Iron Mountain Digital Authority

holders. As a best practice, businesses should establish a senior-level steering committee to provide oversight and strategic direction, and clearly define and designate roles and responsibilities to their employees.

n Records retention is solid. Eighty-one percent of all organizations have a retention schedule that serves as the cornerstone for a compliance program and provides a blueprint for all records management activities. As a best practice, businesses should adopt and apply a universal records retention schedule across all business units and all records, regardless of media format.

n Record retrieval is usually accurate and quick. Although participants differ in their own assessment of the speed at which they can retrieve active records from on-site filing areas and off-site storage facilities, 90 percent rate their ability to do so as effective and accurate. This indicates that most people are generally satisfied with their ability to retrieve physical records, and that most seem to understand the basics of record storage, indexing and retrieval. The success of a records management program hinges on the ability to access information for business support, litigation response and/or regulatory compliance. To avoid sanctions or loss of rights, organizations should institute policies and procedures that facilitate timely and effective record recovery.

n Secure destruction practices are inconsistent. Only 38 percent of organizations described a consistently applied program for the appropriate disposal of confidential information. Federal and state privacy laws require the secure destruction of virtually all documents that contain personally identifiable information. Therefore, it is important for records disposition to be an inherent and consistent element of an organization’s overall records management program, covering both active and inactive records. Standard destruction policies should be set at the corporate rather than a departmental level, and should be reviewed by the proper legal and compliance professionals.

Iron Mountain’s study is ongoing. Companies that participate in the benchmark study use the results to educate key stakeholders and decision makers in their organization to improve their records management programs.

“The good news is that we’re seeing an emergence of competency and strength in key areas of records management, particularly in the highly regulated industries,” says Laura McDaniel, director of Compliant Records Management at Iron Mountain. “Our research shows that more than half of respondents are very committed to records management improvements, and as mandates and regulations continue to grow, this is a very positive sign.” ▲

[ BEST PRACTICES ]

The Five Areas of Records Management
Best Practices

IRON MOUNTAIN HAS DEFINED FIVE AREAS OF RECORDS

Management Best Practices, which reflect the collective experiences of hundreds of thousands of customer engagements over our nearly 60-year history. These five areas are:

n Retention - The act of preserving information assets; the foundation of a comprehensive Records Management Program.

n Policies and Procedures - The rules and processes that support and guide each Records Management Program component. An organization may have separate policies and procedures for records retention, active file management, inactive file management, and vital records, but each area should address all records regardless of media type, making sure to include positions on electronic records and email practices.

n Index and Access - The ability to retrieve physical records for specific reasons and via specific criteria, such as subject matter, record creator, intended recipient, date, etc.

n Disposal - The retirement and destruction of records according to the required retention. Consistent disposal practices provide retention and regulatory compliance and decrease corporate risk when conducted in accordance with an approved records retention schedule.

n Audit and Accountability - Refers to the need for enterprise-wide ownership of the Records Management Program, in addition to evaluation of the program in terms of compliance. This is a rather large category and encompasses the broad themes of the audit function for Records Management against compliance metrics, and the establishment of accountability within each and every department of the organization.

Iron Mountain offers a Compliant Records Manage-
ment Program that consists of a comprehensive set of
practices and processes designed to enable companies to
achieve compliance efficiency for rapidly evolving records
management requirements. Iron Mountain’s solutions
encompass the full range of responsibilities required to
ensure compliance, from records classification to storage
and destruction.