ARMA RETENTION

http://www.arma.org/rim/101/articles.cfm?key=rim101retention


What Is Records Retention?
Organizations create records through daily business transactions. These records are considered active for as long as they are needed to be easily accessible for the organization to use to perform its current functions.

Once a record is no longer useful for performing current activities, it becomes inactive. But it must be kept, or “retained,” as long as it is needed to meet the organization’s administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical requirements. The length of time the record must be kept to meet those requirements is referred to as its retention period.

Because records grow at an excessive rate and cost the organization resources to maintain and store (regardless of the format), they must be disposed of at the end of their retention period.

The retention requirements for an organization’s records are recorded on an approved retention schedule, which is a comprehensive list of records series (a group of related records that are filed/used together) that indicates for each series the length of time it is to be maintained and how it is to be disposed of.

The records retention schedule is compiled by a records and information management (RIM) professional using best practices and methodology. This begins with gathering information by conducting a records inventory and interviewing staff to determine what records exist, their formats, their origin, and who accesses them. The schedule is reviewed and approved by appropriate departments and signed off by the leadership of the organization.

Retention periods are not arbitrarily created. Rather, they are determined by appraising their usefulness or value in these four areas:
administrative –conducting business
legal – satisfying legal requirements or obligations
fiscal –conducting financial business or proof thereof
historical – documenting organizational history

Simply keeping records forever – past their usefulness – is neither cost-effective nor prudent. The assignment of retention periods must be carefully considered and crafted in a meaningful way to support the organization and its functions.

In creating the retention schedule and program, vital records – those records that are fundamental to the functioning of an organization and necessary to continue its operations immediately under abnormal conditions – are also identified. These records must be identified and protected so they can be retrieved easily in the event of a disaster, allowing the organization to restore business functions quickly, resume operations, and continue to thrive. Great care must be taken to identify those records that are truly vital to the resumption of business operations; a small percentage of all organizational records are.

Disposition is a final administrative action taken with regard to records, and may include destroying them transferring them to another entity, or preserving them permanently. During the disposition process, records are approved for destruction or other disposition according to the policies and procedures of the program. One goal of this process is to provide proof that records have been consistently and properly dispositioned during the normal course of business. A record is frozen from ordinary disposition procedures when a legal hold is in place. A legal hold is a communication issued as a result of current or anticipated litigation, audit, government investigation, or other such matter that suspends the normal disposition or processing of records. Once a record is released from this hold, records may resume the disposition process or may be subject to other treatments as prescribed by a judge.

The retention and disposition phase is an important piece of the records life cycle and the cornerstone of a sound records and information management program. Organizations enjoy several benefits from creating, implementing, and documenting compliance with a records retention program. They include increased operating efficiency through faster and consistent access of information, compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, assistance in litigation readiness and response, and reduction in space, resources, and costs associated with storage of records past their usefulness.

Know Retention Terms…

Active record – A record needed to perform current operations, subject to frequent use, and usually located near the user.

Administrative value – The usefulness of a record in the conduct of an organization’s business.

Archiving – To conduct all activities related to caring for records of continuing value.
(2005IMJ) A Records Management Program that Works for Archives (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1534

Arranging & Describing Archives https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1010
Convenience file – An unofficial file that is maintained for ease of access and reference.
Copy – A reproduction of an original document.
Destruction – The definitive obliteration of a record beyond any possible reconstitution.

Disposition – A final administrative action taken with regard to records, including destruction, transfer to another entity, or permanent preservation.
(2006IMJ) Retention and Disposition of Structured Data: The Next Frontier for Records Managers (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1791

(2000IMJ) Electronic Records Retention: Fourteen Basic Principles (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1345

Fiscal value – The worth of records for the conduct of current or future financial business and/or evidence thereof.

Historical value – The determination that records possess value in documenting the history of an organization and are thus worthy of permanent preservation.
Inactive record – A record no longer needed to conduct current business but preserved until it meets the end of its retention period.

Information – Data that has been given value through analysis, interpretation, or compilation in a meaningful form.

