate new record management technologies

Increased ability to safeguard vital information

Ability to preserve the “corporate memory”

Increased ability to foster professionalism in running the business

These are referred to as intangible benefits. They include things like the following:

Having Better control over the creation and growth of records

Having Improved ability to assimilate new record management technologies

Having Increased ability to safeguard vital information

Having greater ability to preserve the “corporate memory”

Having an increased ability to foster professionalism in running the business

INVENTORYING E-RECORDS

U.S. National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) defines an “inventory” as: A descriptive listing of each record series or system together with an indication of the location and other pertinent data.

Make sure you understand that it is not a list of each document o each folder but rather each series or system.

You will hear a bit about the NARA. This is the U.S. National Archive and Records Administration. The authority on records management.

They weigh in on the records inventory process as part of records management. It is vital that the organization perform a records inventory. NARA defines this as

“A descriptive listing of each record series or system together with an indication of the location and other pertinent data.”

You need to understand that a records inventory is not a list of each document or each folder but rather each series or system.

Inventorying E-Records continued…

Difficulty compared to physical inventory?

Purpose of inventorying e-records?

This is the first step in gaining control over an organization’ records and implementing IG measures .

Same as physical –find problems and use it as a source for developing a retention schedule.

Type of problems it can uncover?

Inadequate documentation of official actions

Improper applications of technology

Deficient filing systems

Deficient maintenance practices

Poor management of non-record materials

Insufficient identification of vital records

Inadequate record security practice

Compared to taking a physical inventory it is much more difficult to inventory e-records . All the same, it is for the same purpose as a physical inventory.

It is the first step in gaining control over the organization’s records and implementing an IG program. It also helps you find problems and it is used in developing a records retention and destruction policy.

Why do you think they present more of a challenge than inventorying physical records?

For a number of reasons. One is the fact that you Can’t see or touch them (the e-records).

This means that You can’t just thumb through records to find what you are looking for. You have to search online. They aren’t just sitting in a file room where you can go pull them.

E-records will have metadata attached to them that will help you distinguish similar looking records but they also will have shadow records attached to them that makes it hard for you to distinguish between the copy and the original.

But the inventory can also help you uncover certain types of problems. For example, the inventory can help you uncover problems with the following:

Inadequate documentation of official actions

Improper applications of technology

Deficient filing systems

Deficient maintenance practices

Poor management of non-record materials

Insufficient identification of vital records

Inadequate record security practice

Inventory of E-records continued…

We have said the purpose is the same as for inventory of physical records….but what do we mean?

You want the completed inventory of records to contribute to the pursuit of an organization’s IG objective in a number of important ways……benefits of completing you records inventory

Lets you identify ownership and sharing internally and externally

Determines which records are physical and which are electronic

Provides a basis for retention and disposition

Improves compliance capabilities

Supports training objectives

Identifies vital and sensitive records needing more security

Assesses the quality and appropriateness of records

Supports the release of information under FOIA, Data Protection Act and other release requirements

We already know the e-records inventory is a pain. We already know that it can be used to uncover certain types of problems.

Also, You want the completed inventory of records to contribute to the pursuit of an organization’s IG objective in a number of important ways……benefits of completing you records inventory

Lets you identify ownership and sharing internally and externally

Determines which records are physical and which are electronic

Provides a basis for retention and disposition

Improves compliance capabilities

Supports training objectives

Identifies vital and sensitive records needing more security

Assesses the quality and appropriateness of records

Supports the release of information under FOIA, Data Protection Act and other release requirements

Inventorying E-records continued…

NARA recommends inventory be done at the computer system level.

Why is that such “Big deal”?

Because it is a deviation from the past

Be mindful of the following:

You should rely on the people who create and use the records a they will be a good resource

RM is something that everyone wants but nobody wants to do it

People who work with these records will be hard to sell on a new approach

The records inventory is the basis for developing a records retention schedule – which determines how long different types of records will b held and how they will be archived and how they will be disposed of at the end of their life cycle.

But you have to first answer some other questions like where the records will reside and how they are stored and how many there are and how they are used in the regular course of business.

In thinking about inventorying the e-records keep a few things in mind:

You should rely on the people who create and use the records a they will be a good resource

RM is something that everyone wants but nobody wants to do it

People who work with these records will be hard to sell on a new approach. It is different and something that they are not comfortable with.

Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP)®

TIP:

Use an established model to guide you in records inventory – don’t reinvent the wheel

DIRKS (Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems) – Australia

Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP)® used in the United States

Focus is on regulations, risk mitigation, environmental and operational requirements

When thinking about the process of how you are going to do the inventory, don’t reinvent the wheel. There is the DIRKS model, which stands for deigning and implementing record keeping systems. Believe it or not this was developed in Australia but has found its way to the United States and has gained acceptance.

