Corporate record retention policy management

At the bottom of your physical file cabinet, or deep in the first-ever digital folders, there is outdated information that your company no longer requires. These old files are taking up space, are expensive to store and may be opening your business to legal liability.

Your company needs a record retention policy, a system that manages the lifecycle of each piece of data from its creation, through its use and to its deletion. With an effective corporate record retention policy management system, the data flows in your organisation go from bottlenecked to streamlined.

Iron Mountain’s retention policy management system tracks each stage of data usage, and implements plans and processes to ensure order and prevent chaos.

Codified retention policies

A clearly written, well documented plan detailing how data should be stored and archived helps your organisation across the board by:

• Setting internal standards to keep data from unmanageable accumulation.
• Organising information for company-wide access.
• Keeping a retention schedule to retain data only as long as it is needed.
• Reducing storage costs.
• Maintaining regulation requirements.
• Safeguarding data in a secure and centralised system.

A codified method for data retention ensures consistency. All employees are properly trained on the policies that preserve and protect data, and the written standards are catalogued for reference and continual record compliance.

Digital data retention

Online databases for stored information are growing worldwide. Whether you are looking to address the data access needs of your decentralised workforce or simply attempting to reduce paper clutter, digital data retention policies are imperative. Our Policy Centre Professional Edition’s thorough cloud based platform offers expert advisory services tailored to your organisation.

Creating your corporate record retention policy

Industries in every shape and size and across fields deal with highly sensitive personal records. These documents may include:

• Customer data
• Applications and trainings
• Medical information
• Employment payment data

Knowing what types of documents to hang on to, and for how long, requires standardisation across departments.

Information lifecycle management

The creation of your company’s record retention policy will be tailored to your business goals and the documentation you prioritise. The information lifecycle will depend on these distinctions, and may differ based on industry, the material your organisation engages with and the security requirements of the information.

Implementing information lifecycle management

In order to set up an efficient lifecycle management system, a company must:

• Decide what records are important to their overarching goals.
• Set up a document retention system to manage living files in accordance to business needs.
• Implement a disposal schedule to remove wasteful and outdated documents.
• Codify their system along governmental regulations.

Combing privacy management and record retention

The management of information retention must address the ever-present importance of privacy. Many organisations are handling documentation that deals with personal data, and data leaks are a surefire way to lose client confidence and brand reputation.

Record retention management and privacy safeguards rely on each other, as data retention policies can assure the safety of valuable information. Implementing record retention management in accordance with privacy concerns ensures the safe intake of private information, its secure storage and eventually its complete disposal.

Iron mountain’s Policy Centre Enterprise Edition ensures expert guidance on changing regulations and privacy needs in accordance with your company’s own customised data retention schedule.

Privacy concerns

When documentation is left unattended in an unorganised system it is at risk of being forgotten, exposed or simply misplaced.

Without record retention systems that track documents from origination, through its life and to deletion, customer information and other valued documents, physical or otherwise, aren’t safe. A retention schedule that lines up with retention policies will organise information flows, and protect information.

On top of saving a company storage costs, data retention management strategies will safeguard your organisation from being at risk of losing precious information.

Dealing with regulations and increasing privacy concerns

Increasing privacy concerns and legal requirements similar to the Privacy Act are leading businesses to implement combined privacy and retention policies so the company can:

• Have a unified view of personal data and related obligations.
• Dispose of private information as soon as possible.
• Reduce unnecessary exposure to data breaches.
• Stay on the cutting edge of constantly evolving regulations.

A unified view of your company’s legal obligations and personal information informs the retention period you establish. Iron Mountain’s Policy Centre Solution Suite protects your organisation and its data, allowing your employees to address the needs of your clients in accordance with all regulations.