The data generated by organisations all over the world increases every minute of every day. And in a digital-first world where remote work and file sharing are becoming more and more prevalent, it’s crucial that businesses establish clear-cut records management processes if they want to keep up. If they don’t, they face issues with productivity, non-compliance, and security, just to begin with.
From the moment we put pen to paper, (or fingertip to keyboard), a record comes alive. What happens to it, who views it, where it is stored and how long it is stored for and how it is disposed is what we call records management.
The team at Inform Strategic Consulting help businesses set up effective records management strategies to ensure records are:
- Stored securely in a records management system;
- Available and accessible when they are needed;
- Retained for the right amount of time based on any legislation; and
Disposed of securely when no longer required.
Having the proper governance makes it easier to employ accurate management within your SharePoint and Microsoft 365 environments; ensuring content is always in its proper location, and has the correct content tags to be catalogued. It also increases security and reduces the risk of end-user mistakes.
Overall, records management can include tasks like:
- Identifying and storing records in set locations;
- Establishing and enforcing policies, standards and guidelines;
- Assigning responsibilities and roles to the relevant staff;
- Maintaining information usability;
- Internal and external access solutions; and
- Integrating records regularly as part of your organisation’s operations.
Coming up with a plan can be overwhelming, especially if organisations have been relying on manual processes for recordkeeping. But, with the ability to automatically schedule repetitive tasks such as approvals, holds and other time-consuming administrative matters, our clients benefit from better management and improved compliance. We will always consider how a solution matches client needs both in the short and long term, so any changes we recommend work to evolve our client’s businesses.
Inform often works as an extension of our client’s teams, providing them with a records management process that works to support their organisation’s future. We assess the ability of our client’s software and processes to manage and store their records, and suggest and implement new systems, if needed.