There are also GARP Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles that have been researched. This is the most widely accepted method in the US and it focuses on regulations, risk mitigation, environmental and operational requirements.

Conduct inventory of e-records with certain objectives in mind

Provide a survey of existing e-record situations

Locate and describe the organization’s electronic records holdings

Identify obsolete-records

Determine storage needs

Raise awareness within the organization

Identify archival records

Leads to e-record keeping improvements

Raises awareness and leads to development o needs assessment for future

Provides organization with a written records management plan

When you are thinking about how you are going to do your e-records inventory you have to keep your objectives in mind. What is it that you want to accomplish, and this will help you in developing the technique you will use.

Keep the following in mind:

Your goals or objectives include:

Providing a survey of existing e-record situations, Locating and describing the organization’s electronic records holdings.

You want to also Identify obsolete-records; Determine the storage needs of the organization; Raise awareness within the organization of the importance of electronic records management; Identify archival records that are vital to the organization and make sure that they are cared for on a continuing basis; You want to also accomplish e-record keeping improvements that will increase efficiency in the organization which leads to increased productivity; You also want to Raise awareness which in turn leads to development of a needs assessment for future and finally you want to Provides organization with a written records management plan

GOALS FOR THE INVENTORY PROJECT

Make sure the goal is attainable

Make sure the stakeholders know the goals

Segment your efforts into smaller units

This might mean define the scope as a certain time frame, or the scope might be just a certain functional area of the business

Reinforce the goal periodically and in different ways

In order to succeed you must Make sure the goal is attainable

Make sure the stakeholders know the goals

Segment your efforts into smaller units

This might mean define the scope as a certain time frame, or the scope might be just a certain functional area of the business

Reinforce the goal periodically and in different ways

SO….How do you go about conducting and electronic record inventory

This is according to

NARA guidelines:

Defines Inventory Goals

Define the scope of the inventory

Obtain top level management support

Decide on the information to be collected

Prepare an inventory form

Decide who will conduct the inventory

Proper training for those performing inventory

Learn where the organization’s business files are located

Conduct inventory

Verify and Analyze the results

How do you go about conducting the e-record inventory? It will be somewhat different depending on the characteristics of the organization but for the most part you will want to incorporate the following into your plan, regardless:

Defines Inventory Goals

Define the scope of the inventory

Obtain top level management support

Decide on the information to be collected

Prepare an inventory form

Decide who will conduct the inventory

Proper training for those performing inventory

Learn where the organization’s business files are located

Conduct inventory

Verify and Analyze the results

AND….What do you collect with the electronic record inventory

At a minimum you will want to collect the following information:

What kind of record it is (contract, or financial report, or memo)

Which department owns it

Which departments have access to it

What application created the records (i.e., email, MS WORD, Acrobat PDF, etc.)

When was the record created

When was the record last changed

Is the record a “vital” record (i.e. is it critical to the organization)

Whether there are other form of the record (example, it was created in WORD but later converted to a PDF file

What types of things will you be looking for or collecting with the e-record inventory?

At the very least you want to collect the following:

What kind of record it is (contract, or financial report, or memo)

Which department owns it

Which departments have access to it

What application created the records (i.e., email, MS WORD, Acrobat PDF, etc.)

When was the record created

When was the record last changed

Is the record a “vital” record (i.e. is it critical to the organization)

Whether there are other form of the record (example, it was created in WORD but later converted to a PDF file (a shadow record)

When you are dealing with removable media you have additional considerations like list the records on the particular volume and the characteristics of the volume like the brand, format capacity date of manufacture and last date of update.

TOOLS TO USE IN CONDUCTIONG THE INVENTORY - NETWORK DIAGRAM

Lay out the overall topology of the IT infrastructure in the form of a network diagram

Before you begin the inventory it will benefit you to diagram your IT infrastructure……This permits you to…

Helps you understand where to target efforts

Helps in understanding and mapping information flows

It is a very helpful reference

HINT: Start at the central computing room and then follow the connections

To understand the things you need to capture for each record series you will find a network diagram very helpful. In this way you can layout the overall topology of the IT infrastructure.

How does it help you to have the network diagram before beginning the inventory?

Helps you understand where to target efforts-where will you have the greatest problems or challenges

Helps in understanding and mapping information flows and this shows you who created the record and who uses it. That is important for assigning responsibility for the record.

It is a very helpful reference throughout the processes that follow. Helps you get your mind around the concept.

It is a good idea to Start at the central computing room and then follow the connections

TOOLS TO USE IN CONDUCTIONG THE INVENTORY – RECORDS INVENTORY SURVEY

SO IMPORTANT TO GET THIS SURVEY FOR RIGHT!