Legal hold – A communication issued as a result of current or anticipated litigation, audit, government investigation, or other such matter that suspends the normal disposition or processing or records.
Legal Holds and Spoliation (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1507

(2005IMJ) Know When to Hold 'Em, When to Destroy 'Em (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1523

Sedona Principles: Best Practices for Addressing Electronic Document Production https://www2907.ssldomain.com/arma/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1992

Legal value – The usefulness of a record in complying with statutes and regulations, as evidence in legal proceedings, as legal proof of business transactions, or to protect an individual’s or organization’s rights and interests.
Legal Obstacles to E-Mail Message Destruction (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1978

(2002IMJ) A Brave New World (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1267

(2002IMJ) Lies, Corruption, and Document Destruction (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1256

Media/Medium – A general term referring to the material unto which business information has been recorded and may be subsequently used for business purposes.

Record – Recorded information regardless of medium or characteristics, made or received by an organization in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business.

Records appraisal – The process of evaluating records to determine their retention based on administrative, legal, and fiscal requirements and historical value.

Records inventory – A detailed listing that includes types, locations, dates, volumes, equipment, classifications systems, and usage data of an organization’s records in order to evaluate, appraise, and organize the information.

Retention period – The length of time a record must be kept to meet administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical requirements.
Electronic Records Retention: New Strategies for Data Life Cycle Management
https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1203

Retention Management for Records and Information https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1529

Retention schedule – A comprehensive list of records series, indicating for each the length of time it is to be maintained and its disposition.

(2006IMJ) Condition Critical: Developing Records Retention Schedules (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1768

(2006IMJ) Creating a Process-Focused Retention Schedule (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1985

(2000IMJ) Electronic Records Retention: Fourteen Basic Principles (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1345

Records series – A group of related records filed/used together as a unit and evaluated as a unit for retention purposes, e.g., personnel file containing an application, reference letters, benefit forms, etc.
Ready for Retention
Assemble retention committee and include representatives from records, legal, information technology, and appropriate business unit stakeholders.
Assign clear roles and responsibilities for retention program using position identifiers instead of personnel names.
Develop retention policy and secure approval from appropriate leadership, e.g., ethics committee, risk management group, executive management.
Create interview questions and inventory criteria prior to conducting departmental interviews. This will minimize interview time and maximize results.
Evaluate all records created by the organization, regardless of medium.
Develop retention schedule using RIM methodology, inventory and interview data, and appropriate legal research.
Ensure appropriate stakeholders approve final retention plan.
Adopt retention best practices into organizational training program. Take advantage of various training tools available from your organization to deliver timely, effective retention training.
Include a periodic review of the retention program as part of the records and information management department’s auditing practices.

Learn More About Retention…

Articles

(2006IMJ) Retention and Disposition of Structured Data: The Next Frontier for Records Managers (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1791

(2006IMJ) The Risk-Cost Retention Model: Building a New Approach to Records Retention (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1807

(2005IMJ) The Why and How of International Records Retention (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1743

(2006IMJ) Creating a Process-Focused Retention Schedule (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1985

(2000IMJ) Electronic Records Retention: Fourteen Basic Principles (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1345

(2006IMJ) Condition Critical: Developing Records Retention Schedules (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1768

(2005IMJ) Know When to Hold 'Em, When to Destroy 'Em (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1523

(2004IMJ) Can You Understand Me Now? (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1452

(2000IMJ) Retention of Merger and Acquisition Records and Information (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1329

(2003IMJ) The Corporate Records Conundrum (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1318

(2006IMJ) Product Liability: Retention and Risk Management Solutions (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1767

(2003IMJ) Protecting Records - What the Standards Tell Us (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1219

Publications

Retention Management for Records and Information (PDF) http://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1528

Retention Manager (software) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1121

Electronic Records Retention: New Strategies for Data Life Cycle Management https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1203

Lawyer's Guide to Records Management and Retention https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1991

Records Retention Procedures https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1115

Financial Institutions Rec.Ret. Manual, 5th Ed. https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1038

Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Implications for Records Management + 2004 Supplement https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1486

Did you know … how an organization selects storage for its records can influence how records are recovered after a disaster? RIM professionals use best practices and methodologies to determine how to store records safely for optimum protection, ease of use, and maximum space efficiency. Water, not fire, is the leading cause of records damage during a disaster. Paper records can swell and double in size, making them difficult or impossible to retrieve, identify, and subsequently recover.

Learn More about Records Storage and Disaster Recovery…

(2006IMJ) Dealing With Disaster (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1845

(2006IMJ) Taking Charge: Disaster Fallout Reinforces RIM's Importance (PDF) https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1846

Records Center Operations, 2nd Ed. https://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=1198

Guideline for Evaluating Offsite Records Storage Facilities http://www.arma.org/bookstore/productdetail.cfm?ProductID=2220