Records Management For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book .2 Foolish Assumptions .2 How This Book Is Organized 2 Part I: Setting the Stage .3 Part II: Filing Made Simple 3 Part III: Capturing Records .3 Part IV: Parking Spaces .3 Part V: Creating a Plan 4 Part VI: The Part of Tens .4 Bonus Content: Appendix .4 What You’re Not to Read 4 Icons Used in This Book .5 Where to Go from Here .5 Part I: Setting the Stage 7 Chapter 1: Fundamentally Speaking .9 The Inside Scoop — Terms and Terminologies .10 What is information? .10 For the record 10 Business value 11 Nonvalue .11 The information life cycle .12 Grooving with the records (and the information retention schedule) 13 Hold on! .13 Role Playing 13 The Records and Information Manager 14 The evolution of the records manager 15 The big bang! 15 School is in session 16 I can associate with that .17 Let me see your credentials .17 I’ve got to do what?! .20 The written word .20 Professionally speaking 22 I’m Excited — Why Aren’t You? .23 Core function junction 23 Show me the benefits! .23 Trimming expenses .24 Improving efficiencies .26 Increasing staff productivity 27 Risky business 28 Creating your support group .29 Marketing Your Program 33 Chapter 2: Appraising .35 Preparing for the Appraisal 35 Push for the purge .36 Don’t forget the hard drives .37 Choosing an Appraisal Method .39 A method to the madness .39 The good and the good .40 Conducting the Appraisal .42 Capturing appraisal information 43 Taking inventory 43 Going through with an interview .44 Quizzing with a questionnaire 45 Documenting the appraisal 45 Processing the appraisal results 48 Chapter 3: Scheduling .49 Keeping Your Options Open 50 Working with the Departmental retention schedule .50 Scheduling based on function 52 Bring out the big buckets 54 Conducting the Investigation .56 Considering the value 57 Researching retention periods .58 Mining your natural resources .59 Assigning retention periods to nonrecord information 61 Looking for Approval 62 Department management .62 Paying a visit to the Tax department 62 Legalizing your retention 63 Creating the Retention Schedule Document 63 The pieces to the retention schedule puzzle .63 Sampling retention schedule forms .67 Implementing the Retention Schedule 68 Keeping it electronic .69 Providing direction 69 Updating the Retention Schedule 70 Part II: Filing Made Simple 73 Chapter 4: I Know It’s Here Somewhere .75 Filing Methods 75 The alpha file 76 The numbers don’t lie .77 Filing alphanumerically .78 Evaluating Filing Equipment and Supplies .80 The right equipment makes a difference 80 File folders under “important” .86 Selecting a Filing Method 90 Creating a records profile .91 Growing, growing — gone! 91 Evaluating the current state of affairs .92 Creating a Digital Filing System .92 Drawing the parallels .92 Naming folders and files 95 Chapter 5: Drives Can Drive You Crazy 97 At-Risk Drivers .97 Out of sight — out of mind .98 Driving up the costs 98 Driving down function lane 99 Cleaning Up Your Driving Record .99 Taking time to know your drives .100 Mapping a course of action 101 Creating a folder structure .102 Administering shared drives 104 Planning the file review .107 Reviewing files 108 Cleaning up with software 110 Maintaining Your Drives .110 Creating a usage policy .111 Relying on the administrator 111 Using software to maintain your drives 112 Chapter 6: A Message about E-Mail .113 The Anatomy of an E-Mail .113 Determining the value of the message 114 Scheduling time for e-mail 115 The rising risks of e-mail .116 Managing quotas 117 Filing the Message .118 PSSST! What you need to know about PST folders 118 MSG can be good for your informational health 120 Naming e-mail .122 Using Software to Manage E-Mail 125 E-mail archiving systems 125 Optimizing with DM and ECM applications 125 Part III: Capturing Records 127 Chapter 7: Watch Out, I’m Backing Up .129 Creating a Backup Plan .129 Identifying different types of backups 130 Finding a place to back up 131 Distinguishing between backups and archives 132 The tale of the mystery tape 134 Managing Backups .135 Determining what needs to be backed up 135 Applying retention to backups .136 Creating a data retention schedule .137 Deleting backed-up and archived information .139 Chapter 8: Know When to Hold ’em .141 