IT MUST SUIT ITS PURPOSE

You do not want to collect data that is not relevant, but you must be sure that you are collecting all the needed data elements

These forms are commonly used in organizations….you should be able to get one and modify it to meet your needs for an e-inventory

There are different tools you can rely on in conducting your inventory. One useful took is records inventory survey.

But it only works if it is a good survey. It must ask the right questions in the correct way of the appropriate people.

Sort of tricky. You don’t want to collect data that you don’t need but you want to make sure that you do get all that you need. You don’t want to begin tabulating your survey results only to find that you didn’t collect certain information that is necessary to evaluation of the rest.

Again, don’t reinvent the wheel. You will find these used in an organization. Locate one as a starting point and modify it to fit your requirements.

Who Will Conduct the Records Inventory Survey?

Generally – Records Management Project Team is formed to conduct the survey

Assisted by others outside the business unit

May be IT staff members

Business Analysts

Legal Staff

Specialists/consultants

Important to those conducting the survey:

Training in:

Survey methods

Analysis

Who will conduct the records inventory survey? The records management project team. As they are generally understaffed, they will rely out others like people from IT, business analyst, legal staff, and special consultants.

You can’t just give people survey forms and tell them to go do it. They have to be trained. You have to make sure they are not asking leading questions or are going about it the wrong way or are surveying the wrong people.

Even more importantly, you want to make sure that you are using the proper analysis techniques. You want results that can help you for the future. This requires more specialized knowledge

CONDUCTING THE INVENTORY… THE APPROACHES

Approach I

Distributing and Collecting surveys

Traditional approach

Relatively inexpensive

Relatively fast

Problem: Lack of Consistency

Approach II

Conducting in-person interviews

Frequently a follow-up after initial survey

Approach III

Direct Observation

Will require more training and better understanding of the process

Begin in central computer room and work your way out

IF TIME AND MONEY PERMIT, THE BEST IS TO USE ALL THREE

There are a number of methods of performing your inventory. It is possible that you may use only one technique, but more likely you will use some combination of them. The three most common include:

Approach I

Distributing and Collecting surveys. This is the Traditional approach; it is Relatively inexpensive and Relatively fast. However, Problem: Lack of Consistency

Approach II

Conducting in-person interviews. This is Frequently a follow-up after initial survey

Approach III

Direct Observation. This will require more training and better understanding of the process. If you use this technique then it is better to Begin in central computer room and work your way out

Example of Records Inventory Survey Form…Pages 161-163 of text book

Example of Records Inventory Survey Form…Pages 161-163 of text book…continued

CONDUCTING THE INVENTORY… THE INTERVIEW APPROACH

THIS IS A GOOD SOURCE OF INFORMATION!

This method is time sensitive, so…. You need to make sure you have identified the proper people to interview

Make sure to interview representatives from all functional area and levels of the program or service:

Managers

Supervisors

Professional/technical staff

Clerical or support staff

Make sure to include a cross-section who make decisions based upon information contained in the e-records

Make sure to be considerate of the time of those you are interviewing (and don’t make your executive sponsors think you are wasting everyone’s time…Give advanced notice, follow-up to confirm appointments, stay within scheduled time, keep interviews under and hour …and DON’T BE LATE

Interview is a good approach, but you have to be careful in using it.

It is generally time sensitive, so…. You need to make sure you have identified the proper people to interview. Don’t waste anyone’s time including your own by selecting people to interview who do not know the answer to your questions.

Make sure to interview representatives from all functional area and levels of the program or service:

Managers

Supervisors

Professional/technical staff

Clerical or support staff

Make sure to include a cross-section who make decisions based upon information contained in the e-records

Example of Interview Questionnaire Page 167 from text book

DETERMINING THE VALUE OF RECORDS

WHY?

It is part of the process of determining questions related to retention and disposition schedule of records...the value assigned to a record affects the retention policy for the record

HOW?

“Records Appraisal” – Analysis of all records within an agency or business to determine their administrative, fiscal, historical, legal or other archival value

Goal is to determine how long, in what format and under what circumstance a record series will be preserved

Will be based upon results of the e-records inventory

Why do you have to determine the value of each record series to the organization? Because It is part of the process of determining questions related to retention and disposition schedule of records...the value assigned to a record affects the retention policy for the record

So you have to perform a sort of record appraisal. What is this?

“Records Appraisal” – Analysis of all records within an agency or business to determine their administrative, fiscal, historical, legal or other archival value

Goal is to determine how long, in what format and under what circumstance a record series will be preserved

Will be based upon results of the e-records inventory

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THE ORGANIZATION WILL ADOPT AND COMPLY WITH THE RM POLICY??

Make sure that everyone in the organization is involved in records management –the person who creates or receives the record is the best person to classify it

Don’t “micro” classify - Average worker does not want to spend a great amount of time classifying records – have only a few broad classifications

Talk the talk – from the top – have senior level steering committee with at least executives from legal, compliance and IT

Walk the walk – Communicate to everyone in the organization what the policies and where they can find them. Adopt rigorous training

Measure the measurable-measure the adherence to policy and adoption of processes where possible

What can you do to insure the greatest chance of success in your organization that the people who work there will buy into the notice, adopt the policy, become and stay compliant?

Make sure that everyone in the organization is involved in records management. Everyone buys in. –the person who creates or receives the record is the best person to classify it

Don’t “micro” classify - Average worker does not want to spend a great amount of time classifying records – have only a few broad classifications

Talk the talk – from the top – have senior level steering committee with at least executives from legal, compliance and IT

Walk the walk – Communicate to everyone in the organization what the policies and where they can find them. Adopt rigorous training

Measure the measurable-measure the adherence to policy and adoption of processes where possible.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF RETENTION SCHEDULING

A SERIES OF PRINCIPLES IS COMMON TO ALL RETENTION SCHEDULES

The retention schedule must include all records regardless of media and location

All legal and regulatory requirements for records must be reflect in the record scheduling process

Records scheduling should be proactive, involving setting schedules in advance and standardizing the process

When there are substantial or significant changes in legislation, technology and other…and even if no change, still at least annually

Update and amend the process based upon changes in legal, technological or business changes over time

Files series that have similar characteristics should be dealt with consistently

Preserve records of historical value

Optimize RM resources and minimize record keeping costs

While your organization’s retention scheduling policy will be different from that of every other organization in some aspects, for the most part there will be some general principles of retention scheduling that will be common to all. They are as follows:

All legal and regulatory requirements for records must be reflect in the record scheduling process

The retention schedule must include all records regardless of media and location

Records scheduling should be proactive, involving setting schedules in advance and standardizing the process

When there are substantial or significant changes in legislation, technology and other…and even if no change, still at least annually

Update and amend the process based upon changes in legal, technological or business changes over time

Files series that have similar characteristics should be dealt with consistently

Preserve records of historical value-You may not need them right now, but they are so vital to the organization’s history and what is referred to as its corporate memory you can’t let these fall by the wayside and eventually lose them.

Optimize RM resources and minimize record keeping costs

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF RETENTION SCHEDULING

A SERIES OF PRINCIPLES IS COMMON TO ALL RETENTION SCHEDULES…..continued…

The records must be retained in a repository (like a file room or software system) where the record is protected in order to maintain its integrity

Senior management must approve and sign off on the retention schedule

Senior management must be able to readily review the policy, schedule, policy documentation and audit results

There must be complete documentation for the retention policy, requirements and activities

Continuing on with those principles that will be common to most records retention schedules:

The records must be retained in a repository (like a file room or software system) where the record is protected in order to maintain its integrity

Senior management must approve and sign off on the retention schedule

Senior management must be able to readily review the policy, schedule, policy documentation and audit results

There must be complete documentation for the retention policy, requirements and activities

WHY DO YOU NEED A RECORD RETENTION SCHEDULE?

Allows for uniformity in the retention and disposition process, regardless of the media or location of the records

Tracks, enforces and audits the retention and disposition of records, optimizing the amount of records kept to the legal minimum

SO WHAT? Why is that important?

Saves on capital costs

Saves on labor costs

Reduces liability

This is so time and labor intensive and it will cut into the budget. You may begin to ask yourself. Why do I need a record retention schedule? Why not just retain records for a while until I don’t think I need them anymore and then just get rid of them.

Because, having a consistent records retention schedule will:

Allows for uniformity in the retention and disposition process, regardless of the media or location of the records

Tracks, enforces and audits the retention and disposition of records, optimizing the amount of records kept to the legal minimum

SO WHAT? Why is that important?

Saves on capital costs

Saves on labor costs

Reduces liability

HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT DEVELOPING THE RETENTION SCHEDULE?

What is a record retention schedule?

It is something that defines the length of time that records are to be kept.

It is developed after considering the legal, regulatory, operational and historical requirements

It will include direction on how the length of time is calculated (i.e. the start date for counting the retention time)

It is developed only after completing legal research and consultation with the users of the record and the owner of the record (you may determine after consultation to retain records beyond the legally required period)

Give strong advice to the users/owners who want to keep the records beyond the legally required period as this may open the organization up to the potential for otherwise unnecessary liability

So exactly what is a record retention schedule? We are now sold on the idea we need it, but we still aren’t sure what it is.

A records retention schedule is:

It is something that defines the length of time that records are to be kept.