Discovering Discovery 141 Initiating a Legal Hold .143 The components of a legal hold .143 Organizing the search party .145 Searching in the dark .146 E-mail — the smoking gun 147 Keying in on keywords 148 Searching made simple .150 Preserving what you find 150 Maintaining the legal hold 150 We have liftoff .151 Chapter 9: Imaging Documents .153 From Paper to Paperless 153 Understanding the basics of document imaging .154 Benefiting from an image makeover 155 To Image, or Not to Image 156 Conducting an imaging needs assessment .156 Stepping through the imaging process .158 Prep school .158 Scanning documents .161 Recognizing a good thing when you see it .161 Applying indexes 162 Controlling the quality 164 Determining Your Imaging Approach .165 What happens in-house stays in-house 165 Equipping your imaging operation 166 Gathering Requirements .170 Conducting a document analysis .170 End of the beginning 171 Calculating the Return on Investment (ROI) 172 Investing in the benefits 172 Knowing your customer 173 Valuating the benefits 174 Evaluating Imaging Hardware and Software 175 Examining document scanners 175 The role of document-imaging software .177 Chapter 10: Software Applications 179 Examining Software Options 179 Laying the software foundation .180 Types of software 181 Assessing Your Needs .187 Calculating the return on investment (ROI) .188 Identifying your “pain points” 189 Conducting a requirements analysis .189 Evaluating Vendors .191 Determining your evaluation approach 191 Using business-use cases 192 Detailing the results .192 It’s not all about functionality 193 Comparing the results .195 Guiding You through Implementation 195 Why implementations fail .196 How to ensure that your implementation is a success! 197 Part IV: Parking Spaces 199 Chapter 11: Storage Locations .201 Storing Inactive Records Onsite 201 Protecting your inactive records .202 Implementing access control procedures 203 Optimizing your inactive storage 205 Getting to Know the Record Storage Vendor .207 Understanding the fee structure 207 Making sure that your requirements are met 209 Contracting with the vendor 210 Chapter 12: Compliant Destruction .213 Determining the Appropriate Destruction Method .213 Deciding on Your Shredding Approach 214 Shredding your own documents 214 Getting to know the shredders themselves 216 Outsourcing your shredding 217 Selecting the Right Shred Vendor 218 How to ensure that electronic information is unrecoverable 218 Establishing your shredding requirements 219 Developing an Information Destruction Policy 221 If you can’t do it, don’t include it .222 Elements of an effective destruction policy .222 Part V: Creating a Plan 225 Chapter 13: Codifying the Policies .227 Developing a Records and Information Management Policy .227 Understanding what a policy is (and isn’t) 228 The basic characteristics of a good policy .228 Talking records and information .229 Making the Policy Available .230 Distributing the hard copy .231 Attaching a soft copy .231 The missing link .232 Auditing the Policy 233 Developing an audit plan 233 Determining what to audit 234 Communicating the audit .236 Documenting the audit findings .236 Chapter 14: Train the Troops .237 I’m Aware of That! 237 From the top .238 What’s in it for me? 238 Creating a creative awareness campaign .239 Developing a Training Plan 241 Deciding on the curriculum 241 One size doesn’t always fit all 242 How refreshing .242 Training the Masses 243 How much time do I have? 243 Face-time training 244 Webinars .244 Intranet-based training 245 Part VI: The Part of Tens 247 Chapter 15: Ten Simple Management Guidelines .249 Limiting E-Mail Attachments 249 Knowing How to Dispose of Information 251 Structuring Electronic Folders .252 Naming Files .252 Managing Active and Inactive Periods 253 Scheduling Destruction and Deletion .254 Creating the Proper Filing System .254 Avoiding the “Keep Everything” Syndrome .255 Managing Copies 255 Keeping It Simple .257 Chapter 16: Ten Emerging Trends .259 Governing Information 259 Computing in the Clouds 260 Big Data .261 Social Media .262 Putting Some Structure to It .263 Let’s Collaborate 264 Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles .265 Mapping Your Data 266 Enterprise Searching .267 Don’t Get Duped 268 Appendix: Sample Forms and Vendor Listings 269 Index 281