It is developed after considering the legal, regulatory, operational and historical requirements

It will include direction on how the length of time is calculated (i.e. the start date for counting the retention time)

Many times there are managers and executives who think that the records need to be retained longer than is “legally” necessary. In those cases, Give strong advice to the users/owners who want to keep the records beyond the legally required period as this may open the organization up to the potential for otherwise unnecessary liability. If the record has legally been destroyed then more likely than not it can’t be used against you.

DISPOSITION AS PART OF RETENTION

What is meant by disposition?

Destruction

Archiving

Transferring

Changing ownership

We talk about “retention”. But retention is generally not forever. What happens when you have flagged a record as no longer being necessary for retention. You will never need the record again for any purpose. So what becomes of the record after the retention period?

Then it is disposed of. But this may not mean what you think it does. It does not always mean destroying it for good.

Disposition can include different things depending on the record:

Destruction-in this case it is permanently removed from all media forever

Archiving- this is where you organize or index the records and hand them over to the historical record keeping unit

Transferring-convert them from one medium to another for backup.

Changing ownership-sometimes you are going to contract with third parties to retain your records. Or you transfer them from one department to another for purposes of preservation.

WHAT TYPES OF THINGS ARE INCLUDED IN THE RECORD RETENTION SCHEDULE?

Title of the record

Description of the record series

Office responsible for retention of the record

By default this is the office of origin but can change

Method of Disposition

Timing of the disposal

Remember the default is the minimum time legally required

Event(s) that trigger disposal

Date(s) when schedule was agreed, signed and modified

Legal citations or a link to the citation that references the retention requirement for that group of records

Your records retention schedule will be different from every other organization because you have somewhat different needs .

But you want to keep in mind that there are certain types of things that are included in most record retention schedules.

This would include things like the following:

Title of the record

Description of the record series

Office responsible for retention of the record

By default this is the office of origin but can change

Method of Disposition

Timing of the disposal

Remember the default is the minimum time legally required

Event(s) that trigger disposal – this is a date or the occurrence of something that makes the time start to run on how long you have to keep the record

Date(s) when schedule was agreed, signed and modified

Legal citations or a link to the citation that references the retention requirement for that group of records-probably you are going to need help with this from the legal department.

Example of Records Retention Schedule…From text book page 172

KEY STEPS IN DEVELOPING THE RETENTION SCHEDULE (U.S. National Archives advises…)

Review the function and recordkeeping requirements for the organization whose records will be included on the schedule

Inventory the records

Determine the period of time the records are needed for conducting operation and meeting legal obligations

Draft disposition instruction which include….

File cutoffs and breaks for purposes of storage and disposition

Retention periods for temporary records

Instructions for transfer permanent records to National Archives where applicable

Instructions for sending inactive records to off-site storage

Organize the schedule and get internal approval

Obtain approval form legal authority where applicable to federal agencies

So you know a little bit about the record retention schedule and what it is. Now you need to begin to think about the steps in developing the retention schedule

They are listed in order as follows:

Review the function and recordkeeping requirements for the organization whose records will be included on the schedule

Inventory the records

Determine the period of time the records are needed for conducting operation and meeting legal obligations

Draft disposition instruction which include….

File cutoffs and breaks for purposes of storage and disposition

Retention periods for temporary records

Instructions for transfer permanent records to National Archives where applicable

Instructions for sending inactive records to off-site storage

Organize the schedule and get internal approval

Obtain approval form legal authority where applicable to federal agencies

DETERMINING WHAT RECORDS ARE REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED IN RETENTION SCHEDULE

Review the function and recordkeeping requirements for the organization whose records will be included on the schedule

Inventory was a prerequisite

Classification of records

Develop the Information Map

Where is the information created

Were does the information reside

How does it get from point of creation to point of residence

What records are created

Who uses these records

How is the disposition of these records handled

How do we determine which records are require to be included in the retention schedule? Look at step one from the previous slide.

We said review the function and record keeping requirements was the first step in developing the retention schedule.

So what are you doing the review for?

We know we had to perform an inventory and we know we had to classify the records based upon the inventory.

So we are now ready to develop an information map. This will allow you to know where the information was created, where it will finally reside and how it gets from the point of creation to the point of residence.

This is vital in helping you see the big picture like what records are created and who will use the records and how the records will be disposed at the end of their useful life. You will want to go out and confirm this information map is correct by talking to every stakeholder. Don’t forget people in accounting and auditing

But what if your organization does not have a formal information map. The best solution is to create one. But what if you do need to do something and there is simply no map and no time to develop one.

QUICK FIX WHEN THERE IS NO “FORMAL INFORMATION MAP”?

Compile list of all different record types for each business unit with essentially same information mapping.

You will forfeit the benefit of having a pictorial map but will save time

WHAT IF THERE IS NO RECORDS INVENTORY?

Conduct records inventory or survey on your own – this step can’t be skipped

It is a prerequisite to the next step which is to classify records

What if your organization does not have a formal information map and you don’t have time to develop one and you have to have a quick fix?

In theory you are supposed to develop a list of all the different record types for each organizational unit or business unit or department, whatever you choose to call it. It is supposed to give you the same information but you will not have a structured form or map that gives you the visual image.

What if there is no records inventory? Then you really aren’t ready to go on the step of developing the retention schedule. How could you possibly know what to retain if you don’t know what the records are or what they contain. You would have to stop at this point and do a records inventory or at the very least a comprehensive survey. This step can’t be skipped because it is vital to the next step of classification of the records.

WHAT ARE THE BASIC RECORD CLASSIFICAITON GROUPINGS?

Business function and activities

Basic business departments or units (accounting, legal, human resources, payroll…et.)

It should answer the questions “what were you doing when you created the record”

Activities – tasks performed to accomplish the business function. May be more than one activity related to each function

Record Series

Group or unit of identical or related records that are normally used and filed as a unit that can be evaluated as a unit

Document Type

A group of related records. For example when records are created by similar processes their document types are equivalent to the business function or activity.

So what are the basic record classification groupings?

There are three primarily

Business function and activities

These are the Basic business departments or units (accounting, legal, human resources, payroll…et.)

It should answer the questions “what were you doing when you created the record”

Activities – tasks performed to accomplish the business function. May be more than one activity related to each function

Then there is the Record Series

A record series involves Group or unit of identical or related records that are normally used and filed as a unit that can be evaluated as a unit

Third is the Document Type

This is a group of related records. For example when records are created by similar processes their document types are equivalent to the business function or activity. Yet, document types can also refer to the format of the record. For example…minutes of meeting, power point presentation, WORD document. When you have this type of classification there is generally not enough information to determine a retention period because this is so ambiguous

SO WHY ARE RECORD GROUPINGS IMPORTANT?

Information Organization

Information Access

Completeness

Search Speed

Increases Organizational knowledge and memory by providing context within which documents were grouped

Identification of owner of record and creator

Helps determine who to assign for tracking responsibility

Consistency in retention and disposition

We are caught up with grouping records by business unit or series or document type. But why concern ourselves with record groupings at all? Why are they important?

Because by grouping records in a useful and logical method or fashion you will improve information organization and thereby information access.

In addition it will insure the records are complete

It will increase the search speed and thereby productivity

It will increase the organizational knowledge and recollection or memory with regard to providing context for which records were grouped together and why

Helps to identify the owner of the record and the creator of the record. Why do you care…because this is needed in order to assign responsibility for tracking

And finally for consistency with regard to the retention requirements and disposition requirement and method

RECORD SERIES

There are different types of record series.

Example: Case Records:-no insight into the nature or function of the record series

Example: Personnel Files, loan folders, accident reports

Name, dates, numbers, places….etc.

They have a beginning and an end but are added to over time.

Example: Subject Records (topical or functional records): Contains information related to the specific or general topic and arranged according to informational content or by function. They accumulate information on a particular topical function

Example: Legislative history of a law; or training history or policies and procedures

Let go back to the second type of classification of record series for a moment and talk about it more.

There are different types of record series.

Example: Case Records:-no insight into the nature or function of the record series

Example: Personnel Files, loan folders, accident reports

Name, dates, numbers, places….etc.

They have a beginning and an end but are added to over time.

Example: Subjct Records (topical or functional records): Contains information related to the specific or general topic and arranged according to informational content or by function. They accumulate information on a particular topical function

Example: Legislative history of a law; or training history or policies and procedures

RETENTION OF E-MAIL RECORDS

ARE EMAILS RECORDS?

Some and some are not

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH EMAILS ARE RECORDS THAT MUST BE RETAINED?

Keep in mind it is not the form of the record, but the content that determines

GUIDELINES:

Does it document a transaction or progress toward an ultimate transaction where anything of value is exchanged between two or more parties

Does it document or provide support of a business activity occurring that pertains to internal corporate governance policies or compliance to externally mandated activities

Does it document other business activities that may possibly be disputed in the future regardless of whether it leads to litigation

Do are emails business records that have to be retained? There has been considerable debate about that for a period of time. Some are and some are not.

But how do you know which are and which are not required to be retained?

If it is a record it will document a transaction or business related event that may have legal significance or legal ramifications or may have historical value. More importantly those that may be the subject of litigation.

Don’t get hung up on the form of the record. Whether it is an email or not. Remember it is not the form that is important but the content. You may have pictures or an audio recording of a meeting or a WORD document, or even a sticky note, or an email that may constitute a record depending on its content.

You can never be certain about all emails without reading them and then there may be some question. But a general set of guidelines to follow include

Does it document a transaction or progress toward an ultimate transaction where anything of value is exchanged between two or more parties

Does it document or provide support of a business activity occurring that pertains to internal corporate governance policies or compliance to externally mandated activities

Does it document other business activities that may possibly be disputed in the future regardless of whether it leads to litigation

This is extremely challenging. Basede upon recent surveys 2/3 of all records managers doubt that their IT department really understand the concept of e-records lifecycle management.

I can’t begin to tell you how very important emails are related to litigation. And the scary part is that 1/3 of IT managers report that they would be incapable of locating and retrieving emails that are more than one year old.

WHAT IS THE RETENTION PERIOD FOR EMAIL?

IT DEPENDS

Nature of business may dictate…may be regulated by law. This will then vary based upon whether it is state or federal law and the nature or type of the business and nature of the email

If not governed by law….You decide…whatever works best for your organization

Lets say you know which emails have to be retained based upon the criteria or guidelines set for in the prior screen. How long do you have to keep them? Remember, emails can be a great source of litigation so you don’t want to keep them longer than necessary. They are used very very often with wrongful termination cases..and others of course.

Depending on the type of organization you are dealing with the retention period may be governed by law. Even then there is no one definite answer. It will depend on the type of business, the nature of the email, whether it is of a type that is governed by state or federal law, and if by state law, then it will vary depending on the state.

But what if it is not governed by law? Then your organization can decide based on its own needs….and this can really be damaging to litigation but keep as short as reasonable

DESTRUCTIVE/RETENTION OF EMAIL?

What is meant by “Destructive Retention”?

An approach to email archiving where email messages are retained for a limited period of time followed by permanent deletion of the message from the organization network so there is no litigation hold or the email has not been declared a record.

What is generally the norm for retention of email?

Nearly ¼ of companies delete email after 90 days (Osterman Research)

Heavily regulated industries generally retain archived email for one year or more. Applicable to energy, technology, communications, real estate. (Fullbright and Jaworski Rearch)

Most common period traditionally has been for 7 years but some companies take a more defensive posture

What is meant by “Destructive Retention”?

That is, once you have kept the email for the minimum required period of time get rid of it before an attorney can send you a letter requiring you to retain it for future litigation. The period of time when you are required to keep the email will vary depending on the factors we have discussed. It could be as short as 90 days or it might be as long as 7 years.

Nearly ¼ of companies delete email after 90 days (Osterman Research)

Heavily regulated industries generally retain archived email for one year or more. Applicable to energy, technology, communications, real estate. (Fullbright and Jaworski Rearch)

Most common period traditionally has been for 7 years but some companies take a more defensive posture. What I mean by this is that unless the email has been determined to be a record that requires retention for a longer period, then it is deleted after 90 days.

Why 7 years? That is the look back period for bankruptcy and for many other things…like fraudulent conveyances etc.

WHAT ABOUT LONG-TERM ARCHIVAL RECORDS?

Records that have historical value

Records that are essential for preservation of corporate memory

Go to the expert for advice….the corporate or agency archivist for alternatives

What if you have records that aren’t used today. They aren’t needed for operations but they have historical significance? Or they help preserve the corporate memory…remember people change jobs and are mobile and you need a way to look back since you don’t have an individual who is guaranteed to be there forever.

This is very complex and technical and you will need the input of a agency archivist

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND COMPLIANCE?

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS TRUMP ALL OTHER CONSIDERATOINS

KEY IS TO KNOWING THE “LIMITATIONS PERIOD”

Length of time after which legal action cannot be brought by the courts….sometimes referred to as Statute of Limitations

Will vary depending on nature of record and State involved

HOW WILL YOU KNOW THE LIMITATIONS PERIOD?

Do the research!

Record Retention citation service that publishes retention related citations: Example: Code of Federal Regulations or e-CFR (which is not updated daily)

Problem is with interpretation by laypersons

Consult legal counsel

The legal requirements for record retention trumps everything else. It may be nice that your business wants to keep records for a shorter period. But that does not matter. You have to remain within the law.

There is something that you have to know for your industry and your business for each type of record and that is what this book calls the “limitations period”. This is the period of time after which action cannot be brought in court. It is generally called the “statute of limitations” and it will vary depending on the industry and the type of record involved.

But how do you know the limitations period? You can do the research yourself. There are subscription services on line that can help you. Like the Code of Federal Regulations or e-CFR which is not updated daily. The problem with these are if you don’t have a legal background it may be difficult for you to properly understand and apply what you are reading.

EVENT-BASED RETENTION SCHEDULING FOR DISPOSTION OF E-RECORDS

Event based disposition is where there is an event that triggers the beginning of the running of time for determining how long you have to retain a record

Example: The end of a project

Example: Separation or termination of an employee

Alternate definition used by Department of Defense:

Disposition instruction in which a record is eligible for the specified destruction upon or immediately after the occurrence of an event. - no retention period is required

There is this concept of event based retention scheduling. It is looked at a little differently depending on the industry.

Event based disposition is where there is an event that triggers the beginning of the running of time for determining how long you have to retain a record. An example might be the end of a project. Another might be the termination of an employee. Yet another might be a work related injury of an employee. Each of these events might trigger the beginning of the period of time running for determining how long you have to keep a record.

Alternate definition used by Department of Defense:

Disposition instruction in which a record is eligible for the specified destruction upon or immediately after the occurrence of an event. - no retention period is required

This concept is not a simple as it sounds. Documentation may be poor as to when these events occur and may cause business organizations to retain records longer than otherwise required.

PREREQUISITNS FOR EVEN-BASED DISPOSITION?

MUST HAVE A TRIGGERING EVENT

This is not always the case!

It is not always clear!

MUST BE ABLE TO HAVE AUTOMATED CAPTURE OF TRIGGER EVENT

MUST SEND AUTOMATED TRIGGER TO ERM

ERM MUST HAVE RETENTION CAPABILITIES

ERM MUST HAVE DISPOSITION CAPABILITIES

MUST HAVE A TRIGGERING EVENT. This is not always the case!

It is not always clear! For example. How do you know when a contract has been completed? Lets say there is a construction contract. Is it completed when last work is performed or is it completed after final independent inspections? Or is it completed when the payment is made to the contractor?

MUST BE ABLE TO HAVE AUTOMATED CAPTURE OF TRIGGER EVENT . Can’t rely on someone to remember manually to send this information to the right people.

MUST SEND AUTOMATED TRIGGER TO ERM. Have to have a way to automatically send the triggering event to the Electronic records Manager

ERM MUST HAVE RETENTION CAPABILITIES.

ERM MUST HAVE DISPOSITION CAPABILITIES

FINAL DISPOSITION AND CLOSURE CRITERIA

What will be the closure criteria?

What will be the final disposition?

Retention period will vary depending on:

Is the record online vs offline?

If online, is it active or inactive?

If offline, is it onsite or offsite?

Determine the Closure Date

End of Calendar Year?

End of Fiscal Period

Other logical closure date depending on record type

Case Records are treated differently. These are closed when the case record is completed

Some records require permanent retention

Finally, after you have looked at the legal requirements you must decide on the closure criteria and on final disposition. So there are a few other things you want to ask or consider.

Retention period will vary depending on:

Is the record online vs offline?

If online, is it active or inactive?

If offline, is it onsite or offsite?

Then you want to define a clear start date for closure. This may be the end of a calendar or fiscal year, or it may be something else, logically depending on the type of record. For example case records are treated differently. An attorney might close his case file when the law suit ends.

There are some records, which are rare, that you will never dispose of.

TRANSITORY “DOCUMENTS”

Documents that do not rise to the level of being considered a “record”

Temporary in nature

Useful in the short-term

Example: email advertisement

Transitory documents must be considered in master retention record schedule

What are transitory documents? Can’t call them records. They are Documents that do not rise to the level of being considered a “record”.

Transitory documents are temporary in nature. The are Useful in the short-term

Example: email advertisement

But still, you have to consider them in the master retention record schedule

IMPLEMENTATION OF RETENTION SCHEDULE AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS

Consider Automated programs where available

Insures correct timing for disposal

Provides audit trail of disposition

Approval of Executive sponsor

Sign off by key Stakeholders

Verify Total and

Complete Destruction

Consider having the authority to review and approve final destruction once triggered automatically

Certification of record destruction

Ongoing maintenance and review

Implement IG policies to audit and ensure that policies are being followed

So now you are at implementation. There is automated software that will interpret the retention periods and will make sure that the right records are disposed of at the correct time and will provide an audit trail of disposition.

You will want to insure approval and oversight. Upon completion of the schedule you wil wna tot get an executive or project sponsor to sign off on the retention schedule before it is implemented.

You will most likely want major stakeholders to also sign off on this. This records retention schedule should be updated as new record types are introduced.

You will want to Verify Total and Complete Destruction. Just because someone hits a delete key this does not mean that you still can’t retrieve or reconstruct the record.

Consider having the authority to review and approve final destruction once triggered automatically

Certification of record destruction. You may want to consider having one final review for those records tagged for destruction. Something may have come up that require you to change the destruction policy for certain records.

Ongoing maintenance and review. There will be new record types introduced over time, or the existing ones may change. You want to review this at least once a year.

Implement IG policies to audit and ensure that policies are being followed. You have to insure that you have a legally defensible retention schedule that will stand up to legal challenges. Laws change over time.

THE END

Good Bye!